Andrey Kovalev launches Gastrotusa. Andrey Kovalev: biography, personal life, family, songs, musical career and photos
Andrey Kovalev and Elena Korikova, song "My Woman", video
Andrey Kovalev
Singer, producer, organizer
During his creative life, Andrey Kovalev tried himself in a variety of guises. He writes poetry and music, performs his own compositions, broadcasts on radio and television, and organizes rock festivals. Many fans of Russian music know him as the front man of the Pilgrim group. In the mid-2000s, thanks to him, a series of festivals “Glory to Russia” took place in various cities of the country: Moscow, Orel, Nizhny Novgorod. They enjoyed well-deserved popularity: for example, about forty thousand spectators came to the festival in Zlatoglavaya. Andrey shares his skills with aspiring musicians. So, he organized the “Take Off!” festival, in which young groups try their hand. He has also created, oversees and financially provides a number of rehearsal spaces where aspiring groups can hone their skills for free. In 2011, Kovalev actively pursued a solo career, preferring to perform lyrical songs.
Family and education
Andrey was born in Moscow. His father devoted his life to serving the Motherland, becoming a colonel in the Soviet Army. My mother, an opera singer, performed arias at the Bolshoi Theater for three and a half decades. The influence of his mother in creative terms affected his son early. From an early age, Andrei mastered the double bass, violin, and cello for four hours every day. The father in his own way influenced the development of his son as a real man. He gave Andrey a motorcycle, which the young man was very happy about and even wanted to connect his life with technology. In 1979, he became a graduate of the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute. His first job took place at an enterprise that had a secrecy regime. But Andrey never parted with his motorcycle and was even a regular participant in motocross competitions. But his creative beginning was not ruined either: he became interested in sculpture and from the first try became a student at the famous Stroganov School.
Music career
Andrey did not plan to study music seriously. But fatal love happened in his life and his feelings demanded embodiment in the real world. Kovalev expressed them in music, and the first compositions were immediately positively assessed by professional musicians. His first success inspired him to think about a musical career. In 2006, Andrei Kovalev headed the creative team of the Pilgrim group. Five years later, he gave preference to a solo career. Today his performances take place in the capital’s Variety Theater and the Alma Mater club. Their halls are never empty during these performances.
Rock band "Pilgrim"
The rock group “Pilgrim” was born at a time when Andrei Kovalev was still studying at MADI. Together with like-minded people at the institute, he organizes a vocal and instrumental ensemble. Our hero started playing the bass guitar. According to the recollections of the musician himself, the group changed its names almost every festival in which it took part. There were “Wings of Wrath” and “Rus”. But one day he met a guitarist who came up with an idea that became brilliant: “Bring back the old name of the group - “Pilgrim.” That's what the musicians did. And Kovalev himself, on the same day, under the influence of this idea, created the composition “Pilgrim”.
The presentation of the video for this song took place in October 2006. The composition became the debut single for the new album. Director Alexander Solokha was hired as the music video director. The video accompanying the song turned gloomy everyday life into an unreal world of the future.
The very next year, Kovalev and the group “Pilgrim” performed from Russia at the international rock festival BASINFIREFEST in the Czech Republic.
Phonogram opponent
Andrey Kovalev is one of the few modern musicians who oppose the use of phonograms. This position of his is manifested not only in the fact that he sings “live” at all his concerts. He initiated a number of concerts in support of his beliefs, such as “We are for live sound!” and “Pops without a soundtrack,” which featured performances by stars of the Russian music scene.
Kovalev also took part in the creation of a Moscow legislative initiative that provided for informing concertgoers about the use of phonograms by performers. The bill, unfortunately, was not adopted. However, Andrei Kovalev believes that the very fact of voicing this problem is already important. In the mid-2000s, when these concerts took place, the bosses of the Russian music market, and, in particular, the central television channels stood firmly on the fact that there would never be live sound. And the journalists were convinced that the viewer comes to the concert in order to see the star, and he doesn’t care how she sings.
– And today the most rated television musical projects, such as “The Voice” of Channel One, “Factor A” with A.B. Pugacheva TV channel "Russia 1" suggest only live sound. The same thing with national music awards - MUZ TV, RU TV. So the creator of the “New Wave” Igor Krutoy emphasized that at this year’s festival everyone would sing live, which led to the fact that half of the participants immediately dropped out. My undertakings of that time, as you see, are coming to life. Nowadays, an increasing number of performers are coming to the idea that we actively promoted then: “It should be a shame to sing under plywood,” says Andrei Kovalev.
Discs and star duets
The release of Andrei Kovalev’s first album “Salt, Tequila and a Slice of Lime” took place in 2004. The record was named after the song, which quickly became a hit. The video clip for this composition is reminiscent of Roberto Rodriguez's film Desperado. Mexican musician El Mariacho fights a biker gang. According to Andrei himself, such action is close to him, since some facts of his biography are no less intense. A Harley Davidson motorcycle and a rare Cadillac car of the musician himself were used for filming the video.
The following year, the musician’s second album, “Sky Sin,” was released. The video for the title track, as well as videos such as “New Year’s Tale” and “Spring of ’45,” were actively rotated on TV channels and were remembered by viewers.
Andrey has performed in duets with the most famous domestic performers more than once. With Sasha Project they performed “Song of Santa Claus” together, with the group “Tutsi” - “Train of Love”, with Lyubasha - the composition “Falling”, with Katya Lel - two songs at once: “New Year’s Story” and “Man and Woman”, with rapper Loc-Dog - “The snow was falling slowly.”
But perhaps the most popular for Kovalev was the duet with Diana Gurtskaya. Their composition “Nine Months,” released in 2006, is still in rotation on many radio stations to this day. The song became the soundtrack to the film of the same name, shown on Channel One. And almost immediately “Nine Months” began to top many radio charts.
Video clips
Foreign stars starred in several of the musician’s video clips. Thus, Pamela Anderson starred in “Roar of Engines” (2008), which is more of a mini-film than a video. Andrey Kovalev has been friends with the model for a long time. Pamela agreed to participate in the filming for several reasons. Firstly, she liked the composition itself. And besides, she got married twice, but she never had a real wedding. And she couldn’t miss the opportunity to wear a wedding dress, even on the set.
Actor and director Dolph Lundgren starred in the 2009 video “Keep the Candle On.” Moreover, he himself proposed cooperation. The fact is that Lundgren was then filming the film “Command Performance”, in which, according to the plot, terrorists take hostages at a music festival. And the musicians of “Pilgrim” were invited to play themselves in the film, which the guys did with pleasure. And then they made a video from the frames of the film. In the same year, the video “Judas” was released, which Pilgrim made with the group Apocalyptica.
Andrey Kovalev has always taken a responsible approach to filming video clips. In 2011-12, no less than 12 videos were released, making their way to the main music channels not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine and Belarus. And again, well-known people took part in these works. Thus, Elena Korikova starred in the video “My Woman,” Olesya Sudzilovskaya starred in the video “Given by God,” and Olga Budina starred in the work “Give Me Back That Fire.”
Evidence of such attention to video works was the title “Clipman of the Year”, which the RU.TV channel awarded to Kovalev and his colleagues for the largest number of video clips released in a year - nine!
Andrey is still actively filming videos and attracting stars again. Agata Muceniece, known from “Closed School,” starred in the video for the song “And I Keep Dreaming of Your Eyes.” And in the video dedicated to the actor Vladislav Galkin who left us, Alexey Panin and Vladimir Gostyukhin starred.
Poetry
Andrey Kovalev is known not only for his songs, of which he wrote about 700, but also for his poetry. The debut book of lyrics “Pearls and Velvet” was published in 2004. Critics immediately appreciated Kovalev’s lyrics. Thus, the famous writer Alexander Govorov in the preface to the collection was unequivocal, saying that Kovalev is a real lyric poet who will find his reader. Two years later, the second book of lyrics, “The Sky is Blue,” was published. And last year the third collection, “For You Alone,” was released.
Andrei Kovalev himself says that the engine of his creativity is unrequited love. His poems and songs are not artificial exercises, they are born from what the musician and poet himself experienced. Perhaps this is what attracts his fans.
TV and radio
In Kovalev’s varied creative life, there was also a place for hosting radio and television programs. His author’s project was broadcast on the station “Moscow Speaks”, on the channel “Stolitsa” - the program “Formula for Success”, on the radio “Popsa” - the program “Man and Woman”, and on the Public Russian Radio - “Live Sound”. Today, Andrei himself is often invited to participate in various talk shows on television and radio broadcasts.
Charity
As a deputy of the Moscow City Duma (convocation 2005-2009), Kovalev initiated a series of “Pops without a phonogram” concerts as part of City Day in 2006. Actively advocating “live performances” of Russian pop performers, he oversaw the project “We are for live sound!” In addition, he organized the patriotic rock festival “Glory to Russia” and the festival of beginning groups “Take Off!”
Realizing how difficult it is for young musicians to break through, Kovalev set up five special rehearsal bases in the capital. Here, young groups and performers can rehearse completely free of charge, using all the necessary musical equipment. And it doesn’t matter whether the guys are going to become the second Metallica, or whether music for them is just a hobby, an outlet in harsh reality.
Kovalev invariably participates in charity concerts, the profits from which go to social support for various categories of residents of the capital. These are war veterans and large families, single mothers and orphans.
Interesting Facts
In 2005, Andrei Kovalev accused Neftyanoy Bank of having raided a blocking stake in the Auto-Prestige 1 company.
Andrei Kovalev's godsons were Stepan Menshchikov's son Ivan and Katya Lel's daughter Emilia.
On June 30, 2010, Andrei Kovalev’s unique bike was stolen, which was assembled to order for the musician at the famous European tuning studio Fred Kodlin. Fortunately, the stolen bike was soon found.
Andrey's work is interesting for all ages. Some of his fans are already in their ninth decade...
In May of this year, Andrei Kovalev accused the Chairman of the Board of Rosbank, Vladimir Golubkov, and Senior Vice President Tamara Polyanitsyna of extorting a large bribe. On May 15, these top managers of the bank were formally charged.
Andrey Kovalev is a supporter of a healthy lifestyle. This year he lost 25 kilograms of excess weight.
Andrei Kovalev considers love to be the main thing in his life, even if it is unrequited. He puts this feeling above his career, work and all worldly affairs.
Andrey Kovalev immediately writes the music that comes to mind to his phone. And then he records in the studio, where more than 300 compositions were created.
Andrey Kovalev is interested in unusual collecting - he collects turtles. The hobby arose spontaneously - from a gift from a friend. Today, everyone who knows Andrey knows what to give him for his birthday or bring back from a trip abroad, so the collection is constantly growing.
Discography
(In the group "Pilgrim")
"Glory to Russia" (2007)
"No Choice" (2008)
"Concert in the Rain" (DVD) (2008)
"Treezy$" (single) (2009)
"7.62" (2010)
"Martha" (2010)
As a soloist
"Salt, tequila..." (2004)
"The sky is blue" (2005)
“Nine Months”, “Ice and Fire”, “A Man and a Woman” (2007)
“Author’s song”, “The best songs of Andrei Kovalev”, “Romances” (2008)
"My Woman" (2012).
Kovalev, Andrey
Andrey Arkadyevich Kovalev(June 7, 1957) - Russian businessman and public figure. Owner of the Ecooffice group of companies, singer, songwriter, radio and television presenter, leader of the Pilgrim group, music producer, organizer of rock festivals, member of the United Russia political party.
Biography
Family
Andrei Kovalev was born in Moscow into the family of a military man and an opera singer. Andrei’s mother sang at the Bolshoi Theater for 35 years, and his father is a colonel in the Soviet Army.
Divorced, daughter born in 1990
Education
Andrey mastered musical instruments in preschool: “violin, cello, double bass - four hours of lessons every day.” After school, Andrei planned to enter the school at the conservatory to study double bass. However, fate decreed otherwise and he graduated from the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute. Later, becoming interested in sculpture, he entered the Stroganov Higher Art School, where he studied for several years.
Business and charity
In the late 1980s, Andrei Kovalev organized the Prestige company selling furniture. At the same time, he pursued a political career, was deputy head of the Forestry Department, and an employee of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy.
In the late 1990s - early 2000s, he began to create large business centers in the territories of closing Moscow factories, reconstructing them according to his own sketches. In August 2007, Andrei Kovalev bought the First Pasta Company from the Agros agricultural holding, which owned three unprofitable pasta factories in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Smolensk, as well as the Extra M and Znatnye trademarks. The transaction amount was $55 million. Later, the Ecooffice company sold the pasta production, leaving the land plots for itself.
In 2008, he created the 1Rock media holding, which included the 1Rock rock club (the current name of the club is PORT), the 1Rock magazine, a satellite TV channel, an Internet portal and a radio station dedicated to rock music. In 2010, the project was closed.
At the end of 2011, Andrei Kovalev’s company Ecooffice earned $55 million from renting out real estate, taking 23rd place in the ranking of the largest rentiers by Forbes Russia magazine. In 2013, in an interview with Forbes, Kovalev said that he was engaged in music and poetry, and his ex-wife Tatyana ran the business.
Andrey Kovalev actively participates in charity concerts and events aimed at social support for Moscow residents, helping students of boarding schools for orphans, students of the Preobrazhensky Cadet Corps, war and labor veterans, single mothers and other representatives of categories of socially vulnerable citizens.
Music career
During his student years, he played bass guitar in the band “Pilgrim”. The musician himself recalls:
Our own group was called "Wings of Wrath", later "Rus". At almost every festival we had a new name, and this continued until I accidentally met the same guitarist who suggested that we return the old name “Pilgrim”. And on the same day I wrote the song “Pilgrim”... We performed more and more the music of “Deep Purple”
Andrey Kovalev is a famous Russian singer, leader of the group “Pilgrim”. Today he is 61 years old and married. The zodiac sign of the man is Gemini. Many people do not understand how, at his age, he can combine the work of a television and radio host, lead singer of a group and solo performer, as well as a successful businessman.
Biography of Andrey Kovalev
Our hero was born on June 7, 1957 in Moscow (Russia). He owes his talents to his mother, who was an opera singer and performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater for decades. Andrei Kovalev's father dreamed of a military career from early childhood. He achieved his goal and retired with the rank of colonel. From him the boy inherited perseverance and focus. Thanks to his father, Andrei grew up to be a real man.
The further fate of Kovalev
Little Andrei Kovalev's ear for music was noticed at the age of 4 years. Mom immediately decided to act; she took him to a music school for piano class. Soon the son pleased his mother with small works. He studied with teachers on weekends for 4 hours every day. It was very productive work. After some time, the guy mastered the double bass, violin and cello.
After graduating from school, Andrei Kovalev planned to enter a music school in the capital. However, his father was against such an “unmanly” activity, so he bought him a motorcycle. This played a role, the son went to get a driver’s education at a road transport university.
The guy’s creative inclinations did not leave him alone, and over time he decided to take up sculpture. Moreover, he decided to leave school and entered the Stroganov Art School.
During his studies, he was also interested in music, mastered the bass guitar and soon gathered like-minded guys. They decided to call themselves "Pilgrim".
Business
In the 80s, Kovalev slightly moved away from his hobbies and began to look for something that could bring him a stable high income. So, he decided to plunge headlong into business. He came up with the idea of opening his own company for the manufacture of high-quality furniture. Soon, a new graph appeared in the biography of singer Andrei Kovalev - the owner of a furniture production. Then he was called to a high position in the Forestry Department.
In the difficult 90s, Kovalev was able to survive among hundreds of enterprises that became victims of the economic crisis in the country. In addition, he had the idea to reconstruct old abandoned factories into modern business centers.
In 2007, singer Andrei Kovalev spent more than $50 million to purchase the first pasta factory. As it turned out, at that time the production was going through difficult times, and he decided to take advantage of this. He got the factory back on its feet, then sold it to Italian entrepreneurs.
In 2011, our hero became one of the richest who were included in Forbes magazine. He took 23rd place. It said that the enterprising businessman was able to earn $55 million from renting out real estate alone.
A few years later, Andrei again “hit” creativity. He writes poetry and sometimes composes music. He handed over the business affairs to his ex-wife.
Music in Kovalev's life
Despite his busy schedule and constant busyness, our hero never forgot about creativity. In 2005, he again decided to create a group, which, as once in his student days, he called “Pilgrim”. Andrey invested a lot of money in the team and involved some of the stars of Russian show business in the work.
He invited the famous Pamela Anderson to shoot the video for the rock ballad “Roar of Engines.” She reincarnated as the bride of a wealthy man, who is kidnapped right from the wedding ceremony by a biker.
The “Pilgrim” team also took part in the filming of the famous film “Dangerous Tour”; they recorded the soundtrack for this film. The guys also became famous for their collaboration with many famous rock bands from abroad.
In 2010, “Pilgrim” pleased fans with a disc called “7.62.” A few months later they released another album, which they called “Martha”. Many could not understand what was included in the title of the record, a woman’s name or the month of the year. The songs of Andrei Kovalev and his group were mainly about love, the meaning of life and lyrics.
Solo career
In 2011, Andrei again pleased the people with an album. This time with his solo, which he gave the name “My Woman”. For the first time, compositions from it were presented at the capital's variety theater. Such celebrities of Russian show business as Katya Lel, Diana Gurtskaya, the Reflex group and Irakli also performed there.
Now Kovalev is still engaged in creativity; he cannot imagine his life without music. So, every year fans have the opportunity to enjoy 3-5 new hits from their idol. Also, Russian pop stars regularly appear in videos for Andrei Kovalev’s songs.
In addition to his career as an artist, Kovalev is the author of several collections of poems. One of them was released in 2017. At the moment, Andrey is working on another book, which he promises to publish next year.
Personal life of Andrey Kovalev
A talented and prominent man was never deprived of female attention.
A large army of his fans always gave him compliments, gifts, and various offers, which, of course, he liked. However, after meeting his future wife, he stopped being interested in other girls.
His first wife was Tatyana. They got married when Andrei was 30 years old. Some time later, a daughter, Julia, was born into the family. The couple separated due to misunderstandings and domestic disagreements. At least, that’s what Kovalev said in one of his interviews.
The man was lonely for a short time; soon he met a girl from the glorious Ukrainian city of Odessa. Her name is Maria Bulgakova. They have a big age difference, but this did not stop the couple from inflaming strong feelings for each other. They are not painted, but in 2014 the girl gave Andrey a son, whom they named Nikita.
Information recently appeared in the press that our hero plans to formalize guardianship over the son of Anna Kalashnikova (model and famous actress). Rumor has it that he is this boy's godson and would like him to have a real father. Many also talked about the fact that Andrei is the biological father of Daniil (Kalashnikova’s son). The singer himself denies this information, and the model reports that the father of her son is Prokhor Chaliapin.
Kovalev today
In 2018, our hero became the owner of a large plot of land in the Moscow region. The complex that Kovalev bought has historical value. Thus, it is known from reliable sources that the princes Bibikovs, Golitsyns and Trubetskoys once lived there.
Andrey plans to restore everything that has lost its former appearance and organize a huge museum on this territory. The wife supported her husband’s idea; she promised to help him in any way she could.
Businessman and musician Andrey Kovalev launches the gastronomic project “Gastrotusa”.
Mr. Kovalev began developing the concept of the project more than a year ago. Andrey traveled to almost all the capitals of the world, got acquainted with all similar European concepts and became convinced that there is nothing like this not only in Moscow, but nowhere else in the world. The concept is based on the intersection of general interest in original street food projects, on interest in everything environmentally friendly, farm-based, unusual, national, pristine (hence the success of Usachevsky, Danilovsky and other farmers' markets) and the love of Moscow residents for parties and concerts. Andrey decided to combine all this in his new mega-project “Eat. Drink. Tusi."
- Our visitors will come to us not for an hour, for a quick snack, but for the whole day or all night. We will create an ocean of interests for them. We will have a combination of closed, private and open spaces where hookah and karaoke lovers, bikers and craft beer fans can find a place. Everyone will find a place according to their interests! - says Andrey Kovalev. - By the way, on the project you can easily meet your soulmate... And this is an important part of our project, as a place where people will get to know each other... And we will give the girls disinterestedly, free of charge and from the heart, two glasses of champagne so that they came to us more often. This project is aimed at young people, but will also be of interest to older people. If you look at the project in the morning and afternoon, you will see parents, grandparents with their children and grandchildren who will come to children’s matinees and performances, and office employees will come during the day during their lunch break. And in the evening, students and managers will appear who want to hang out, have a drink, have a snack, listen to their favorite performer, or take part in a karaoke or computer game championship. The concept is not designed for our clients to come, eat and leave, but for our guests to spend several hours with us, try the cuisine in different cafes, have a drink, listen to music, watch a presentation of a new film, and dance. We expect that on weekdays we will work until 2-3 am, and on weekends - until the morning, after midnight gradually turning into a disco with fashionable DJs. In the summer, numerous gastronomic events, music festivals and competitions, exhibitions of retro cars, and gatherings of bikers and street racers will take place at the summer venues. The advantageous difference of the project is that there is a free parking lot for 500 cars on its territory. I would like to note that the permission to use open fire is unique.
The facility is located 100 meters from the Rokossovsky Boulevard metro station, 50 meters from the Moscow Central Circle interchange hub. More than two million people live within close proximity, and the presence of the MCC interchange hub makes it possible to reach another two million people living in close proximity to MCC stations. The main architect of the project is Yulia Shchors. The project is distinguished by facades with a combination of antique loft bricks and the most modern lighting solutions. The interiors use an eclectic mix of the most modern styles and stylized historical structures, a combination of authentic original antiques, such as 19th-century cast-iron floor tiles, antique lanterns and fashionable plastic installations.
The core of the team is made up of employees of the EcoOffice group of companies, who have been working in the field of real estate management for many years. The team also included specialists from Andrei Kovalev’s production center, who have all the necessary competencies in the field of development of creative projects and promotion on the Internet. The new employees are experienced specialists in the restaurant business.
59-year-old singer Andrei Kovalev is an enviable groom. The artist not only records songs, but also organizes festivals and is also a producer. Kovalev’s personal life was a secret for a long time. After breaking up with his wife Tatyana, the music star did not talk about his chosen ones. However, Andrei recently made an exception and spoke on the Channel One program “About Love” about his 23-year-old common-law wife who gave birth to his son. Not long ago, the celebrity family moved to Kovalev’s luxurious house.
For three years now, Kovalev has been in a relationship with a young Odessa resident, Maria Bulgakova. The age difference between the lovers is about 40 years. However, this does not bother either the artist or his young lady, who gave birth to the star’s son Nikita. “He is my smartest and most educated child,” Kovalev is sincerely proud of his heir.
According to Kovalev, he immediately distinguishes between girls who only need money from a man. “They have a sparkle in their eyes, they are predators. It cannot be hidden, and it shows. Sooner or later, she still lets it slip,” said Kovalev.
“When my mother found out that I was dating Andrei and I would have a child with him, she was most likely upset, but did not show it. She and I burst into tears together, she supported me and said that everything would be fine,” said Maria Bulgakova.
Kovalev met Maria while walking down the street. “She was dressed very modestly. It was clear that she was a decent girl,” the singer recalls. Without much hesitation, the artist invited the pretty young lady to star in his video, and also invited her to a karaoke club. The relationship between Andrei and Maria developed rapidly. Then Kovalev decided to buy new things for the Odessa resident. According to the celebrity’s chosen one, he spent $500 on her – a decent amount of money at that time. However, after Maria heard the offer to go with Andrei to the hotel, she disappeared.
After some time, Kovalev returned to Ukraine. The artist’s romance with the Odessa woman began with renewed vigor. The girl’s pregnancy was a pleasant surprise for Andrey. Now the artist dotes on his heir. “It was an amazing feeling for me. After all, I already have a daughter, and every man dreams of a son,” said Kovalev.
// Photo: Still from the program “About Love”
However, despite the seriousness of their relationship, the lovers are in no hurry to formalize it. At the same time, Maria dreams of a white dress and a formal ceremony, but considers the stamp in her passport a formality. Andrei himself joked that he first expected several children from his beloved. The hosts of the program, Roza Syabitova and Sofiko Shevardnadze, insisted that Kovalev propose to his chosen one on air. But Bulgakova said that she did not want to get married this way.
