The lead singer of the flowers group Oleg Predtechensky biography. Group "flowers", group of stas namin

The vocal-instrumental ensemble "Flowers" appeared in 1969, but only in 1972 it became a super popular VIA in the USSR, thanks to the first disc released by the Melodiya record company. The mignon sold out in millions of copies, literally turning the idea of ​​the Soviet stage of the 1970s ... The ensemble included: bass performer Alexander Losev and drummer Yuri Fokin, later pianist and composer Sergei Dyachkov, the author of popular youth songs, joined them. Among the ideological inspirers of the new collective was another equally popular composer and arranger Vladimir Semyonov (it was his song "My little star" to the verses of Olga Fokina that opened the first disc of the ensemble). On that "amateur" disc, the songs "Flowers have eyes", "Don't" and "My clear star" were recorded. The symphony orchestra under the direction of Yu. Silantiev and the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra took part in the recording of this disc. The success was complete, the disc literally did not leave the players, these songs were sung in the streets and in apartments.

Among other amateur groups, the group stood out for its "live" sound, interesting arrangements, searches for expressive means from the big beat arsenal, suitable for synthesis with the traditions of Russian melos. Stas Namin defined the "Flowers" style as "lyrical rock".

In 1973, the ensemble emerged as a winner in the competition of youth groups in the capital, where it won personal prizes and the right to record a gramophone record. The appearance of the second disc with the songs "Honestly", "Lullaby" and others outlined the lyrical plan of the ensemble's creative style even more clearly. The secret of such success lies in painstaking work, high individual skill of the performers and, of course, in the sincerity of their work. The songs of the ensemble are distinguished by original arrangements, expressive instrumental solos and peculiar, soulful vocals.

Young musicians found themselves faced with a problem: either to follow the generally beaten and rather clear path - to graduate from college and become a young specialist, or to embark on an unknown and dangerous path - to enter the path of professional musicians. They preferred the latter, and since 1974 "Flowers" is a professional touring group. Difficult but joyful days began, devoted to the beloved work. A huge number of worries fell on young artists: art councils, directors' boards, searches for equipment, learning a new repertoire, rehearsals, concerts, runs, tours: The load was colossal, they were almost never at home. Although the skill grew, and the requirements for the game grew, more and more there was a lack of the necessary equipment. All this led to a crisis. And, despite the fact that Tsvetov had the recognition of its success: 1st place at the All-Union competition "Silver Strings" in Gorky, 1st place in Tallinn at the All-Union competition of Soviet songs - in 1975 the guys stopped their professional work.

"In 1975-76 we had a break, which, as you know, gave rise to rumors about the breakup of the group, in fact it was due to the fact that Sasha and I had to complete our studies at universities (Sasha, specializing in radio electronics, I am a philologist) "- Stas Namin (1983)

"Yes, in 1974 we became a professional team, and Stas Namin could not work with us: he is a student-philologist at Moscow State University" - Alexander Losev (1975)

The guys dispersed, resumed their studies at the institutes, which they nevertheless graduated from. But time passed, the Soviet stage developed, new names appeared. And the former "Flowers", jealously watching the flourishing of popular music, were happy to be convinced that their place was not taken, and no one was working in their style, lyrical rock is a white spot on the stage.

A new stage of creativity began in 1977. Stas Namin, having come to realize the need for a new, more modern and expressive stylistics in creativity, returns to the professional stage. His new band starts right away with recording, because at this time from the firm "Melodia" comes an offer to record a disc. The work on the new disc became, as it were, drawing up the further program of the ensemble; during rehearsals, the guys tried to implement new ideas, tried to formulate their attitude to new things in popular music. The attempt of S. Namin, A. Slizunov and K. Nikolsky to revive the team turned out to be as successful as possible. Studio recording of V. Semenov and V. Dyunin's composition "Red Poppies" - Alexander Podbolotov sang it on the disc, not only "restored" all the dignity of "Flowers", but also discovered new horizons of creativity. In the comic song-parable "The Old Piano" the ensemble, in a soft, humorous way, as if inadvertently reminds the listener of the meaning of enduring human values, and in this special climate of sincerity and recognition, in approaching human existence, in attention to it the main potential grew stronger and multiplied groups.

On the opening day of the XVIII Congress of the Komsomol in a concert dedicated to this event, "Stas Namin's Group" took part with a concert number "Solidarity", dedicated to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana. In preparation for the festival, the guys prepared Cuban songs, youth protest songs in the languages ​​of the peoples of the world, songs of Soviet composites. At the same time, Stas Namin began to actively cooperate with the poet V. Kharitonov - the song "Friendship" was written on his poems, which was first performed by Renat Ibragimov at the 1978 festival of youth and students in Havana.

In 1979, another EP was recorded with Stas Namin's songs "It's early to say goodbye" and "If you are not there"; the ensemble took part in the recording of V. Kharitonov's disc "White Wings".

"FLOWERS" AT THE ROCK MUSIC CLUB

Group "Flowers" earned its place in history if only because it became one of the first musical groups that brought an element of rock to the stage of the Soviet Union. All Soviet non-format within the framework of mass pop culture began with this particular group. Dozens of famous musicians and several generations of loyal fans have grown up on the creativity of "Flowers".

Influenced by Woodstock

Rock group "Flowers" appeared in 1969 thanks to the efforts of a student of the Institute of Foreign Languages ​​- the grandson of the famous Soviet party leader Anastas Mikoyan. Stas became interested in rock music early, and gathered his first team at the Suvorov School in 1964. The hippie movement could not stay away from the creative nature of Namin and soon after the legendary festival Woodstock he founded a group called "Flowers"... Its first participants, besides Stas himself, were Vladimir Chugreev, Vladimir Solovyov and vocalist Elena Kovalevskaya, fanatically in love with music. The repertoire of the young people at the time consisted mainly of hits from Jefferson Airplane, and other rock stars.

Soon, at an evening in one of the capital's universities, Stas heard a performance with the guitar of Alexander Losev. Namin liked his vocals so much that he invited him to try himself in Flowers. At the same time, "personnel" changes took place in the collective - Kovalevskaya and Soloviev left the group, Losev became a bass player, Chugreev performed drums, and Namin played a solo guitar.

And immediately to the "black list" ...

Stas Namin was a big fan of the music of Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, Alexander Losev was more attracted to the work of Tom Jones and the Carpenders group, and the appearance in the group of an ardent admirer of Led Zeppelin Yuri Fokin made it even more fatal.

In 1970, Stas went to study at Moscow State University, and the group began performing at the university club. Once on the street next to the club even had to block traffic, because a huge crowd of fans came to listen to the music of "Flowers". This is how the name of the group was first included in the "black list" of the Ministry of Culture.

Another scandalous incident happened to the group during the Moscow Student Festival. "Flowers" performed Jimi Hendrix's song "Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire". The audience was as delighted as the organizers of the festival had seen for the first time. Fearing the consequences, the directorate of the Luzhniki Sports Palace, where the performance took place, simply turned off the equipment for Flowers. But this did not prevent the group from becoming laureates of the festival and getting the right to release a flexible mini-disc.

Stas Namin took such an event with the utmost seriousness and invited a professional pianist and arranger. For the first disc, Stas selected three compositions ("My little star is clear", "Don't need" and "Flowers have eyes"), which could be performed in such a way as to demonstrate that rock music, which has not yet been heard on the Soviet stage.

The first disc of "Flowers" appeared in the fall of 1972. Namin and Fokin made a special trip to the factory to see it before it goes on sale. There was no limit to the surprise of the musicians when one of the workers brought them a record. In real life, Stas and Yuri's hair was below the shoulders, and on the cover the retoucher "cut" them. But this did not diminish the joy and pride that the band members felt. Unexpectedly for many, the disc sold 7 million copies, and songs sounded from all windows. Although this did not help the team say goodbye to the semi-underground status of a student group. Radio and TV did not want to recognize the already popular manner of performing "Flowers". As before, the guys had to perform only at student parties.

Transformation of "Flowers"

Professional concert activity group "Flowers" began in 1974 at the Moscow Regional Philharmonic. They also began performing with the group pianist Alexander Slizunov and guitarist Konstantin Nikolsky. Rock 'n' roll drive reigned at "live" concerts, and the Philharmonic Society earned a lot of money on it. But because of 3-4 concerts a day, it was no longer possible to create new songs. A conflict began between the musicians and the administration, and unexpectedly for everyone, Alexander Losev took the side of the Philharmonic. As a result, the main team was fired. Only in 1977, Stas managed to restore the team, but without having the copyright to the name "Flowers", the musicians began performing as "Stas Namin's Group". By hook or by crook, they managed to record several hits, including "Old Grand Piano", "Summer Evening", "Wheels are knocking" and "It's too early to say goodbye."

Demolitionists

After a long-term ban in the media, the attitude of the authorities towards the group has become a little more loyal. And in 1980, the musicians were able to release their first solo disc "Hymn to the Sun". Then they participated in the cultural program of the Moscow Olympics-80 and were shown on TV for the first time. Taking advantage of the situation, the band created two more experimental albums, not similar to their style. The first was a dance one called "Reggae, disco, rock", and the second ("Surprise for Monsieur Legrand") was released in French and sounded in the style of symphonic jazz. Stas Namin gradually began to restore the former name of the group, printing it in small print next to the already promoted “Stas Namin Group”.

Not even a year has passed since "Flowers" fell into disgrace. After performing at the festival in Yerevan, Time magazine wrote positive material about the group. The musicians were again accused of undermining the ideological foundations of the state. “Flowers” ​​were banned from concerts in large cities, and surveillance and threats began.

After that, Stas Namin decided not to look for compromises with the authorities and replenished the group's repertoire with songs on serious social themes - "Nostalgia for the present", "Idol", "I do not give up" and others. Now the way was closed for "Flowers" not only in the media, but also at the recording company "Melodia".

Takeoff and stop

At the very beginning of "perestroika" the group got the opportunity to go on the first real (not counting the countries of the socialist camp) foreign tours. "Stas Namin's group" was the first among the Soviet rock bands, which was able to go on a one and a half month tour of the United States and Canada. In addition to participating in the musical "Peace Child", the musicians gave a series of solo performances for the American public at the most prestigious concert venues. It was this trip that gave them hope for a new life. Immediately after the tour in America, one of the founders of the group, Peter Gabriel, invited the Soviet collective to a rock festival in Japan. After that several years "Flowers" toured countries in Europe, Africa, South and North America. But after the end of the world tour, Stas officially stopped all the group's activities. It actually did not exist for the next 10 years.

Historical justice

The team gathered again in 1999. Considering that the group had never worked with a single line-up before, this time Stas Namin decided to immediately create such a group that would remain unchanged and could replenish the repertoire together, create arrangements and constantly develop. First, Stas invited a keyboardist and vocalist to the group Valery Diorditsa, then guitarist Yuri Vilnin, bass guitarist Alexander Gretsinin, then vocalist Oleg Predtechensky, pianist and saxophonist Alan Aslamazov. In this composition "Flowers" celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band and gave a big concert. But even after that, they did not return to Russian show business, only occasionally presenting exclusive performances. The main time of the group was occupied by foreign tours.

And to creative activity "Flowers" restored historical justice after years of bans and recorded all their famous compositions at the legendary London studio Abbey Road. The result is a double album of 24 songs - "Back to the USSR". It really brings Blossom fans back to their younger years, which was the 1970s and 1980s. A little later, another album was recorded there - "Open Your Window". It contained songs that, due to Soviet prohibitions, have still remained unrecorded. It is from these compositions that one can imagine what the work of the group would have been like in the 1980s, if not for the censorship.

The group presented a completely new repertoire in 2012, as if freeing themselves from their old image, which took shape in the 1970s. "Flowers"sounded modern, the style of their new songs differs from the music of the early period as clearly as, for example, the first melodies from their last records.

In general, the creative merit of "Flowers" is invaluable. When only patriotic Soviet songs made up the stage, even their naive-romantic fatal themes became an innovation. They were so different from the existing standard that they immediately fell under the prohibitions. But this did not stop the group from becoming popular throughout the country. The songs of the "Soviet Beatles" sounded everywhere, and time put everything in its place.

FACTS

In 1983 group "Flowers" shot the first video clip in the USSR for the song with an openly political overtones "Old New Year". It is not surprising that they did not even begin to consider him at the artistic council, and he first got on the air only in 1986, and it happened on the American MTV channel. By the way, even the absolutely "harmless" song "We wish you happiness", written by Stas Namin in 1982, was banned until 1985. And only thanks to the composition was performed on television.

During the days of the Moscow Festival of Youth and Students, despite the bans of the Ministry of Culture, Stas Namin's Group managed to organize several illegal performances and record an album with the participation of foreign musicians who had come to the event. The reaction of the authorities was not long in coming. "Flowers" accused of Pentagon propaganda and even unauthorized contacts with foreigners. The recorded album, of course, was banned in the USSR. But in 1986, the authorities had to publish it in a limited edition for exclusive export by special order of the UN.

"Flowers" updated: April 7, 2019 by the author: Helena

The group "Flowers" appeared in 1969 and began to quickly gain popularity; in its style, ordinary hard rock and pop music were organically combined. The first more or less stable line-up of the group included: the permanent leader of the group Stas Namin - guitar (grandson of the famous politician, associate of I. V. Stalin Anastas Mikoyan), vocalist and bass guitar Alexander Losev (it is with his unique vocals that the Flowers group is always associated, all the other vocalists of the collective were noticeably inferior to Alexander in popularity) and the drummer Yuri Fokin, already well-known by that time.

Their first performances were unofficial, they participated in various festivals and concerts of "underground" rock. Largely due to the dedication and persistence of Stas Namin, in 1973 the group made its way to the Melodiya company and released their first flexible records, which sold millions of copies throughout the Union, raising Flowers to the Olympus of the national stage.

The group was joined by keyboardist and composer Sergei Dyachkov and guitarist Vladimir Semyonov, who to a large extent in the future formed its repertoire. In 1974 the group signed a contract with the Philharmonic and became a professional ensemble, their second EP was recorded. Soon Dyachkov and Semyonov left "Flowers", and their places were taken by Sergei Dozhikov (guitar) and Vladislav Petrovsky (keyboards), however, they too soon left the group, and were replaced by former members of the Atlant group Alexander Slizunov and Konstantin Nikolsky (in future leader "Sunday").

In 1975, disagreements began with the Philharmonic and the group again existed as an amateur ensemble, but this did not prevent it from becoming super popular, which Namin had always strived for, so when the group nevertheless disintegrated, Namin continued to collect session musicians under the name "Flowers" and took them participated in the Tallinn Rock Festival in 1976.

Brief information about the group Flowers is a Moscow-based rock group created in 1969 by guitarist and songwriter Stas Namin. The creative destiny of the group evolved in different ways. During its forty-year history, “Flowers” ​​seemed to have lived several lives, and in the 2010s they started another, new one. From 1969 to 1979, as a student ensemble "Flowers" became popular in Moscow and released a disc at the "Melodia" company. Due to its style, unlike the Soviet stage, the group is completely banned by the central Soviet media and it manages to release only rare compromise recordings, which, despite strict censorship, for the first time introduce an element of rock music into the country's mass musical culture. In 1974, "Flowers" began a professional tour and, after a conflict with the Philharmonic Society and the ban of the name by the USSR Ministry of Culture, was restored in 1977 as the Stas Namin Group. Still banned from the media, they write new hits and regain popularity with a new name.

Since 1980, in the wake of the "Olympic thaw", Stas Namin's group "Flowers" begins to appear sporadically in the media, releases the first author's album "Hymn to the Sun" and manages to record two more custom albums - "Reggae, Disco, Rock" and "Surprise for Monsieur Legrand. " Then again the conflict between the group and the regime escalates and they again fall under the ban, and the new repertoire of "Flowers" is also banned on "Melodiya". Even Namin's "innocent" song "We wish you happiness", written in 1982, first appears only at the end of 1984.

In 1986, along with perestroika, the group suddenly began a new life. For the first time "Flowers" went to the West and in four years made a world tour, almost without working in the USSR. In the 90s, the group stopped its activities for 10 years.

In 1999, Namin gathered the group again. "Flowers" are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a big concert, in which musicians who previously worked in the group, as well as friends - stars of Russian rock music, take part. But even after this concert, the group does not return to public life. "Flowers" work at the Moscow Theater of Music and Drama, created by Stas Namin, participating in the creation of the musical "Hair", the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" and other performances.

Being a kind of author's project of Namin, Flowers in the 1970s and 1980s did not have a permanent line-up, and all the songs were recorded and performed by different soloists. The creative face of the group was, first of all, its original, unlike anyone else's style. In the first 20 years, more than fifty musicians played in the group, many of whom later created their own ensembles, became famous composers and performers.
The permanent line-up of the “Flowers” ​​group appeared only in 2000, and, according to Namin, this is the strongest line-up in the entire history of the group: Oleg Predtechensky - vocals and guitar; Valery Diorditsa - vocals and keys; Alexander Gretsinin - vocals and bass guitar; Yuri Vilnin - guitar; Alan Aslamazov - keyboards, vocals and saxophone.

In 2009, the year of its fortieth anniversary, in fact, after a thirty-year hiatus, "Flowers" decided to reactivate their creative public life.

In the summer of 2009, the band recorded all their famous hits, created in the period from 1969 to 1982, at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London. The double album "Back to the USSR" becomes a kind of result of the first period of their work.

In 2010, again at the Abbey Road studio, "Flowers" recorded a new album, which included the band's forbidden songs, written in the eighties, but never published, and three new songs: "Hymn to the Heroes of Our Time", "Light and Joy" and " Open your window. " The latter gave the name to the album. Created by Peter Gabriel, the worldwide society of sound Society of Sound has exclusively selected this album for its VIP-clients as the most interesting work of the year and included it in their catalog.

In the same 2010 the band played their anniversary concert "Flowers-40" (at Crocus City Hall) and released DVD and CD. In this concert, the group managed to do what, for various reasons, did not work out in previous years. The concert summed up the 40 years of the band's work, presenting all the famous songs of "Flowers" in the standard performance as fans were used to listening to them even on the recordings in the 1970s. It also featured musicians from the band's early line-ups, friends and guests. For the musicians themselves, the “Flowers-40” concert in a certain sense brought a line to the classic restrained style established by the early BEATLES and the image within which they were used to perceive all these years.

In 2012, Flowers played their second concert at Crocus City Hall, where they presented their new modern repertoire. These were not the same "Flowers" to which everyone was accustomed. As if freed from their image that had developed in the 1970s, they immediately jumped to the present day. Their new songs and style differ from the early 70s songs as much as the first Beatles songs differ from their last albums.
The DVD, Blu-ray and CD of the three-hour concert consists of two parts, released on different discs as different albums:
- the album HOMO SAPIENS ("Homo sapiens") included an instrumental introduction and 12 new songs presented as a rock show with its own internal drama, supported by a video installation.

The program of these albums, in fact, for the first time in a live concert, presented to the public today's Stas Namin's "Flowers" Group, which, having preserved all its musical principles that developed in the 70s-80s, developed them and transposed them into modern rock of the 2010s.

The early years (1969-1972)

The rock group "Flowers" was created in Moscow in 1969 by the leader-guitarist, then a first-year student at the Institute of Foreign Languages. M. Toreza, Stas Namin.

Having got to know rock music early, already in 1964 at the Suvorov School, Stas created his first group, "Sorcerers", and at the same time played rock and roll with his cousin Alexander, friend and housemate Grigory Ordzhonikidze and other friends, in 1967 year they were already called - "Politburo" and performed in the Palace of Culture Energetikov. In 1969, he entered the Institute of Foreign Languages. Maurice Toreza, becomes the lead guitarist of the famous student group "Bliki".

In the late 60s, Namin was carried away by the hippie movement "Children of Flowers", and in 1969, under the influence of the legendary hippie-rock festival "Woodstock", he created a new group, calling it "Flowers".

The first composition of Flowers. The first musician whom Stas invited to the group was Vladimir Chugreev - a self-taught drummer fanatically in love with rock music, he possessed extraordinary physical strength and played a powerful rock sound. Vladimir Soloviev, formerly a musician of the Red Devils group at the Bauman Institute, played keyboards in the first composition of "Flowers". Even then, he had his own electric organ, which gave the group a solidity and "trademark" sound. There was no permanent bass-guitarist, and in the group the bassist from "Blikov" A. Malashenkov, then from "Vagabundos" - another Inyazov group, played alternately. The vocalist of the group was Elena Kovalevskaya, a student of the French Faculty of Foreign Languages. She had a performing drive unexpected for that time and a very beautiful soulful voice; the audience accepted her with a bang. Stas Namin played the lead guitar. This was the first composition of the "Flowers" group. The repertoire at that time mainly included the most fashionable hits from the repertoire of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others.

In parallel with his studies in Inyaz, Stas with "Flowers" performs at school evenings, in clubs and institutes in Moscow (Inyaz, MGIMO, Moscow State University, Bauman Institute, etc.). After some time, at a party in MIREA, Namin saw Sasha Losev performing Nikitin's song "Horses Can Swim" with a guitar. He liked Sasha's vocal abilities and musicality, and he invited him to try himself in "Flowers". Despite the fact that Losev sang pop songs and was not fond of rock, Stas invited him to master the bass guitar and learn several songs in English from the repertoire of "Flowers". Then these were songs by Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple and others. So Losev got into "Flowers".

In the 70s, Elena Kovalevskaya left the group, graduating from Inyaz, and also left the Soloviev group, and Alexander Losev came to play bass instead of Malashenkov. Thus, the second line-up of the "Flowers" group consisted of three people: Namin - lead guitar, Losev - bass guitar, Chugreev - drums.

At that time, rock parties were often held in Inyaz, at which the most fashionable groups of Moscow - "Skifs", "Vagabundes", "Second Wind", "Atlanty", "Mirazhi" and many others, played. As another experiment, Namin, besides already popular among students "Flowers", created another group - "Country Boys and a Strange Creature", which played oriental ethnic music based on rock with bright guitar solos, vocals and existed for about a year.

In 1970, Namin went to study at Moscow State University and, naturally, his group moved along with him. Flowers began to rehearse at the Energetikov House of Culture on Raushskaya Embankment. Where Namin went to listen to Sokolov, Melomanov and other first Russian rock bands. In the same place, even before "Flowers", Namin performed with the "Politburo" - A. Sikorsky and other musicians. There, in the Palace of Culture Energetikov, on the initiative of Namin, she began to rehearse the "Time Machine". It was very convenient for both Namin and Makarevich geographically, since they lived and studied in the same area, and rehearsed before the Energetikov Palace of Culture in the House on the Embankment, where some musicians from both groups lived.

Once, during the performance of "Flowers" at the Moscow State University club on Herzen Street (now Bolshaya Nikitskaya), traffic had to be blocked due to a huge crowd of fans. Then for the first time the name of "Flowers" appeared in the "black" list of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR, which reached this scandalous case.

An experiment with a brass band (with wind instruments). Already at Moscow State University, when only Alexander Losev, Stas Namin and Vladimir Chugreev remained in the group, and Alik Mikoyan, Stas's brother, who had previously played in the Politburo, sometimes joined them. Stas invited the pianist Igor Saulsky, who had previously played in the Skomorokhi group and then in The Time Machine and in Flowers, to play keyboards.

In 1971, Stas decided to try to include the "copper section" in the "Flowers". He invited his friend from the Suvorov Music School, trumpeter Alexander Chinenkov, trombonist Vladimir Nilov, and saxophonist Vladimir Okolsdaev. So the group performed in the 8th dining room of Moscow State University and at other rock evenings. This was the third line-up of the group.

Then Igor Saulsky invited Stas to take on another saxophonist - jazz musician Alexei Kozlov. Stas did not like jazz then, but Igor told him that Kozlov dreamed of playing rock and would help arrange the brass band, and Stas agreed. Kozlov began rehearsing with "Flowers" at the Energetikov Palace of Culture. Then the younger Zasedatelev came to the drums (his older brother was also a famous drummer). The repertoire of "Flowers" then included songs by the bands Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. So the group performed for some time at jam sessions. The last performance of the group in this composition was at the House of Architects, after which Namin decided to leave "Flowers" in a small composition and play classic rock three together. Then he invited Yuri Fokin to the drums, and Kozlov decided to make his own ensemble. Kozlov first thought to name the ensemble - "Elite", and then the name "Arsenal" appeared, where the remaining musicians of that composition of "Flowers" went to work.

Stas Namin was an adherent of the music of Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Losev gravitated more towards the stage like Tom Jones and the Carpenders, and under the influence of Namin began listening to Deep Purple, Chicago, Pink Floyd and other rock music, and the arrival of Fokine, an ardent Led Zeppelin fan, made the band even more rocky.

Student competition in Luzhniki... Once, speaking on behalf of the University at the Moscow Student Festival at the Luzhniki Sports Palace, Flowers performed a composition by Jimi Hendrix, presenting it as a song of the struggle of the Negro people for freedom. And the title of the song “Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire” was translated by Stas into Russian as “Let me stand next to the fire of your struggle”. During the performance, there was such a stir in the public that the equipment was turned off for the group. “We saw this for the first time and were just scared,” later recalled Sinilkina, director of the Luzhniki Sports Palace. Nevertheless, “Flowers” ​​became one of the laureates of the festival and received the right, together with the “Linnik” trio (Moscow State University) and the “Lingua” ensemble (Inyaz), to release small flexible records at the “Melodia” company.

Recording the first disc. Namin took this unique opportunity very seriously and especially for these recordings invited his friend, pianist and composer Sergei Dyachkov, who has a musical education, and, on his advice, Vladimir Semyonov, who helped prepare professional arrangements for the recording. Stas said that, like the Beatles, they should have their own George Martin. For the first disc, Namin selected three songs, which, in his opinion, for all their tradition, allowed the group to arrange and perform them, demonstrating the school of rock music that was not familiar to the official stage. These were the songs "My little star is clear", "Flowers have eyes" and "Do not." The recording was attended by Stas Namin (lead guitar), Alexander Losev (bass guitar, vocals), Yuri Fokin (drums), Sergei Dyachkov (keyboards, vocals), Vladimir Semenov (acoustic guitar), Alexander Slizunov (keyboards), female trio Mira Korobkova and A. Aleshin (backing vocals). The Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yuri Silantyev also took part in the recordings; among the musicians recruited for this recording in the orchestra was the still unknown violist Yuri Bashmet. As he recalls today, at that time he had just arrived from Lviv, in the past he himself was a rock guitarist.

1979 A. Fedorov, A. Sapunov, S. Namin, M. Fainzilberg, V. Zhivetyev, V. Vasiliev

The recording took place at the Melodiya studio on a four-channel tape recorder, on a stereo, practically with one sound overlay and internal information. First, the entire instrumental part was recorded on two channels without the possibility of any balance corrections - simultaneously drums, bass, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, all strings, backing vocals, etc. ... In vocals, it was possible to record many takes, and this saved the song "My little star", as I had to make many variations, from which they were then glued together according to individual words and sometimes even according to the sounds that ended up on the disc. Losev did not understand how important it was for the group to release a record on "Melodia": it was for the evening of the recording that they got tickets for a hockey match between the USSR and Canada, and he called Stas and said that he could not come to the studio. It was only under pressure and persuasion from Namin that he appeared, assuming that he would quickly get off and leave, but having no studio recording experience and thinking only about the hockey he had missed, he could not write down a single complete phrase, cried and asked to let him go to the match. Dyachkov gave him cognac to drink, warming up his throat and forcing him to sing as many versions as possible, from which then something worthy could be assembled. As a result, more than 50 vocal takes were recorded, of which the original was then literally glued together by syllables. Losev then could not have imagined that "Zvezdochka" would become not only a super-hit, but also the main song in his life, and, perhaps, his main achievement. In concerts, Losev could not sing "Zvezdochka" in the original - recorded key and it was always lowered for him to the tone.

When the instrumental phonogram of the song "Don't be" was being recorded for the first disc, sound engineer Alexander Shtilman unexpectedly, when the lead guitar started playing, stopped the recording of the entire orchestra and asked to remove the distortion of the sound on the guitar. Stas did not even understand what kind of distortions he was talking about, since he had been preparing this sound of his homemade guitar fuzz for recording for several months and was very proud of it. We managed to defend the "distortions", and they can still be heard in old recordings. It was a historical fact, when for the first time a guitar with the "FUZZ" effect was recorded at the Melodiya company. It also took a long time to persuade the sound engineer to put a separate microphone on the kick drum, since nobody had written rhythmic accompaniment with snare and kick drum drawings on Melodiya before in the style of Led Zeppelin.
In the summer of 1972, immediately after the recording of Flowers, we went to rest in the Crimea in the student camp of Moscow State University, where the Time Machine, Alexander Gradsky, Sergey Grachev, a group from Moscow State University “Mosaika” and other popular student groups then came. There, everyone drank a lot of young home-made Crimean wine, walked and played dances. In September of the same 1972, the first flexible disc of "Flowers" was released, and Namin and Fokin, returning from the sea, went straight to the phonograph record plant at the "River Station" in order to pick it up as soon as possible. It was difficult to imagine that the group had released its own disc, and even more so with such a design - there should have been a photo on the cover where Yura and Stas had hair below their shoulders! Imagine their surprise when, having begged for the disc from the workers of the plant, they saw that their hair was "cut" by a retoucher. But happiness still knew no bounds. When the disc appeared in stores, it suddenly sold 7 million copies and sounded almost from all windows of the country. Nevertheless, "Flowers" continued to lead the semi-underground existence of a student amateur group. Having already become popular, her style and manner of performance were still not recognized by the media, and she performed, as before, only at student evenings.

The first tour, the ban of the name and the disintegration of the group

In 1974, Namin decided to try professional concert activity at the Moscow Regional Philharmonic. In this regard, he additionally invited pianist Alexander Slizunov, who participated in the first recordings of the group, and guitarist Konstantin Nikolsky, his friend from institute rock parties, to the group. Nikolsky not only played the guitar very musically, but also wrote songs. His talent was very close to the style that Namin cultivated in "Flowers" and he and Losev, being the same height, not only looked good, but sang together. Alexander Slizunov - the only professionally literate in music, graduated from the State Moscow Conservatory. He also wrote songs and arrangements. The forced compromise in the manner of performance, which the group made in the recordings, was more than compensated for by the real rock and roll drive in the "live" concerts of "Flowers".

The Philharmonic made a lot of money on "Flowers", organizing tours of three concerts a day at stadiums and sports palaces. In these tours, apart from Alexander Losev, the soloists of "Flowers" were also Sergei Grachev, Konstantin Nikolsky and Alexander Slizunov. Because of the overwhelming work that made any creativity impossible, a conflict began between the musicians and the administration of the Philharmonic. Losev made an agreement with the administrator Mark Krasovitsky and at the general meeting unexpectedly spoke out against the whole group on the side of the Philharmonic. As a result, Namin, Nikolsky and Slizunov were fired, and the Philharmonic, using state status, tried to retain the name and for some time, using Losev as a soloist and recruiting new musicians, exploited the promoted name and continued the tour schedule of 3-4 concerts in day. But the innovation and free spirit of the first recordings of "Flowers" did not keep waiting long. The Ministry of Culture banned both the group and the very name "Flowers" as "propaganda of Western ideology and hippie ideas." After the breakup of the group, the musicians of "Flowers" were depressed by what had happened. It was then that Konstantin Nikolsky wrote his songs "I myself am one of those who hid behind the door" and "Musician". Alexander Slizunov was taken to the army, and Stas Namin concentrated on his studies at Moscow State University.

Restoration of the group under a new name (1976-1980)
Recordings and tours of the Stas Namin Group
First appearance in the media and solo album "Hymn to the Sun"

After a while, Stas Namin tried to start a new project with his friends - the Udachnoye Acquisition group: bass guitar - Vladimir Matetskiy; lead guitar - Alexey Belov (White); drums - Mikhail Sokolov; rhythm guitar and harmonica - Alexander Mikoyan. Under the name "Stas Namin's Group" in 1975 and 1976 they performed at rock festivals in Tallinn and Gorky. At the same time, Namin tried to organize recordings of the group with a new name. In 1977, the song "Old Grand Piano" became the first recorded song of the new group, which was organized in the studio of the House of Sound Recording on Kachalova Street. The song was recorded by the collective staff together: the musicians of "Flowers" - Konstantin Nikolsky, Alexander Slizunov and Stas Namin, and the musicians of the "Successful acquisition".

Only in 1977, Namin managed to completely restore the group and, not having the right to the name "Flowers", they began to work under the name "Stas Namin's Group" as an amateur group, as if starting from scratch. The group entered in 1978, from the previous composition of "Flowers": Stas Namin (lead guitar), Alexander Slizunov (piano, vocals), Konstantin Nikolsky (guitar, vocals), Yuri Fokin (drums), joined them at the invitation of Namin Vladimir Sakharov (bass guitar, vocals), who in the 60s played in the "Melomanes" - the former "Falcon" and has since been friends with Stas, and Alexander Mikoyan (guitar, vocals) - Stas's cousin, who since the beginning of the 60s -x together he began to play rock and roll. The group began touring professionally. Losev, after what happened, of course, was not taken to the group. By hook or by crook, with the help of Namin's co-author, the famous poet Vladimir Kharitonov, who was a member of the artistic council of the Melodiya firm, Stas Namin's Group, already under a new name, manages to release several hits (Old Piano and Ah, Mom - in 1977 year, "It's early to say goodbye" and "Wheels are knocking" - in 1978, "Summer Evening" - in 1979) and she again gained its former popularity.

Group "FLOWERS", 1999

At that time, in addition to the main line-up, many session musicians went on tour with the group, who could replace each other. In addition, excellent jazz musicians invited by Namin to the group constantly took part in the recordings and concerts of those years: Vladimir Vasilkov (drums) - a unique Russian drummer, Alexander Pishchikov - then the best in the country, and one of the best saxophonists in the world, Arzu Guseinov - one from the best trumpeters of the country, as well as: Valery Zhivetyev (vocals), Kamil Bekseleev (vocals), Vladislav Petrovsky (keyboardist and arranger from St. Petersburg) and Mira Korobkova's trio and others. After 1978, Yuri Fokin, Vladimir Sakharov, Sergei Dyachkov (who was always with the group, although he did not play in it), emigrated and Namin invited new musicians to the group: young vocalist and guitarist Igor Sarukhanov, St. Petersburg vocalist and bass guitarist Vladimir Vasiliev and drummer Mikhail Fainzilberg.

2001 30 years of "Flowers" V. Meladze, S. Namin, A. Losev, O. Predtechensky. "My clear star"

2001 Concert of the 30th anniversary of "Flowers" S. Namin, N. Noskov, A. Gradsky, A. Romanov. "I only love rock and roll"

2001 Concert of the 30th anniversary of "Flowers" A. Abdulov, A. Romanov, S. Namin, S. Soloviev. "We wish you happiness"

2003 Germany, Formula Ethno project

2004 New York. Knitting Factory Club

After a 10-year ban, the official doors and the media seemed to have begun to open for Flowers, and, under pressure from their already international popularity and many invitations from different countries, the authorities even agreed to release them to Poland for a festival in Sopot, but only as an accompaniment little-known Baltic singer Mirze Zivere. In 1980, Stas Namin's group "Flowers" managed to release their first solo album "Hymn to the Sun", which included hits "After the Rain", "Tell Me Yes", "Heroic Power", "Rush Hour", "Dedication to the Beatles", "Bach Creates" and others. The recordings were attended by: Stas Namin, Alexander Slizunov, Igor Sarukhanov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Mikhail Fainzilberg, Alexander Fedorov (vocals), Alexander Pishchikov (saxophone). At the same time, the group took part in the filming of the feature film "Fantasy on the Theme of Love" and in the cultural program of the 1980 Olympics, thanks to which it was shown on television for the first time.

Taking advantage of the “warming”, immediately after the disc “Hymn to the Sun” the group recorded two more albums at the “Melodiya” company - as an experiment in other genres that were not similar to the style of “Flowers”. The first one is dance "Reggae, disco, rock", all the music for which Namin wrote in just a week, and the recording took only two weeks. Texts and arrangements were finalized and thought up right in the studio. The second is "A Surprise for Monsieur Legrand" in French in the style of symphonic jazz, arranged by Vladimir Belousov at the invitation of Namin. At the same time, Namin gradually began to restore the name "Flowers", placing it in small print next to the already promoted name "Stas Namin's Group".

In 1980, after an apology and requests from Losev, Namin agrees to take him back to the group for a trial period. At first, in concerts, Losev goes on stage only for 2-3 songs. For 5 years, until he worked in the ensemble, "Flowers" recorded many new hits, which were sung by other soloists of the group: "Old Piano", "Early to Say Goodbye", "Summer Evening", "After the Rain", "Heroic Power", "Hymn to the Sun" and others. Losev's arrival fell right on the "thaw", and "Flowers" first began to be shown on TV. Namin put Losev in the foreground, as a soloist, although he was filming, opening his mouth to the soundtracks recorded by other soloists: Vladimir Vasiliev, Alexander Fedorov, Igor Sarukhanov, Konstantin Nikolsky, Alexander Slizunov, etc. Therefore, the audience created a false impression, that the main soloist of "Flowers" was Losev. This was one of the myths that are so common in show business.

New problems with the authorities (1981-1985)

In 1981, the line-up changed again. Vasiliev, Sarukhanov, Slizunov and Fainzilberg created their own group "Circle". Vladislav Petrovsky (keys), Yuri Gorkov (bass guitar), Nikita Zaitsev (guitar and violin), Sergei Dyuzhikov (guitar, vocals) and Alexander Kryukov (drums) played in the Stas Namin Group. Namin also recruited Alexander Losev (bass guitar, vocals). Stas Namin's group "Flowers" performed at the festival in Yerevan and at the end of the concert brought the audience. Time magazine published a good article about Flowers, and the group was again officially accused of "undermining the country's ideological foundations." Both the festival and the performance of "Flowers" became another target of the authorities. During this period, the pressure increased especially, the group was again forbidden to give concerts in big cities; and the prosecutor's office of the RSFSR began to follow her every step, investigating where "Flowers" got equipment and tools, and not concealing the purpose of opening a criminal case. These were difficult times for the musicians, and therefore the line-up of the group changed frequently.
In 1974, after the second single, sold by Melodiya in an even larger circulation, Flowers, having confirmed their unique style, consolidated their already legendary popularity.

The first recordings of Flowers in the 1970s, including the album Hymn to the Sun, both in style and performance compared to the music they loved and played, were naturally a compromise that the band had to make in order to the recordings were censored by the artistic council. At that time, the style of patriotic Soviet song dominated the Soviet stage. Therefore, even those seemingly innocent romantic songs of "Flowers" sounded then as innovation. They were so different from the Soviet standard that existed in those years that they were immediately banned in all central Soviet media. But then, in the early 1970s, even two small discs released by Melodiya were enough for Flowers to gain immense popularity throughout the country without any additional advertising. They were called "Soviet Beatles", legends were made about them, and their songs sounded everywhere.

"Flowers" became one of the first groups to bring an element of rock music to the Soviet stage, and it was with them that the entire domestic non-format began in the country's mass pop culture. We can say that their songs became the forerunners of Russian pop and rock music. Several generations of fans and future musicians were brought up on them.

After another problems with the authorities in the early 80s, having lost all hopes for a normal life and work, Namin decided not to look for compromises anymore, and new songs written by him with serious social verses appeared in the group's repertoire: "Nostalgia for the present" (A. Voznesensky), “Idol” and “I don’t give up” (E. Evtushenko), “Empty nut” (Yu. Kuznetsov), “One night” (D. Samoilov) and others. These were no longer naive romantic songs with a soft sound, as before, and in 1983 the media and even the Melodiya company again closed for Tsvetov.

2005 St. Petersburg, Sports Palace SCC

2006 Tour in China. Han Zhou

2006 South Korea. Seoul main square. With the Moscow Symphony Orchestra

2007 The festival "Legends of Russian Rock" "Scythians", "Falcon", "Flowers", "Time Machine".

In 1983, Flowers shot the first video clip in the USSR for the song "Old New Year" (lyrics by A. Voznesensky) with an openly political overtones. The clip did not even reach the artistic council and first hit the air only in 1986 in the USA on MTV.

Even Namin's definitely positive song "We wish you happiness", written in 1982 and, as it were, ending the romantic period of the seventies, was banned in the media until 1984-1985. Only with the help of Alexandra Pakhmutova did she appear on television. In the early 80s, Stas Namin's "Flowers" group once again replenished with musicians: Yuri Gorkov, Alexander Malinin, Yan Yanenkov, Alexander Marshal, Sergei Grigoryan, Alexander Kryukov and others. And also from time to time many other musicians played in "Flowers". During the Festival of Youth and Students, despite the ban of the Ministry of Culture, Stas Namin's Group managed to perform several times and illegally, under the guise of songs of Soviet composers, record its new double album with the participation of friends from the festival - foreign musicians. The reaction of the authorities was the decision of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture, in which "Flowers" were accused of "propaganda of the Pentagon" and "unauthorized contacts with foreigners." The album was banned in the USSR and only in 1986 was released in a limited edition exclusively for export at the request of the UN.

The beginning of a free life (1986-1989)
World tour and stop for 10 years

Apart from several trips to socialist countries with performances for Soviet troops, when, in fact, musicians were not allowed to leave the military garrisons, then we can say that for the first time the "Flowers" group went abroad in 1985. It was a five-day trip to West Germany, which accidentally took place through the Friendship Society (SOD) at a time when the leadership of the Ministry of Culture was away.

But the real foreign tour of "Flowers" began in 1986. This was the very beginning of perestroika. The Stas Namin Group became the first Soviet rock group, which, after a six-month scandal with the Ministry of Culture and the Central Committee of the party, and only thanks to the trends of modern times associated with Mikhail Gorbachev's coming to power, was able to go on a 45-day tour of the United States and Canada. Advertising of the concerts of Stas Namin's group in the USA was organized at a serious national level in the major media, and the scandal with the cancellation of the tour could have a bad effect on the image of the beginning of perestroika.

In addition to participating in the musical "Peace Child", the group gave a series of recitals for American audiences in the most prestigious rock audiences in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Seattle, Washington and other cities in America and Canada. There were also jam sessions and meetings with Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel, Keny Loginis, Paul Stanley and many other legendary musicians.

This trip opened a new life for the Stas Namin Group. The group immediately after the United States was able to fly to Japan at the invitation of Peter Gabriel to the Japan Aid 1st rock festival. Then for several years the group toured Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Australia, South and North America and many other countries.

2009 London. At the gates of Abbey Road Studios. O. Predtechensky, V. Diorditsa, A. Gretsinin, A. Aslamazov, Yu. Vilnin, S. Namin

In 1989, after the end of his world tour, Stas Namin officially stopped the activities of the "Flowers" group. The Tsvetov musicians started working on their own solo projects. Sergey Voronov founded the Crossroads group, Alexander Solich became one of the founders of the Moral Code, Nikolai Arutyunov - the Blues League, and Malinin gathered his own ensemble and became a soloist. Losev was unable to create his own ensemble and repertoire himself, as other musicians did and, leaving music, went to work in a car repair workshop. In 1993, Namin decided to help Losev create his own ensemble, invited the pianist and arranger Vladislav Petrovsky, who had previously played in Tsveta, as musical director, and he and Losev invited various session musicians to the group. Namin gave Losev and his ensemble the opportunity to rehearse and record at his Center. He also made it possible for Losev and Petrovsky to use at first the name "Flowers" and the well-known repertoire. Namin also advertised Losev's ensemble in the media, presenting it as "Flowers", since this was the only way for Losev to stay in the profession and earn money. But he did not deal with the creative issues of the ensemble and did not produce it, like his ensemble "Flowers". Later Losev began performing under the name "Alexander Losev and the old composition of the Flowers group", although from the composition of "Flowers" there was only him and Vladislav Petrovsky. Despite this, Namin did not forbid Losev to use the name "Flowers" and even encouraged it, knowing his difficult situation and poor health.

In 1987, on the basis of musicians who also worked in "Flowers" (A. Yanenkov, A. Marshal, A. Belov, A. Lvov), Stas Namin created and by 1989 promoted the group "Gorky Park" all over the world.
The group "Flowers" actually did not exist for ten years (from 1989 to 1999), except for several projects for which Namin collected some musicians from "Flowers" and supplemented them with session ones. One of such projects was the action "Vote or Lose" in 1996, in which only three musicians from the former "Flowers" took part: Alexander Losev, Vladislav Petrovsky and Sergey Latyntsov, and the rest were session musicians from the Losev ensemble.

After a ten year hiatus (1999-2009)

In 1999, Stas Namin gathered the group again. Considering that the group had never had a permanent line-up before, this time, on the new branch of Flowers' life, Namin decided to immediately assemble such a line-up that would not change anymore and could together create a repertoire, arrangements and develop. First, Stas invited Valery Diordits, a vocalist, keyboardist and arranger, who played in the Formula group, to the group. Valery's unique voice and musicality delighted everyone who heard him. Then the guitarist Yuri Vilnin came to the group. This is a rare musician who, in addition to high technique, has a rare ability not to play unnecessary notes. Knowing different musical directions, he was especially distinguished by a special sound, playing modern rock. Bass guitarist Alexander Gretsinin was the third person invited by Namin to join the band. As a professional musician of the highest class, Gretsinin knows how to play any kind of music, but his style in rock exactly suited "Flowers". In addition, Sasha sang well. Despite the fact that Diorditsa was the undoubted leader-vocalist, Namin wanted another leader-vocalist in the group, who would be more similar in style to the early "Flowers". Once a friend of Stas, Platon Lebedev, having arrived from Samara, said that he had seen an amazing vocalist there. But Stas did not believe him, and said that as a non-professional he fell under an emotional impression. Then Plato suggested that he would bring him to Moscow to show Stas, and a week later Oleg Predtechensky appeared at Stas Namin's theater. It turned out that Plato was right and the Forerunner immediately surprised everyone with his unique vocal abilities and, at the same time, human qualities - good breeding and nobility, which are undoubtedly important for a soloist. "Flowers" "Flowers" worked in the Moscow Theater of Music and Drama, created by Stas Namin in the same 1999, participated in the creation of the musical "Hair", the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" and other performances. Both Predtechensky and Diorditsa not only played in the group, but also performed the leading vocal parts. Alan Aslamazov was the last to join the group - he is an excellent pianist, saxophonist and arranger. Thus, in "Flowers", as in the Beatles, there were three vocal leaders - Oleg Predtechensky, Valery Diorditsa and Alexander Gretsinin, and Alan and Yura helped them with backing vocals. "Flowers" celebrated their thirtieth anniversary with a big concert, in which many musicians who had previously worked in the group and friends - stars of Russian rock music - took part. But even after this concert, they did not return to show business. In Russia, the group gave only rare exclusive concerts, mainly touring abroad: Sweden, Israel, Great Britain, USA, Germany, China, South Korea, etc.

Flowers - anniversary concert of the group and recordings in the 40th anniversary of the group (2009-2010)

In the summer of 2009, for its 40th anniversary, "Flowers" recorded all their famous songs, created between 1969 and 1982, at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London. If in the 70s, under pressure from the authorities, "Flowers" were forced to record sporadically in different studios, at different times, with different compositions, today the group, as if restoring historical justice, recorded all their hits at one time with one composition on one , and at the same time the best studio in the world. The recordings also featured musicians who participated in the original recordings of the 70s.

The double album "Back to the USSR" included 24 songs that really bring the fans of the group back to their youth, in the 70s and 80s.

In 2010, a new album, "Open Your Window", was recorded - the group's first serious work of authorship in 30 years after the album "Hymn to the Sun", released in 1980. The new album includes 17 songs, most of which were created in the 80s and remained unrecorded and unreleased due to prohibitions. From these songs one can imagine what “Flowers” ​​would have been like in the 80s, if not for the censorship of the Soviet regime. The album also contains two previously unreleased songs by Sergei Dyachkov, the author of "Honestly," "Don't," and others, and a Russian folk song from the repertoire of Fyodor Chaliapin "The sun rises and sets." The album also includes two completely new compositions of the group: "Anthem to the Heroes of Our Time" and the song "Open Your Window", which gave the name to the album.

The lyrical basis of the album is the poems of the sixties poets Yevgeny Yevtushenko, David Samoilov, Nikolai Rubtsov, Bulat Okudzhava, Andrey Bitov and others, and the musical basis is classical melodic rock, which Flowers have been practicing for over 40 years.

If the album "Back to the USSR" summed up the first period of the group's creativity, collecting all the famous and unreleased songs written in the 70s, or rather from 1969 to 1982, then "Open Your Window" is the next period, which began in the mid-80s and continues to this day. In the repertoire of today's "Flowers" there are lyrical songs, both social and philosophical, recorded with the sound of modern world rock and roll of the XXI century, and with a drive that censorship never missed before, and which few people expect from "Flowers", knowing them only from early, censored records.

In the album "Open Your Window" "Flowers" do not change their chosen style from the very beginning - bright melodies, poetic texts, complex polyphonic arrangements and high professionalism of performance. Created by Peter Gabriel, the worldwide society of sound Society of Sound has exclusively selected this album for its VIP-clients as the most interesting work of the year and included it in their catalog.

In the same 2010, on March 6, in Moscow, in the new 6,000-seat Crocus City Hall, a large anniversary concert was held in honor of the 40th anniversary of the group, which was traditionally attended by musicians who had previously worked in the group, as well as guests - famous rock and pop stars such as: Y. Shevchuk, A. Makarevich, G. Sukachev, N. Noskov, L. Gurchenko, A. Marshal, D. Revyakin, Y. Chicherina, E. Khavtan and others. DVD and CD were released concert.

In this concert, the group managed to do what, for various reasons, did not work out in previous years. The concert, as it were, summed up the group's forty years of work, presenting all the famous songs of "Flowers" in a standard performance the way fans were used to listening to them even on recordings in the 1970s. For the musicians themselves, the “Flowers-40” concert, in a sense, drew a line under that classic restrained style established by the early BEATLES, and under the image in which they were used to perceive all these years.

The first in forty years a joint concert of the groups "Flowers" and "Time Machine" in the Green Theater of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after Gorky

Stas Namin's recital at the House of Music. Group "Flowers" and actors of the troupe of the Moscow Theater of Music and Drama of Stas Namin

The final of the jubilee concert 40th anniversary of the group. The Flowers group, the Moscow Soloists chamber orchestra conducted by Yuri Bashmet, the Children's Variety Theater choir, the Moscow Music and Drama Theater soloist ensemble Stas Namin and Russian pop and rock stars

Flowers today

In 2012, Flowers played their second concert at Crocus City Hall, where they presented their new modern repertoire. These were not the same "Flowers" to which everyone was accustomed. As if freed from their image that had developed in the 1970s, they immediately jumped to the present day. Their new songs and style differ from the early 70s songs as much as the first BEATLES songs differ from their latest albums.
The DVD, Blu-ray and CD of the three-hour concert consists of two parts, released on different discs as different concerts:
- the album HOMO SAPIENS ("Homo sapiens") included an instrumental introduction and 12 new songs presented as a rock show with its own internal drama, supported by a video installation.
- the album FLOWER POWER ("The Power of Flowers") included 13 songs - modern remakes of the famous hits of the group and new songs that "Flowers" performed together with their friends and guests - the best musicians of the country.

In 2014, on its 45th anniversary, the "Flowers" group played a concert in the Moscow Arena hall for 4000 seats, where, in addition to the already well-known repertoire, they sang a cycle of songs "Politinformation" related to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

In the spring of 2016, Stas Namin with the "Flowers" group began recording a double album of 20 songs. The stars of world rock music take part in the recording of the album: Kenny Aronoff (drums), Marco Mendoza (bass guitar, vocals), etc. This is a rare case when Western musicians perform Russian songs. The album is slated to be released by the band's 50th anniversary (late 2018 - early 2019).

On April 28, 2017, Flowers were invited as special guests after the premiere of Free to Rock and performed at the legendary Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Kenny Aronoff, Marco Mendoza took part in the concert together with Flowers.

FLOWER POWER poster.

Concert of the group "Flowers" at the Grammy Museum, LA

Group "Flowers" at the premiere of the film "Free to Rock". Grammy Museum, LA

Artistic director Stas Namin I am ready to argue with the whole world. I am ready to swear with my head That there are eyes of all colors. And they look at you and me. The popular legendary Moscow pop - rock group "Flowers" was created by the young musician Stas Namin in October 1969. Stas Namin / Anastas Alekseevich Mikoyan / was born on November 8, 1951 in Moscow - guitarist, composer, producer, manager. In his youth, when our country was shaken by the boom of Beatlemania, Stas studied at the Suvorov School / 1961-69 /, took lessons in playing the classical guitar and piano. Before creating his brainchild - VIA "Flowers", he played in youth amateur groups: the rock trio "Charodey" / 1964 /, the group "Politburo" / 1967 / and the student group "Bliki" / 1969 /. At the end of 1969, Stas gathers a new group of musicians consisting of: Stas Namin - lead guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Vladimir Chugreev - percussion instruments, Elena Kovalevskaya - soloist of the group. Earlier in the group worked musician A. Malashenkov - bass guitar. In parallel with this, Stas studied at the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages ​​named after Maurice Torez, later at the Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov at the Faculty of Philology. The musicians are working on their repertoire, actively rehearsing, playing on dance floors on the professional instruments of one of the first Moscow ensembles - VIA "Moskvichi". On December 29, the musicians give their first concert. At the beginning of 1970 the group was joined by the musician of the ex-group "Red Devils" Alexander Solovyov - keyboard instruments. In fact, since that time, the foundation has been laid for the creation and creation of a professional team on the national stage. The musicians play guitar improvisations from the repertoire of Jimi Hendrix and other foreign authors, after which they work in the style of jazz - rock. In the fall of 1971, the group, instead of the departed musicians, is temporarily replenished with musicians: Igor Saulsky - keyboards, Alexey Kozlov - alto saxophone, Vladimir Okolsdaev - tenor saxophone, Alexander Chinenkov - trumpet, percussion, Vladimir Nilov - trombone, Vladimir Zasedatelev - drums instruments. The base and numerous rehearsals of the group took place in the Palace of Culture Energetikov. The legendary group, with its own repertoire, performs a lot in front of Moscow youth at recreation evenings in educational institutions and Palaces of Culture. Over time, almost all musicians leave the group and create a jazz ensemble "Arsenal". At this time, the group consists of musicians: Stas Namin - lead guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Yuri Fokin - / ex-group "Skomorokhi" / - percussion instruments. In 1972, the musicians successfully performed on behalf of the Lomonosov Moscow State University at the student amateur festival on the stage of the Moscow Luzhniki Sports Palace. At this time, Stas Namin meets the popular Moscow composer Sergei Dyachkov, whose songs: "Alyoshka's Love" / O. Hajikasimov /, "School Ball" / P. Leonidov /, "Words" / O. invites him to write a number of songs for his group. To implement this project, Sergei Dyachkov invites his friend, one of the first leaders - guitarists of our country, a member of VIA "Korobeiniki" Vladimir Semyonov. Sergei Dyachkov recalled: “We sat down with Volodya, wrote something, tried. It seems to have worked out. Although half of what we wrote in the scores is not heard on the recording. Firstly, the equipment then was not as good as it is now, and, secondly, not everything was played. The recording time was limited. " So, thanks to their cooperation and the organizational activity of Stas Namin, songs - hits appear in the spring, both on the national stage, and in the history of the vocal-instrumental movement in our country. Two musicians - composers Sergei Dyachkov and Vladimir Semyonov, together with the musicians of the "Flowers" group, have created truly brilliant masterpieces of the Soviet stage! The following artists also took part in the recording of these songs: Vladimir Sakharov - bass guitar, Alexander Slizunov - harpsichord, singer Anatoly Alyoshin - backing vocals, later the soloist of VIA "Merry Guys", the rock group "Araks" and others, as well as vocal the group of Mira Korobkova singer: Olga Danilovich, Tatyana Vorontsova and Nina Palitsyna. The symphony orchestra conducted by Yuri Silantyev and the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra also took part in the recording of these songs. Sergei Dyachkov recalled his collaboration with Vladimir Semyonov when recording songs at the studio of the All-Union Record Company “Melodiya”: “We did a lot of songs with him. We sat and looked for some kind of image. We didn't do it for the money. The money came anyway. And we did it from the heart. We worked purely creatively. " These songs, keeping the traditions of urban romance, included elements of lyrical rock, which was an innovation on our stage. Indeed, the bouquet of all these songs has become a visiting card for all times of Stas Namin's group "Flowers". At the end of the year, the first flexible phonograph records are released at the Melodiya All-Union Records Company - minions with these songs are sold in millions of copies. The songs were recorded on the minions: "No need" / S. Dyachkov - O. Hajikasimov /, "Flowers have eyes" / O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky /, "My clear star" / V. Semenov - O. Fokina /. I bought this record in the summer of 1973 at the Soyuzpechat stall in the town of Popasnaya, Voroshilovgrad, now the Luhansk region in Ukraine, together with the record of the already well-known Moscow VIA. After listening to the songs, of course, I gave preference to VIA "Flowers", like my childhood friends. We were very impressed by the words of songs with a philosophical meaning and arrangement of songs, this has never happened in our country. VIA "Flowers" has become one of my favorite ensembles at all times. And I was very happy and glad, many years later, to receive autographs of the masters of the Soviet stage, composers Sergei Dyachkov and Vladimir Semyonov! This year on the All-Union Radio the song "Flowers have eyes" / O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky / was included in the popular music program of Viktor Tatarsky "At all latitudes". At the “Melodiya” company the song “No need” / S. Dyachkov - O. Hajikasimov / was included in the series of disc-grandees “To everyone who loves a song”. In 1974, another star minion came out with songs: "Honestly" / S. Dyachkov - M. Nozhkin /, "You and me" / A. Losev - S. Namin /, "More life" / V. Semyonov - L. Derbenev /, "Lullaby" / O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by J. Kozlovsky /. Basically, all the songs were recorded by the singer Alexander Losev, and the song "Honestly" was performed by Sergei Dyachkov. The classical female vocalization sounds very beautiful against the background of rock music in the song "You and Me" / A. Losev - S. Namin /. The recording of these songs was also attended by the Lviv musician - violist Yuri Bashmet, later - a world-famous musician. I note that Vladimir Semyonov was inspired by the melody to the song "More Life" at the beginning of Olga Fokina's poems about birch, but with the assistance of Sergei Dyachkov, with this melody to Leonid Derbenev, the poet wrote a different lyrics to this music. The same case happened with the song "Farewell" by the composer Vyacheslav Dobrynin, which was first performed by VIA "Leisya, Song". I was also lucky to get this record in a store in the city of Kommunarsk, now Alchevsk. The songs from this minion only reinforced my good attitude to the creativity of the "Flowers" ensemble. Only on the eve of their arrival with a concert in the city of Kadievka, now Stakhanov, I could not get to their concert because of my call for military service in the USSR Armed Forces. This year on the All-Union Radio the song "Lullaby" / O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky / was included in the popular music program of Viktor Tatarsky "At all latitudes". At the Melodiya company the song “Flowers have eyes” / O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky / is included in the giant disk “Melody-Concert”. The songs of the "Flowers" ensemble are sung by our whole country, they sound everywhere from the windows of houses, as well as in parks, recreation centers at rest evenings. Many musical groups and performers take these songs into their repertoire. The era of VIA "Flowers" is coming to our country. Numerous philharmonic societies give applications - invitations to concerts of the popular "Flowers" ensemble. In fact, these songs were recorded in the studio conditions of the "Melodia" company by many musicians of other groups, therefore Vladimir Semyonov and Sergey Dyachkov gather a group of professional musicians and begin their successful tour of our country from the Moscow Regional Philharmonic. VIA "Flowers" are on tour with: Vladimir Semyonov - artistic director, solo guitar, 12-string guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Sergei Dyachkov - musical director, keyboards, vocals, Yuri Fokin - percussion instruments.