Singer Yuri Antonov: biography, popular songs, influence and style

Weekdays Soviet pop looked very lively: this area of the music world was developing quite rapidly due to the great demand for film music and the number of artists who wanted to try out in this field. Nevertheless, only a few aspiring musicians and singers have managed to make an excellent and successful career out of pop singing.

Success was made up of several components: of the singer's imageIt was important for an entertainer to show his talent and, of course, his strategy of interaction with the audience. It was very important for an entertainer to show a close relationship with the audience. audience connection at every concert performance and be yourself at all times. An example of how one can build a career in this field and become a pop legend is the artistic path of Yuri Antonov. That is what this article will be about.

Soviet pop idol

Yuri Antonov's biography is musically quite unusual: he began his career as a folk musicianThen he became a choir director at the railway depot, which was his main employment at that time. Already as a student, Yuri did not give up his dream of performing on stage, and became one of the organisers of the "The Chorus". pop band. Young Antonov managed to feel the stage already then: with the group he performed in the Belarusian House of Culture.

After completing his studies at a music school, the future singer continued to develop in a field far removed from singing: he worked as a singer in the following fields instrumentalist. After serving in the army and taking part in various artistic activities, Antonov defined for himself exactly what he wanted to be. And soon he received an invitation to become keyboardist in the popular VIA "Singing Guitars". It was there that he first tried himself as a vocalist and even wrote a few songs. Yuri Antonov never retreated from these activities again.

Then I worked as a vocalist in a Moscow ensemble "Dobry Molodets." and several orchestras. But in the late 1970s Antonov departed from the usual co-operation with traditional VIAs and switched to the the rock band Araxwith whom he recorded several songs. It was the alliance with rockers that brought Yuri fame throughout the USSR, although until the 80s he was considered an ordinary ordinary vocalist with a few interesting compositions. Antonov created, one could say, a supergroup for concert activities "Airbus."which included the already renowned Sergei Kavagoe and Yevgeny Margulis and other famous musicians.

His songs were played at all discos - let's remember the most popular ones

In the post-Soviet era, Antonov stopped releasing new songs. Now he occasionally performs at festivals like Slavyanskiy Bazaar, performing his old hits.

"The sea."

In 1981, Yuri Antonov acted as a composer for a two-part film "Take care of the women." about the secret sea adventures of a journalist. One of the songs loved by the audience was the composition "Sea", the title of which is in line with the film. In general, the song conveys the "sea" atmosphere very well. The lyrics for it were written by Leonid Fadeevand the music was provided by the singer's band mates. "Arax.".

"The sea, the sea is a bottomless world,
The foamy rustle of the coastal waves.
Above you rise like the dawns,
Above you rise like the dawns,
Our youth of hope!" the song sings.

"Life is playing hide and seek with us."

Another song, which became the soundtrack to the aforementioned film, also became an all-union hit. The lyrics to the song with the optimistic title "Life" were written by Oleg Zhukov. In it, the lyrical hero of the song very honestly talks about all the difficulties of life, and all this happens in a very warm pop-rock treatment. So, Antonov plays on contrasts.

"This is life, this is life, our life
We take to the skies with the birds.
We're falling with the stars, falling down, falling down.
Love, faith, sadness, mistakes.
We cherish the memory of the past in our hearts," the song says.

"A dream come true."

Yuri Antonov's calling card, of course, is the song with a life-affirming title, which firmly entered the repertoire of 80s discos. Antonov's music to the lyrics of the songwriter Mikhail TanichThe singer had already collaborated with him during the recording of the song "Mirror". The future hit was released, however, under the name of "Don't forget."The song is popularly known as "The Dream Comes True". Now Antonov enjoys the popularity of this song and often concludes his concerts with its performance.

"Dreams do and don't come true.
Love comes to us sometimes in the wrong way.
But, all good things are not forgotten.
And all good things are a dream," the lines of the song say.

"Flying Gait."

Another equally famous hit from Antonov's repertoire is the song "Flying Gait," or "I'm remembering.". An unexpected disco manoeuvre from Antonov, realised thanks to Leonid Fadeev's poems and Yuri's trip on tour. His friends from the Arax group persuaded him to attend a concert of a Hungarian disco band "Neoton Familia". Impressed by their music, Antonov sat down to record his hit.

"With flying gait you came out of May.
And disappeared from the eyes in the shroud of January", - these are the famous lines of Antonov's hit.

What about today?

The uniqueness of Yuri Antonov's work lies in the fact that he skilfully and successfully combines several important skills at once. He is an excellent communicates with the audienceHe embodies all his musical talent on stage and in the studio, he shows himself present.

Antonov is a true genius of Soviet pop music. Ta soulfulness и melodythat he shows in his songs, often written to other people's poems, is a real nugget in modern music. Nowadays it would be very difficult to name artists similar to Antonov. Nevertheless, Yuri's influence on modern realities is present. His songs are still loved by both young and adult people.

"In fact, I was quite surprised to see young people reacting so strongly to my performances. It turns out that there is a succession of generations!", Antonov said in an interview.