History of Zhanna Aguzarova and the Bravo Group

Zhanna Aguzarova's character can be envied. A girl from the godforsaken village of Kolyvan came to Moscow and became a legend of the Russian underground in the 80s, the "queen of rock 'n' roll". But this was preceded by unsuccessful attempts to become a student at four music schools, a part-time course at a theatre school, studies at a construction vocational school, a mental hospital and a labour camp.

A magical light will shine,
And a star will fall,
When a Martian girl
Disappear without a trace.

Zhanna Aguzarova "The Martian"

Her star rose, shone for a long time, and then abruptly faded away. The Martian girl disappeared. Not without a trace. Aguzarova tried more than once to return to the musical Olympus, but without success. And then she began to live for herself.

"Bravo."

Zhanna found herself in Moscow in 1982. She was studying to be a house painter, but she spent almost all her time in the "bohemian" milieu, where she enjoyed singing. So far, only for acquaintances. It was from this period that Aguzarova's passion for eccentric outfits began.

In the capital, the future star lost her documents. At the Belorussky railway station she bought a passport of a Swedish citizen Ivan Anders. Specialists added the letters "n" and "a" to the document, pasted a photo, and Aguzarova became Ivanna Anders. That's how she introduced herself.

Zhanna tried to join Grigoryan's Crematorium, but was rejected. But luck smiled on her at an audition for the collective "Postscriptum". No, she did not become its vocalist. Jeanne just met Yevgeny Khavtan. He was just looking for musicians for his own Bravo project and was about to leave Postskriptum.

Khavtan offered Zhanna to become the lead singer of the group and the first recording made in 1983 created a furore. Successful tours of "Bravo" began in the Union, which soon knew by heart and sang "Yellow Shoes", "I Believe I", "Wonderful Country". During the same period Aguzarova became a student at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music School. She was unconditionally accepted to the... folk department. However, Aguzarova later said that it was here that she became a professional vocalist.

Nuthouse, forced labour, Pugacheva and emigration.

In 1984, during one of the police raids, the Bravo group was taken to the police station straight from a concert. And Zhanna is still living on a fake passport. Because of this, the singer finds herself in Butyr prison. But she did not stay there for long. According to legend, Zhanna demanded her immediate release, claiming that she was a citizen of Mars, for which she was sent to the Serbsky Institute.

But psychiatrists declared the "Martian" completely sane. And the "most humane court" sent her to one of Siberia's forestry farms for a year and a half. Zhanna honestly "worked" this term, after which she safely returned to Moscow. Khavtan immediately took Aguzarova back, and "Bravo" begins to actively perform and record. Lesopoval did not change the singer much. At least outwardly. She still sings in epathetic costumes, although she comes to record in decent clothes and with a minimum of make-up.

In 1986, Zhanna was first shown on TV as part of the programme "Musical Ring". Alla Pugacheva herself became the singer's "TV godmother". Appearance on Soviet screens was practically a legalisation of Bravo. After that programme, the musicians recorded at Melodiya. Later in 1990, the monopolistic studio will release Zhanna Aguzarova's famous solo album "Russian Album", which will be published with copyright infringement and reissued in 2003-2004. In the meantime, the band is going on a new mega-tour of the USSR...

And the country is already one step away from disaster. The concerts are getting fewer and fewer. The popularity of the band is plummeting. Zhanna leaves Bravo. She is accepted into the "Alla Pugacheva Theatre", but soon, after a loud scandal, the singer is kicked out.

In 1991 Aguzarova decides to seek happiness in the USA. She easily finds a job in the Los Angeles Russian restaurant "Black Sea", where she sings in the evenings for nostalgic emigrants. Her career as a restaurant singer lasts two years. But the success Zhanna has achieved in her homeland does not give her rest. She wants to repeat it in the USA. Aguzarova finishes DJ courses. However, it turns out that nobody needs her in this field.

Zhanna managed to record two albums with the help of producer Vasily Shumov. These records were hardly noticed by American music lovers. For a while Aguzarova worked as a shop assistant and taxi driver. And then she decided to return to Russia.

A return home, a brief success and a final retreat into the shadows

Aguzarova came to her homeland in 1992. Khavtan welcomes Zhanna back to Bravo. The group begins its triumphant return to the big stage with sold-out concerts in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Then repeats the success, travelling almost the whole CIS. And again Aguzarova leaves everything and goes to America. But her second attempt to gain a foothold in the "land of great opportunities" also proves to be a failure.

In 1996 Zhanna is again in Moscow. She performs as part of the election campaign of the first President of Russia, appears on ORT in "Old Songs about the Main 2". In 1998 she again tours with "Bravo". In 2001 she is enthusiastically welcomed by the visitors of the festival "Maxidrom". But these concerts become Aguzarova's last large-scale performances.

A conflict begins with Syutkin, who mentions in interviews about the singer's conflicts. Concert organisers are signing contracts with Aguzarova less and less often. This is facilitated by her behaviour: the singer disrupts performances, explaining that she flies home to Mars to gain strength. Eventually Zhanna disappeared. Only rare publications in the press and periodically reminded fans that she has not gone anywhere and occasionally gives concerts at small venues.

In 2015, Zhanna delighted the public with an appearance in "Evening Urgant". It turned out that she is still loved and remembered. The video of the programme on the network is popular even now.

Aguzarova continues to perform in clubs. According to rumours, the singer charges very decent sums for a concert, so she rarely pleases the public, preferring to live for herself and spend the money she earns on travelling.