Seva Gakkel told new details about Paul McCartney’s visit to Russia

Rock poetess Margarita Pushkina, for example, is still lamenting that she deliberately missed the historical event, although she had a cherished charm. “If I went there, I would have stayed there forever,” Margo now says in all seriousness. Like, she would have expired from the surging feelings and emotions, having found her last refuge somewhere between McCartney, Lenin and Stalin. It’s good that I didn’t go, otherwise how many rock masterpieces our music chronicles would have lost …

A few hours, which then lasted for a magical action in the very heart of Moscow, shocked not only the country, but also the world – like a mystical and ironic epilogue to Read’s “Ten Days That Shook the World” about Lenin and his coup d’etat, called the impressionable American romantic “revolution” …

The figure of Lenin surfaced (figuratively, of course, and not physically) on May 24, 1993, repeatedly – especially in the reports of the Western media, which were greatly amused by this “McCartney-Lenin” spike. Opposite the stage was the granite tomb of the leader of the world proletariat with a sweeping inscription. Allusions and analogies rained down like from a cornucopia.

Firstly, Ilyich, of course, could spin around, because in the ideas of his “beautiful Russia of the future” no The Beatles, or at least one Paul McCartney, and even on Red Square, of course, was not implied. And the song Back in the USSR, which eventually sounded live over the ashes of the leader in the center of Moscow from the lips of its creator, was written in a completely different context, a reflection on the strange news that reached the Beatles back in the 60s of the last century about their phenomenal popularity in the USSR – “a mystical country full of dark intrigues”, as John Lennon formulated these impressions then. And, of course, secondly, the McCartney-Lenin pairing hauntingly echoed the almost rock-biblical McCartney-Lennon signature that accompanied every “one more song” from their pen during the Beatles’ days.

The organizer of that concert, Nadezhda Solovieva, recalled a week ago in ZD the nuances and atmosphere of the legendary event. The fateful seal of her hand, of course, will forever remain in the annals, but in continuation of the topic, it is important to recall one significant nuance that sometimes falls out of sight – McCartney’s foot first set foot on the Russian Land not in Moscow and not thanks to Madame Nadezhda, but a few days earlier in Petersburg thanks to Vsevolod Gakkel, also a legendary rock musician, best known for playing the cello in the Aquarium group, as well as Anteya Eno, the wife of Brian Eno, another legendary, but already British, rock musician, electronic composer , the founder of the ambient genre.

It is not a fact that one would not have taken place without the other, Sir Paul somehow dreamed of a concert on Red Square as part of his tour of the iconic places of the Earth, but since there were also cases in St. Petersburg, where the 300th anniversary was celebrated with pomp and pathos Peter’s “window to Europe”, then not yet boarded up, then everything came together in one sitting. This, of course, greatly confused the cards for the Moscow organizers, knocked down the bar of the supposed epic appearance of the rock-Christ to the people precisely at the Sheremetyevo airport, and they even expressed their annoyed “fe” to Gakkel and Co. on this occasion.

Whatever it was, but the first citizen of the Russian Federation, who personally saw Sir Paul on the local territory, was precisely Seva Gakkel.

“We have been preparing for this for several months,” he recalls for ZD. – I got a card to meet him at the Pulkovo airport, in the presidential zone. I witnessed how the celestial set foot on Russian soil, the only one, except for the ground services of the airport and snipers who were sitting somewhere around. Snipers – because on the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the first persons of all friendly states at that time flocked … I had to climb the ladder on board the plane, it was a charter flight of a Swiss airline, pick up 25 passports of the entire group, bring them to passport control, stamp. I was holding Sir Paul’s passport!”

And the whole saga began six months before that, when Anteya Ino suggested that Gakkel create the Menshikov Charitable Foundation, whose task was not only to support and educate gifted children, but also to create high-class studios on the basis of the then recreated Manege of the Cadet Corps, where Antea would bring all her friends and buddies from David Bowie and Peter Gabriel to Bryan Ferry and the Pet Shop Boys for records that would keep the foundation’s reputation alive and help raise money from the rich and other donors for the benefit of the kids. Sir Paul McCartney himself was proposed as the patron of the foundation. It’s worth noting right away that the fund did not survive, instead of studios, a multifunctional center and an expensive restaurant were opened in the Manege … But it all started very beautifully …

The legendary Beatle, also inspired by a good idea, agreed to the proposal, and the entertainers Antey and Vsevolod decided to time the arrival and presentation of the fund to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Went to the authorities. At first they were looked upon, of course, at best as blessed, at worst as swindlers.

“Antea and I went to different carpets, offered options,” recalls Vsevolod. – They suggested to Sergei Roldugin, he was then the rector of the St. Petersburg Conservatory: “Would you like us to bring you Paul McCartney to the conservatory?” “I don’t believe you,” he said, “if it were real, I would have done it myself.” A week before McCartney’s arrival, his director and head of security arrived, and we walked around all the places we were supposed to travel, including the conservatory. Then Roldugin became convinced that we were not the children of Lieutenant Schmidt … “

At Pulkovo, Gakkel was overwhelmed with emotions from excitement and anxiety: “Remember these shots when the Beatles flew to Kennedy Airport in 1964? They go down the ladder, their hair fluttering in the wind, and with their hands they make some kind of signs to the meeting crowd. So Sir Paul, going down the ladder, made the same sign of greeting addressed to me! In addition to the group, Heather’s wife flew in with him. We loaded onto the bus, which delivers passengers to the exit. Ten executive cars with a police escort were waiting in the parking lot. I got into the escort car, a minibus that was chartered for luggage … “

Gakkel was helped with the minibus by his old friend Vladimir Kozlov, the guitarist of the Rock Music Lovers Union since the time of the Leningrad rock club. A true rock and roll fraternity! Several rooms were booked at the Europa Hotel, and Sir Paul, as his contribution to this charity event, paid for the arrival and the hotel rooms himself. On the dining table of his suite, McCartney found a compliment from the hotel – a luxurious porcelain caviar bowl, generously filled to the brim with Russian caviar. A moment later, the caviar box with its contents intact was indignantly put out into the corridor…

“On the same day, after a short rest, we went to the conservatory,” recalls Seva. – Previously, the conversation was about the fact that we would have a closed presentation, and they planned to give Sir Paul a diploma of an honorary professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, to rank him among the great faces: Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov and others. When we arrived, there was a crowd of 200 people at the entrance. We barely got inside, and there were 500 more people in the hall, although initially the conversation was that there would be 15 professors (of the conservatory). Valentina Matviyenko took the stage… Naturally, Roldugin called her, she was the governor of St. Petersburg at that time. She came out and said: “Gentlemen, I have prepared for you the best gift for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, I brought you a live Beatle …” In general, the powers that be turned on … Vanity, crush. Sir Paul and Heather and I went into the rector’s office with Roldugin and Matvienko. Security is everywhere along the corridors – both “from the city”, and McCartney’s personal bodyguard, and the girl who guarded Heather. In the office – champagne, sweets. Suddenly the door opens and the main “musketeer” enters – Mikhail Boyarsky – naturally, in a hat. I leave the office where these guards, committee members are standing, and ask: “How did this person get here?” — “Well, how! – answer me. “It’s d’Artagnan.” In general, either a play of absurdity, or a comedy of positions … “

By the way, McCartney was never awarded the diploma of honorary professor. “As it turned out, it was like a declaration of intent,” explains Gakkel. – A separate procedure was needed with a meeting of the entire professorship of the conservatory, almost in robes … They wanted to do it all later. There was no time to prepare the ceremony at that time, so we decided to simply announce our intention. Then the whole idea somehow came to naught… When the formal part ended and we drove away from the conservatory, a real hard day’s night happened. A crowd of adults, elderly, gray-haired, bald Beatles fans threw themselves right under the wheels. The guards, about 30 people, ran for 100 meters next to McCartney’s car, protecting it from the crowd until we broke away. We arrived at the Hermitage. Piotrovsky (Director of the Hermitage) came out. “ZD”), who gave Sir Paul an hour and a half private tour after the museum closed. Just then, standing at the window overlooking Palace Square, Paul admired the view and said to Piotrovsky: “It would be nice to have a concert on this square.” The following year, this concert took place … And my function for that day was over. Of course, I expected to be invited to dinner at the Noble Nest restaurant on Dekabristov Street, which we also chose when the directors came to prepare McCartney’s visit. Not invited. But I was annoyed in another way. The next morning, as I found out, they rode bicycles. And I’m an old cyclist! And here I was, of course, somewhat annoyed that I was not invited to ride a bike. How so?!”

The next day, the same charity event took place in the Manege of the Cadet Corps, for which Paul McCartney flew to St. Petersburg. “The huge hall, which had just been rebuilt by that time, still had a persistent smell of lime and cement,” says Gakkel. — We invited 400 children to the action. I wanted them to be mostly orphans and children from low-income families, but there were few of them. Collected children from music schools. One girl played the piano piece Leaf. A quartet from the music school at the conservatory played two more pieces by McCartney. The choir of the 38th boarding school performed the choral work Celebration from his Liverpool Oratorio, and then on the second floor there was a light buffet, tea and coffee, sandwiches – vegetarian, of course. Later, the Bellini restaurant was opened there, probably the most expensive restaurant in Europe, with a balcony offering a direct view of St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

The entire public, the rock and roll elite, gathered for the buffet… Shemyakin and Gergiev arrived. The presentation itself took place, where we presented a sign of the Menshikov Charitable Foundation, which was to be erected on the wall of this Manege of the Cadet Corps. When the guests dispersed, Sir Paul went out onto the balcony, and David Frost (famous British television journalist. – “ZD”) interviewed him there for half an hour. Below was a group of Beatles who were trying to sing something. Then everyone got into their cars and drove to the airport. Paul McCartney flew to Moscow.”

– Why did not grow together with a charitable foundation? Seva asks. – As a result, the Manege of the Cadet Corps, which acted as a co-founder, said that it was more profitable for them to make a multifunctional complex instead of studios. For some time I was still pulling the fund, which Anteya supported for several years, but then everything also scattered, we did not find a similar premises, and it was more and more difficult to continue doing just charity, because when we tried to raise some money, we were invariably answered : “You have Paul McCartney as your patrons, so turn to him” …

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Meanwhile, McCartney’s concert on Red Square did not just remain in the memory of an enthusiastic and grateful audience. In the encyclopedic and richly illustrated 300-page folio “Gigs that changed the world”, published in the West, he symbolically closes the list of 100 “concerts that changed the world”, and the only one in 30 years of the entire rich concert life of Moscow, which until recently was an obligatory point of tour routes for many world stars. Even Madonna didn’t get into this collection, who, skipping after McCartney, also rushed to Red Square, but was allowed only to Palace Square in that same St. Petersburg in 2009 …

Those were the times…