"Gems" is one of the most popular Soviet VIA, whose music is still listened to today. The first appearance under this name is dated 1971. And the team continues to operate under the leadership of the non-replaceable leader Yuri Malikov.
The history of the team "Gems"
In the early 1970s, Yuri Malikov graduated from the Moscow Conservatory (his instrument was the double bass). Then I got a unique opportunity to visit the EXPO-70 exhibition, which was held in Japan. As you know, Japan was already at that time a technically advanced country, including in the field of music.
Therefore, Malikov returned from there with 15 boxes of musical equipment (instruments, technical equipment for recording, etc.). It was soon successfully used to record material.
Having received the best technical equipment, Yuri realized that it was necessary to create his own ensemble. He listened to musicians from different styles and began to invite those who he liked very much into the band. After collecting the first composition of the Gems group, the recording process began, as a result of which several songs appeared.
Malikov used his connections, which he had developed in Japan. Thus, he got direct access to the editor-in-chief of the popular radio program Good Morning! Eru Kudenko. She appreciated the compositions, and already in August 1971, the release of the program was made, completely dedicated to the young group. “Will I go out or will I” and “I will take you to the tundra” became the first songs of the band that sounded on the air.
Interestingly, the name of the VIA was chosen based on the results of a general vote among listeners, which was announced in the program. More than 1 thousand titles came to the editorial office, one of which was "Gems".
Three months later, the group got on the air of the Mayak station, and a little later - on other radio stations. The group's first performance took place in the summer of that year. It was a big concert of the Soviet stage, organized by the Moskontsert organization.
Group members
The composition of the group during the first two decades of its existence was constantly changing. The period of creation of the collective was also long. After long changes, a solid foundation of the team was created, the backbone of which was 10 people. Among them are: I. Shachneva, E. Rabbit, N. Rappoport and others.
The main hits of the Gems group were recorded by these people. “This never happens again”, “I'll take you to the Tundra”, “Good omens” and dozens of imperishable compositions. To record each song, Malikov was constantly looking for new producers with whom one could experiment and record real hits.
This is how the legendary composition “My address is the Soviet Union” was created, which even today can often be heard in various programs, films and serials. The composer of the song is David Tukhmanov, and the author of the lyrics is Vladimir Kharitonov. Thus, an ideal formula was created - a stellar team, talented composers and authors.
The development of creativity of the group "Gems"
The popularity of their songs, the group "Gems" is largely due to the topics that were touched upon in the hits. These were topics that were important to the youth of that time. This is love, patriotism, homeland, the style of "road" or "camping" songs.
In 1972, the first major performance of the group took place - and immediately on the international stage. It was a vocal competition in Germany (in the city of Dresden). The team was represented here by soloist Valentin Dyakonov, who got the 6th place out of 25. This was a worthy result, which allowed the group to release a record in Germany.
And this is just the beginning. Then the group was lucky enough to participate in a number of other international festivals and competitions. And again Germany, then Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy. The group even performed in the countries of America and Africa.
In parallel, creativity became even more popular in the USSR. Concerts were regularly held at the largest Luzhniki stadium. Moreover, both combined concerts and festivals, as well as solo, independent performances.
The peak of popularity was in the mid-1970s. Then for a year and a half the group lived in a frantic schedule. Every day - a new concert with spectators from 15 thousand. Snow, thunderstorm or pouring rain did not matter, all the seats were occupied at the stadiums.
Despite their huge popularity in 1975, many of the members had a creative block, which led to their departure. However, the musicians were in no hurry to leave the stage. They united in the new VIA "Flame". Malikov decided not to complete the idea of \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe Gems group and started looking for new members. The team was actually created anew in less than three weeks (only three people remained from the first composition).
From that moment on, the band changed regularly both in music and in relation to the people involved in the recording and concerts. It was the concert activity that was given considerable attention. Everything was thought out - from the light and atmosphere to the smallest details of the program. The concerts even included a part with the performance of parodists - initially one of them was Vladimir Vinokur.
Life after the 80s
However, in the mid-1980s, several factors developed at once that negatively affected the popularity of the team. It was both constant line-up changes and natural changes in the music scene.
Pop music developed gradually. "Tender May", "Mirage" and a number of other incredibly popular bands began to oust the "Gems" group from the stage. Nevertheless, VIA still continued to "cultivate" future stars. For example, it was here that the future star of the Russian stage Dmitry Malikov made his debut.
In the early 1990s, Yuri Malikov had to temporarily freeze the Gems group. He was engaged in other projects for 5 years, until a program dedicated to the work of the team was created in 1995. She aroused considerable interest among the public, which led to the return of VIA. Concerts have resumed.
Since 1995, the group has had the same line-up, regularly recording new songs and participating in various concerts and television programs. The concert program included dozens of songs. The group has over 30 best-selling compilations and over 150 songs.
