“A faded product of one producer”: Vlad Stashevsky is 50 years old

30 years ago, at the age of 19, in the “Master” club, student Vladislav Tverdokhlebov and his classmates celebrated the end of the session, played the piano and sang. In some unknown way, the most famous music producer at that time, Yuri Aizenshpis, appeared in the same place and at the same time. He liked the way Vladislav sang criminal songs, and the producer left the guy his business card. A week after they met, they recorded their first song, “The Roads We Walk,” authored by the poet and composer Vladimir Matetsky. A year later, the first album “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” was released. In 1995, the second album “Don’t Trust Me, Darling” was released. In 1996, the album “Vlad-21” was released, which few people already remember.

As a result of a reader’s referendum of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Vlad was named the best singer of the year and received the Ovation award in the category “Hit 1996” for the song “Call me in the night.” This clip was shown on leading television channels more than 500 times. At the same time, Stashevsky was recognized as the most “pirated” artist.

“Vlad is a very charming, handsome guy,” one of Stashevsky’s first authors, People’s Artist and Poet, noted in an interview with MK Ilya Reznik. “I had the pleasure of writing a song for him, “Call me in the night, I’ll come,” co-authored with Matetsky. This song became a hit and the artist stuck with this song for a long time. Because it’s the repertoire that makes a star.

Stashevsky had a wonderful producer, Aizenshpis. Vlad had a couple of very good songs in his luggage, including ours with Matetsky. When Yura left, the singer was left without a team, and when there is no team and no repertoire, no fresh political and musical influence, then you can’t go far with old material. Moreover, new characters appear. And obviously, Vlad was influenced by some family matters. He was married to the daughter of the owner of Luzhniki, millionaire Vladimir Aleshin. Perhaps these family circumstances, conflicts and loves prevailed in his case with Vlad.

I was very happy when I met him on the Malakhov program. Vlad was so fresh, I was so glad that he returned, maybe he had thrown off the shackles of family worries.

Family well-being is very important for an artist. If your wife leaves you and turns out to be a shoplifter, then tragedy appears. For an artist, it is very important to have the support and support of a person who looks in the same direction as you.

He needs to catch this wave of recognition, memories of him and move on. That’s why I wish him a repertoire!

– Are you ready to write a new song for Stashevsky?

– Certainly! I now have a wonderful composer from Sevastopol, young Alexander Batrak, with whom we have already written a requiem for our soldiers – “Loved Ones Don’t Die,” it’s called. Let Vlad call me and talk to me.

– Stashevsky has not disappeared anywhere. He works, performs,” says one of Vlad’s first authors, winner of the Ovation Prize in 1997 for “Hit of the Year” (“Call me in the night”, Spanish Vlad Stashevsky), composer and producer Vladimir Matetsky. “At the same time, he retained a large number of his fans, or rather female fans, who remain fascinated not only by his appearance, but also by the very warm and beautiful timbre of his voice. In the 90s, Vlad was criticized – often undeservedly – because he was a “producer project” of Yuri Aizenshpis. The singer was often criticized for his “weak vocal abilities”, but if you compare him with today’s performers, then in comparison with them he is just Caruso: listen to his version of Vertinsky’s song “Dear Lost”, and all questions will automatically disappear.

As for new songs, not only Vlad Stashevsky, but also any other singer of his generation cannot “put them on the market”. They all live by old hits – and that’s normal. Vlad, by the way, is quite content with popular songs, and as for his appearance, he simply has no equal.

– What impression did Stashevsky make on you when you met?

– I remember the first meeting very well: Yura Aizenshpis called me and told me that he had found an interesting young guy. “We should listen to him,” said Aizenshpis. “Please, pick him up in the center and come to me, on Sokol, and we’ll sit by the instrument.” I agreed. I remember it was a sunny day, warm. I picked up Vlad in the center, near the Lenin library, and we went to Yura. We chatted along the way, Vlad told me about his musical preferences and family. We tried to sing different songs from Yura, found out the range…

– Have you ever had situations with him that you remember with a smile?

– Much later, when Vlad became a recognizable and popular artist, Yura once told me about his performance at a large concert. “Well, when Vladik came on stage and raised his hands, the whole hall simply froze in a cordon!” “Yur, you probably wanted to say in a daze?” I objected. “Who cares!” Aizenshpis retorted. – “And so everything is clear – people are crazy about him!”

– I have two impressions from meeting Vlad: he seems like a nice guy, but I didn’t really like his songs. The person was just lucky with the producer,” the 90s star singer says in a conversation with MK Natalia Gulkina. – Why did Vlad disappear? This is a very strange question. Are you a journalist, don’t know how this happens? Everyone who takes part in the filming of TV programs and New Year’s lights knows that there are lists on TV channels and that Vlad is not the only one. Are the artists of the 80s-90s, as you put it, “disappearing”? This is the merit of the media and TV, which stop publishing news about these artists, putting an end to them and labeling them as so-called “downed pilots.” This is the first and main thing, and the second is that the person is self-sufficient and has another main income, so he doesn’t really need concerts. I meet Vlad quite often; in the summer we visited together.

“It was a beautiful, correct story: Vlad married the daughter of the Luzhniki owners,” the producer recalls in a conversation with MK Alexey Ostudin. – At that time, everything was connected with Aizenshpis’s weight in business. They used to say in the world of music journalism: if you want Yuri Shamilevich’s team of lawyers to come to your editorial office, write bad about Vladik. Therefore, they either wrote well about Vladka or not at all.

And when Stashevsky left Yuri Shamilevich, there was no one to protect the artist from negative reviews, and there was no one to invest money in buying songs and new material. Well, somehow everything went according to plan for Vladik.

Stashevsky, as an absolutely normal person, did not appear in any terrible scandals. He is a bit of a driven artist who needs a locomotive, like Yuri Aizenshpis. And then it became clear that without a good producer it would be difficult for him.

Vlad is a somewhat unique artist. I say this because his formation took place before my eyes – we went on tours and went on tours together a lot. In 1999, we traveled a lot on the election tour around Russia and became friends. A very specific, understandable, clear image for women. What distinguished Vladik: he never had a piss – girls of pre-teenage age. His fans are either the same age or even a little older than our romantic guy. Moreover, there were different images of these romantic guys at that time: Andrei Gubin had an audience – girls 13-15 years old. At the same time, Vlad Stashevsky was with him with quite adult fans.

Vladik is a sporty guy, without bad habits – which is rare for our show business. That’s why it was well preserved. In 2007, I personally invited him to join the Superstar project. I myself personally met with Vlad at Ostankino and persuaded him. Then he refused with motivation, explaining that everything was fine with his work. Although, to be honest, it seemed to me that he was afraid of the creative tasks that were set for the participants. In order to restart their careers, they needed to update their material. Either he was too lazy to write it down, or there was some kind of fear. However, he recently participated in the Superstar program. That is, he had a need for this.

Stashevsky is one of those artists who still need a producer. When he had Yuri Shmilevich Aizenshpis, Vladik was everywhere and sounded from everywhere. In principle, a very understandable image was invented for him: such a romantic hero, a nice guy.

– It is clear that Vlad was a new sex symbol. A new, so to speak, slightly bourgeois Russia,” a well-known music producer tells us on condition of anonymity. – Vlad appeared at the same time as the era of video clips, which were mainly produced by the company Art Pictures. It was no longer necessary to sing so that it touches your soul, the main thing is to go there, go there, picture girl, picture boy. Aizenshpis clearly sensed the spirit of the times. Stashevsky’s first video clip was very unsuccessful, in which the then famous supermodel Polina Tasheva, the bride of the unusually cool Boris Zosimov in the 90s, a music producer and at that time chairman of the board of directors of the MTV Russia television channel, starred. Zosimov played Vlad’s video “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” on his channel like a loser. And here a very competent image was chosen. On a horse with a sword. He was not like the unbridled, incomprehensible people from the gateway and all these half-orphan performers. Vlad looked like a fairy-tale prince, and girls from all over the vast vastness of Russia, reaching out for something more beautiful, expensive, inaccessible and exclusive, paid attention to Stashevsky. He was liked not only by girls, but also by young women.

In terms of songs and hits, Stashevsky was noticeable. Vocals – within five notes of one key. What is there to talk about? From the point of view of the hit, “Call me in the night” is a disgusting song with a terrible line from Reznik:

“I lived according to an old habit

And I didn’t change my ritual,

But the whole world became indifferent to me,

When I lost you”

I had only one association with a company that dealt in funeral supplies. It is clear that this is Aizenshpis’ talent as a producer and his breakthrough abilities. And the fact that Vlad still looks good is that he has been involved in sports since childhood. But when at concerts he portrayed some kind of kung fu, or kickboxing blows, it always looked like a Spanish shame. Such a faded product of one producer. An artist of his time, who was created to perform in casinos – which then appeared en masse, in nightclubs, on stages. Surely, he had some city days, he was quite in demand at some weddings. There was a notable song in his repertoire, “Wedding Dress for Rent.” When “Ivanushki”, “Hands Up” and other competitors appeared, the pop music of the early 2000s began, of course, Vlad already had to push, push and push. Actually, having been left without a producer, having gotten married, he understood that the main job had already been done, and then his career progressed by inertia. But there were artists and singers much worse than him. This is the fate of the sex symbol of the mid-90s.

“It’s a shame that Vlad didn’t continue his career,” the writer regrets. Maria Arbatova. – Stashevsky was incredibly popular. Firstly, he was handsome, secondly, he was a romantic intellectual, and thirdly, the whole country sang his “Tea-Colored Eyes.” And this phrase has firmly entered the language.

– Vlad is a very good person, kind and modest. And in show business today it’s unpopular to be like that… Impudence and outrageousness are not about Stashevsky, the singer, actress and theater director tells MK Irina Shvedova. – He disappeared because his producer stopped working on him. An artist and his development and promotion need to be dealt with professionally. Vlad has charm, musicality, and his own audience. I would like to wish him new songs and good luck in his stage career!

“Yura Aizenshpis knew how to make candy out of shit,” noted a former participant in “Tender May” Andrey Gurov.

“Vlad is not missing,” the folk singer disagrees Prokhor Chaliapin. – I recently saw him at a shoot with Andrei Malakhov, he is in great shape, looks great for his age, I would say even younger than my peers, although I am 10 years younger than him. Vlad went into spiritual practices, he does yoga, sports, runs – he can’t spend his whole life singing and dancing. I think he tours successfully, but not like in the 90s. He feels great, talks and communicates well. An adequate, kind, bright person. That’s why this is one of the most successful examples of artists of the 90s who preserved themselves and lived happily ever after.

– Why couldn’t the star of the 90s repeat his success in the new century?

“Because he doesn’t need it,” Chaliapin continues. – Not all artists want to jump and jump on stage in the front rows until they die, unless they are possessed and demonic, clinging to the youth and ridiculously trying to compete with them. Life is fleeting, and you need to live it to the fullest. Vlad, I think he understands this. He has everything for a comfortable life and enough work. He is a famous and beloved artist by millions.