Sergei Zhukov was afraid to participate in the concert in memory of Shatunov because of Razin’s curses

The fight for copyrights to the music catalog of “Tender May” continued even before the death of Yuri Shatunov, and after the death of the main artist of the group, it continued with even greater bitterness. Last year, LM producer Andrei Razin said that the “patents” for music and stage names that he allegedly possesses allow him to concentrate everything related to the group in his own hands. In this connection, any use of songs and even photos and video materials must be approved personally with him.

In court, however, there was a different idea of ​​how things really were. In particular, the evidence that the author of the main “May” hits, Sergei Kuznetsov (died in September last year) transferred all rights to his songs to Razin, was considered insufficient. Therefore, the widow of Yuri Shatunov, Svetlana, was recognized as the “heiress” of the group’s catalogue. Razin reserves the right to appeal the decision, but according to lawyers, the producer’s chances are slim.

However, even some clarity brought into the long conflict of interests did not cool the ardor of the notorious brawler and certified manipulator, whose victim was once even Secretary General Gorbachev.

When it became known about the intention of Igor Krutoy’s company to hold a tribute concert, at which a large star company would perform those very songs, Razin said that he cursed each and everyone who not only performed at the event, but also attended it, and the organizers themselves were classified as “Satanists” is a worn-out brand of current battles. That is, everyone was at risk of, at a minimum, becoming covered in purulent blisters. Even taking into account some of the demonic reputation of show business, this sounded very extravagant.

Razin’s “crusade” did not influence the preparations for the concert in any way (after all, the boss of the event and the former “May” boss were people of completely different calibers), but the noise in social networks and some media still happened.

The organizers of the show, having responded to the hysteria and threats of the inflated “Ostap Bender of show business” with deafening silence (that is, without answering at all), nevertheless did not remain in debt, and staged a witty performance. One could, of course, expect a priest with a censer at the entrance, fumigating those entering with incense in order to ward off devils, the evil eye, curses and other dark forces, and a vat of holy water to irrigate the superstitious. We limited ourselves to animators dressed as white angels, who paraded cheerfully on the approaches to the concert hall, not denying selfies to everyone. Those who wished, having taken photographs, walked enlightenedly into the hall to meet with high art, cleansed and protected from the dark Razin curses.

However, judging by the full hall, fans of “Tender May” did not particularly suffer from superstitions, which cannot be said about some artists. From reliable sources it became known that Razin’s “curse” seriously frightened the leader of the “Hands Up!” group. Sergei Zhukov, and as a result the program became poorer by one big star.

Opinions behind the scenes were divided, some were writhing from the colic of animals, others spoke more conciliatoryly and in a more understanding way – they say, Regina, Zhukov’s wife, is pregnant and “Seryoga decided not to tempt fate, he can be understood.”

Everyone else turned out to be less impressionable, although during the concert itself, presenters Lera Kudryavtseva and Andrei Malakhov still mentioned demonic intrigues – in a satirical and sarcastic manner, of course, calling Razin naturally not by name, but only “the one we will not call”. At this point, the Voldemort session was over, and JK Rowling hiccupped…

The musical part of the show was clearly inferior to the secular part in terms of eccentricity and, on the whole, turned out to be very predictable. Many stars tried their best to find hidden musical resources in the hits of “Tender May”, and at the same time prove themselves to be extremely inventive artists.

Such a desire is, in general, understandable. Some of the tribute participants are artists of the old school, whose education and skills in the late eighties were seriously hurt by the popularity of orphan music in all respects, sweeping away everything in its path. Of course, they, and even those who were younger, wanted to show off their professional toughness. And in the end they showed it.

Soso Pavliashvili unleashed childish drama in “Autumn Is Slowly Leaving.” Alexey Chumakov tried his best to make “Pink Evening” something very aesthetic and almost bluesy, although, as it seemed, he did not have enough voice for such an undertaking.

Alexander Panayotov turned “White Roses” into a monumental vocal work, emphasizing in every possible way everything that makes him strong (and he is strong in many ways), but in the end this monument came out unnecessarily, if not unreasonably pompous. And the more diligently they brought simple songs to the scale of serious works of epic proportions, the more obvious became the futility of trying to find depths where they do not exist and never have existed.

Apparently, you need to believe in every word and every sound in order to guess how these works should be performed without the risk of looking ridiculous.

And some, I must say, did it well. First of all, TikTok youth distinguished themselves. They have their own attitude towards music, devoid of excessive ardor. They are not trying to make it cool, they are trying to make it “fit.” As a result, Khabib with “Don’t Be Afraid”, Mia Boyka with “May Evening” and especially Amirchik with the already mentioned “Pink Evening”, without inventing anything extra, produced ideal hits for unassuming school discos, leaving in these songs everything that they wanted to convey Yuri Shatunov himself. Denis Klyaver successfully joined the youth squad, adding as much of the eighties as possible to “Telephone Romance,” and the cynical calculation worked well.

However, among the versions that their authors took far from the original, there were also their champions. The Georgian vocal group “Bravo Metekhi” played folk well with the song “Thank You,” Yulia Savicheva pumped up “I Quarreled with the Rain” with soft-rocker passion and was right. Finally, Billy’s Band turned “Everything” into a tuned blues that was appropriate for them, although even in this form the song is unlikely to make it into the band’s concert set list.

Despite, however, all the pros and cons, it is unlikely that any of the covers performed will go down in musical history as a self-sufficient work, as Zhanna Aguzarova managed to do back in the first half of the 90s, when she covered White Roses in English. , creating a “tavern” repertoire for her performances in Los Angeles, where the “queen of Russian rock and roll” was trying to create an international career. It didn’t create a career, but the song entered the annals forever and to this day remains, perhaps, the best “reinterpretation” of the original. Zhanna adorned this “all-time” hit with her unique explosive charisma and intricate arrangement, but managed to carefully preserve that same “affectionate May” spirit, which, according to the poet’s formula, flows through the mustache and into the mouth. Unfortunately, the stars of today were unable to do anything close to this at the “Yura Was Here” concert.

The spectators gathered in the hall, however, were unlikely to keep their diaries of cover victories and failures. The people clearly came for something else. By the way, the audience was colorful. Wrinkles had already appeared on the faces of ladies approaching fifty, but the fan-like exaltation had not gone away, the lines of the songs apparently remained forever in the no longer student memory, and even the covers of their smartphones were decorated with stickers with a portrait of a guy from the era of two-kopeck telephone booths. Both the “oldies” and those who were old enough to be their children, or even grandchildren, had a great time, as if they had been on a date with a person they are unlikely to forget.

No offense to all participants in the action, it should be noted that the most interesting part of the show were fragments of the chronicle and interviews with Yura himself. There was no falsehood or posturing in them. Apparently Shatunov himself knew that he was not much of an actor, so he spoke as it was. Such truth sometimes causes a feeling of awkwardness, and sometimes even active protest. But that doesn’t make it any less true. In the eyes of a man who has never matured, his words and songs seem to reflect the entire country of which he became a hero. It’s time to learn to take this for granted.

Read the material “Alexander Revva, who had seriously failed, returned to Russia and surprised him at a concert in memory of Shatunov”