The Little Prince was one of the most popular bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the dawn of their creative career, the guys gave 10 concerts a day.
For many fans, the soloists of the group became idols, especially for the fairer sex.
The musicians combined lyrical texts about love with energetic disco in their works. In addition to bewitching music, the Little Prince group also worked on their own image.
The thin, tall, long-haired vocalist of the band was the ultimate dream for many.
The times of the so-called "perestroika" forced the Little Prince group to leave the stage. Only in the early 2000s did the guys again come out to their fans, but, unfortunately, they could not repeat the stage they had passed.
The composition and history of the creation of the Little Prince group
Most fans associate the Little Prince group with Alexander Khlopkov. Alexander dreamed of the stage all his adult life.
The young man studied at a music school in piano and vocals. After receiving the certificate, he began to test his strength in various groups.
After Alexander Khlopkov performed on the same stage with the tour group "Tram" Desire "", his life turned upside down. The team played several shows with the popular Mirage group.
The producer of the Mirage team noticed Alexander Khlopkov on stage and realized that he was a very promising guy. At the end of 1988, Alexander was already part of the Mirage group. He played keyboards in the band.
Khlopkov did not stay long at the keyboards. In the summer of 1988, the Mirage group toured the territory of the Crimea. Significant for the history of the Little Prince group, the concert ended with a joint performance of the song Closing the Circle.
The final composition was performed not only by the soloists of the group, but also by the one who was sitting at the keys, Alexander Khlopkov. Now Lityagin discovered a new Khlopkov.
The producer of the Mirage group decided to open his own project for the musician, which was called the Little Prince.
It is noteworthy that Andrey Lityagin himself wrote the music for the debut collection of the new group. Lyrics were written by Elena Stepanova. Alexei Gorbashov, who then played in the Mirage band, was involved in recording the first compositions.
On the same stage, along with Alexander Khlopkov, musicians Valery Starikov and Nikolai Rakushev performed. Kirill Kuznetsov sat behind the drums, and Sergey Krylov took the place of the keyboard player.
By the way, The Little Prince is one of the few groups that has overcome the problem of changing soloists. And now the musicians at some performances manage to get together with the original line-up.
Music and the creative path of the Little Prince group
The Little Prince group made itself known with the help of the debut disc, which was written for the musicians Lityagin and Stepanova. The first song "I don't know why I need you" was recorded even before the official day of the creation of the musical group.
In this musical composition, you can hear the "character" of the group. The song has melancholy, lyrical themes, emotionality of the vocalist. Later, the first album "We'll meet again" was recorded in a recording studio.
The name of the group was suggested to Alexander by his old acquaintance, who adored French literature. Lityagin liked the idea of the name. Actually, this is how the name of the group "The Little Prince" appeared.
To test the public's reaction to the new team, the producer released the musicians to "warm up" the Mirage group.
Solo career of soloist Alexander Khlopkov
In 1989, Alexander Khlopkov entered the stage, but already as a solo project. The audience enthusiastically met the new team. The band's performance went off without a hitch.
The approval of the public gave Andrey Lityagin a "green color" in the decision to produce a new team. In the same year, the producer organized a solo concert for the Little Prince group, which took place at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex.
After a successful performance, the team went on a big tour. The musicians themselves, in one of their interviews in 2018, said that at the dawn of their creative career, they could give up to 10 concerts per day.
Alexander Khlopkov himself created his own style. But many music critics saw a similarity with Western stars. The main element of the frontman's clothing is a fringed leather jacket.
It is interesting that Alexander came up with this design project together with a neighbor who worked at the Fashion House of Vyacheslav Zaitsev.
In addition to the jacket, a wide studded belt, which was decorated with metal stars, caught the eye. But the red pants with stars are not his merit. He “borrowed” the idea of pants from Freddie Mercury.
Despite the fact that the discography of the Little Prince group has only one album, the popularity of the musical group has increased every day. For the most part, the team was engaged in touring activities.
The musicians did not forget to release video clips. True, there could be no talk of any high level. The band's clips are cuts of videos from the band's concerts.
To be convinced of this, just look at the video clips for the tracks: “Are you or not”, “Farewell”, “I don’t know why I need you”, “We will meet again”.
In 1994, the Little Prince group decided to re-release the album. The musicians supplemented the disc with three new compositions: "Wet Asphalt" and "Autumn", which were written by singer and composer Igor Nikolaev, as well as "You Betrayed Love", written by Sergey Trofimov.
Reducing the peak of the group's popularity
In 1994, the peak of the group's popularity decreased. Alexander Khlopkov decided to go into business in order to improve his financial situation.
The singer opened his own clothing store. At first, the business gave Alexander a certain income, but later he was not successful.
Four years later, the Little Prince group returned to the big stage. The team, together with the Mirage group, toured Germany.
Soon Alexander Khlopkov met his future wife Polina. A stormy romance grew into a strong and family relationship. This made the singer think about a permanent place of residence.
After the young people legalized their relationship, they moved to Germany. Khlopkov stayed with his wife in Baden-Württemberg.
In Germany, Khlopkov did not leave his favorite pastime - creativity. Together with his wife, he became the owner of a concert agency called Alexis Entertainment.
Soon the couple had a daughter, Victoria. And it seems that on this biography of the group "The Little Prince" can be considered complete. However, fans of the music of the 1990s did not want to let the band leave the stage.
The band's first return to the big stage took place in 2004. It was then that Lityagin, in honor of the anniversary of the Mirage group, gathered all the legendary stars on one stage. The Little Prince also performed.
A few years later, producer Lityagin, due to his difficult financial situation, sold the copyrights to the compositions performed by the group to the permanent soloist of the group, Alexander Khlopkov.
Thus, all the hits of the Little Prince group ended up in the hands of Alexander. This opened up endless possibilities for him. Later, Lityagin wanted to recognize the deal as illegal, but the court was not on his side.
The Little Prince team today
Alexander Khlopkov lives abroad. He is still a media personality. He is often invited to film programs dedicated to the bands of the 1990s.
Khlopkov comes to Russia not only for the sake of filming in programs. The Little Prince group regularly appears at retro parties and concerts. The team supports the project of Sergei Vasyuta "Disco USSR".
Today, the team mostly performs at private corporate parties. Alexander Khlopkov has an official Instagram page where you can see the latest news about the artist. Although the artist appears very rarely on social networks.
