Vesyolye Rebyata (russian: Весёлые Ребята, which means "''jolly fellows''") was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

VIA Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

(vocal instrumental ensemble) band formed in 1966, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. It became one of the most successful and best known VIA bands of all time. Its debut album sold 15,795,000 copies and its membership included at various times such popular Soviet era singers as Alla Pugachova,

Alexander Gradsky Alexander Borisovich Gradsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Бори́сович Гра́дский; born Alexander Borisovich Fradkin, 3 November 1949 – 28 November 2021) was a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. H ...

, and

Alexander Barykin Aleksander Aleksandrovich Barykin (Byrykin) (russian: Александр Александрович Барыкин (Бырыкин); February 18, 1952 — March 26, 2011) was a Soviet and Russian singer and songwriter. Biography Alexander Baryki ...

. As of 2006, the band had sold a record-shattering 179,850,000 records.

History

Vesyolye Rebyata was a VIA band created in 1966 by the Soviet pianist and composer Pavel Slobodkin. Two years later, the band won the All-Soviet competition for best youthful song performance and in 1969, they won the All-Soviet competition for best song. In 1970, the Soviet recording company Melodia (Melody) released the band's first record, which sold a remarkable 15,795,000 copies. The band hits are "People meet" (russian: Люди встречаются), "You don't care" (russian: Тебе всё равно), "With each other's hand" (russian: Взявшись за руки вдвоём), "Portrait by Picasso" (russian: Портрет работы Пабло Пикассо), "How beautiful is this world" (russian: Как прекрасен этот мир), "Song, my song" (russian: Песня, моя песня). In 1971, Vesyolye Rebyata gave a series of concerts in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, performing in the concert hall Lucerne in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 1973, the band recorded one of the best known albums, " Love - a huge country" (russian: Любовь — огромная страна). In 1974, Slobodkin invited a young female vocalist named Alla Pugacheva to perform with the band. In 1975, Pugacheva won the

Golden Orpheus The Golden Orpheus ( bg, Златният Орфей, ''Zlatniyat Orfey'') was an international song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Alongside its Bulgarian pop song competition, the festival’s rules and regula ...

award in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

with the song Arlekino that launched her now legendary music career in the Soviet Union. In 1976, the band toured

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria and won a number of musical awards in those countries. In 1980, the band released a new LP titled "We should be friends" (russian: Дружить нам надо) and took part in the cultural component of the

1980 Olympic Games The 1980 Olympics may refer to: * 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, United States * 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officiall ...

in Moscow. Veselie Rebiata followed this up in 1981 with another LP, this one titled "Disco club" (russian: Дискоклуб). That same year, they won the top prize at the All-Soviet pop and rock music festival held in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. In 1983, the band recorded a new album titled "Banana islands" (russian: Банановые острова). In 1985, they won the grand prize at an international music competition in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

for the song "Wandering artists" (russian: Бродячие артисты). The same year, the band did an international tour, performing in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, East Germany,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 1986, they recorded their sixth album, titled "Just a minute" (russian: Минуточку). From 1986 until 1992, Veselie Rebiata was repeatedly nominated to the "Song of the year" (russian: Песня года) Soviet festival. In 1991, the band released a double album of best hits to celebrate its 25th anniversary. In 2005, the band is reconstituted with new membership and in 2006 they are given the "Platinum record #1" award for setting the record in Russia and Eastern Europe for most records sold at 179,850,000. In 2007, the band released two CDs: "Love - child of the planet" (russian: Любовь-дитя планеты) and "When we are quiet together" (russian: Когда молчим вдвоём). In 2008, they took part in the international music festival Diskoteka 80s, sponsored by the Russian radio station

Avtoradio AvtoRadio (russian: Авторадио) is a Moscow-based radio station. The station plays songs in Russian and English. A variety of music from different genres. History It broadcasts music and information. It started broadcasting on 5 April 19 ...

. In 2011, the band released a new album with the French title "Cherchez la..." and once again performed at the now annual "Diskoteka 80s" festival. In 2012, the band released its ninth album titled "Write me a letter" (russian: Напиши мне письмо). In August 2017, Pavel Slobodkin had passed away and the group was disbanded.

References

External links

* * http://www.veselyerebjata.ru/ - official site * {{Authority control 1966 establishments in Russia 1992 disestablishments in Russia 2005 establishments in Russia 2017 disestablishments in Russia Musical groups from Moscow Russian rock music groups Beat groups Alternative dance musical groups Russian boy bands Russian pop rock music groups Russian new wave musical groups Soviet rock music groups Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2017