Who came up with the idea of ​​creating a lyube group? Little-known facts about the group "Lube"

In the 1990s, Nikolai Rastorguev and the Lyube group toured extensively and successfully throughout Russia and abroad. During the first three years of the group's existence, about 800 concerts were organized, attended by more than three million people.

In 1992, the album “Who Said We Lived Badly?” was released. with the songs “Come on, play around”, “Hare sheepskin coat”, “Have mercy, Lord, on us sinners”, “Tram Pyaterochka”, which became hits.

In 1994, the album “Lube Zone” was released, where the songs “Road”, “Horse”, “Forgive me, Mom” were presented.

In 1996, the group released the album "Kombat", songs from this album - "Moscow Streets", "Samovolochka", "The main thing is that I have you" - immediately became popular, and the song "Kombat" took first place in the Russian charts .

In 1997, the collections “Collected Works” and “Songs about People” were published. The discography of "Lube" continued with the albums "Songs from the concert program" (1998), "Half-Stanochki" (2000), "Let's go for..." (2002), "Anniversary" (2002).

In 2003, the Lyube group, specially for Defender of the Fatherland Day, released a thematic collection of their “military” songs - “Guys of Our Regiment.” It included the songs “Combat”, “Soldier”, “There, behind the fogs”, “The main thing is that I have you”, “Samovolochka”, “Call me quietly by name”, “Come on for...”. The album also included the legendary songs “Two Comrades Served,” “The Last Battle,” covered by Nikolai Rastorguev, and cover versions of Vladimir Vysotsky’s songs “On Mass Graves” and “Song of the Stars.”
In 2005, "Lube" released the album "Rassya". The disc featured a duet between Nikolai Rastorguev and Nikita Mikhalkov - the composition “My Horse” based on the poems of the White Guard officer Nikolai Turoverov. The album also included the song "Clear Falcon", which the group recorded with Sergei Mazaev and Nikolai Fomenko.

In February 2009, the Lyube group celebrated its 20th anniversary in the Kremlin, in honor of which.

In April 2009, Nikolai Rastorguev underwent a complex kidney transplant operation, and on June 12 on Red Square on Russia Day.

In 2012, Rastorguev celebrated his anniversary at Crocus City Hall.

The new album of the group "Lube" - "For you, Motherland!" came out in 2015.

In addition to vocal creativity, Nikolai Rastorguev mastered the acting profession. In 1994, he played the main role in the film “Lube Zone”, starred in the musical films “Old Songs about the Main Thing” (1996, 1997, 1998), the comedy “On a Busy Place” (1998), the crime film “Check” (2000), film "Women's Happiness" (2001).

Rastorguev played Sharnin in the series "Striped Summer" (2003), Fyodor Kuzmich in the crime comedy "Money" (2014), Mark Bernes in the series "Lyudmila Gurchenko" (2015).

Songs performed by him are heard in the films and TV series “Hot Spot” (1998), “Kamenskaya” (1999-2000), “Admiral” (2008), “Gentlemen Officers: Saving the Emperor” (2008), “Dusty Work” (2011 ), "Family detective" (2011-2012), "Such work" (2014-2016).

In 2002, Nikolai Rastorguev made his debut at the Vl. Mayakovsky in Andrei Maksimov's play "Love in Two Acts".

In 2005, Rastorguev tried himself as a TV presenter and starred in the series of television documentary programs “Things of War”.

In 2006, he joined the United Russia party, and in 2010 he became a deputy of the State Duma of the fifth convocation from the Stavropol Territory, and became a member of the Culture Committee.

Rastorguev is married for the second time. The singer has two sons - Pavel (born in 1977) and Nikolai (born in 1994).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Biography, life story of the group "Lube"

"Lube" is a Soviet and Russian musical group (rock, folk, chanson).

Start

The birthday of "Lyube" is considered to be January 14, 1989 - it was on this day that the first compositions of the group "Lyubertsy" and "Old Man Makhno" were recorded at the "Zvuk" studio. In January of the same year, the new group had already begun recording their debut album "Atas", consisting of 14 songs. The name of the group was invented by Nikolai Rastorguev, for whom the word “lyube” has been familiar since childhood - in addition to the fact that the musician lives in Lyubertsy, near Moscow, in Ukrainian this word means “any, every, different,” but, according to Nikolai Rastorguev, every listener can interpret the name of the group the way he wants.

In 1988-89, at a time when the groups "", "", etc. were at the peak of popularity in Russia, no one expected the appearance on the Russian stage of a group whose work would be very far from imitating the sweet-voiced Western disco. The Lyube group, unexpectedly for many, entered the category of “stars”, gaining popularity among Russian listeners in a short time, regardless of social status and age category.

The idea of ​​​​creating a Russian group singing about the spiritual values ​​on which more than one generation of Russian people grew up - about the Motherland, a sense of patriotism and duty to the country, about what is dear to the soul of a simple person, for whom the homeland is the yard where he grew up, friends of youth, first love, and who needs a song outside of politics and fashion, a song for the soul - the idea of ​​​​creating such a group belongs to composer and producer Igor Matvienko.

Initially, Igor Matvienko and the poet Alexander Shaganov developed the concept, wrote poems and music for the songs, and developed the image of the group. All that remained was to find the main character - the leader of the group and select musicians that corresponded to the developed image. The role of the vocalist was offered to Nikolai Rastorguev, who at that time had thirteen years of experience in the groups “Leisya, Song”, “Six Young” and in the group “”, whose artistic director was at one time Igor Matvienko.

CONTINUED BELOW

The fundamental idea of ​​the new group’s creativity is the preservation of the best traditions of Soviet song culture. Initially taking as a basis a fighting, patriotic-labor core, introducing modern arrangements into it, using folk melodies, expanded parts of male choirs in choruses, Russian intonations, even quotes from works that have become Russian classics, the group occupied a niche that had been empty for decades on the Russian stage . The extraordinary energy of "Lube", a positive attitude, pronounced masculinity and, of course, the brilliant lyrics of Alexander Shaganov, folk motifs in music, urban folklore and an open "hooligan", an unexpected soloist: courageous, strong, and most importantly - "his own" - all this made an impression on “unprepared” admirers of Russian pop songs. Success came suddenly - the band became popular, and our entire once vast homeland became acquainted with its work.

The first touring lineup of the group was as follows: Alexander Nikolaev - bass guitar, Vyacheslav Tereshonok - guitar, Rinat Bakhteev - drums, Alexander Davydov - keyboards. True, the group did not last long in this composition - since 1990, there was a change of musicians in the group.

In 1991, a CD and audio cassette with the debut album "Atas" appeared on the shelves of music stores, songs from which "Old Man Makhno", "Taganskaya Station", "Don't Ruin, Men", "Atas", "Lyubertsy" were already well received familiar to the whole country. A year later, the group released their second album, “Who Said We Lived Badly..?” The video for the song “Don’t be a fool, America” from this album was presented at the video clip competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a special jury prize, which is an unprecedented event in the history of Russian video making (Artem Troitsky called the video "an example of Russian computer architecture"). The compositions from the second album are less attacking in their mood. “Tram Pyaterochka”, “Hare Tulupchik”, “For You”, “Old Master”, etc. – songs of a person more focused on his inner world than “working” for external shockingness.

The stage image of the group leader - a military uniform of the 1939 model - was formed by chance: the prima of the Russian stage at the "Christmas Meetings" in 1989, in a conversation with Nikolai, suggested that he wear an old-style military uniform for his performance.

During the first three years of its existence, the group gave about 1,000 concerts, during which time it attracted more than 5 million people to its performances.

The next stage in the group’s work was the work on the film “Lube Zone” directed by the director, for whom this film is his debut in big cinema. It all started when the group decided to give several charity concerts in detention zones, making a documentary and several videos about it. But later the idea came to make an artistic musical film. Work on the album, which formed the basis of the film, lasted about two years - the musicians worked with “live” sound, while simultaneously preparing for filming. The script is based on seven new songs, each of which is a complete musical novella that tells a short story. The plot of the film is quite simple: a television journalist () comes to the detention zone and interviews prisoners, a guard, and a child from an orphanage. People tell, remember, and everyone’s story is a song. At the same time, the group "Lube" gives a concert in the camp. Although the case takes place in a colony, the criminal aspect does not dominate the picture - this, according to Igor Matvienko, is rather a zone of human life. "Lube Zone" is a film made for songs “each of which is united by a single feeling of repentance, which sooner or later comes to every person”. The group's album of the same name with the compositions "Road", "Orphan of Kazan", "Moon", "Horse" in its theme, depth and drama goes beyond the usual boundaries existing in Russian show business. The seriousness of the intentions of the musicians and the band's producer was also expressed in the fact that they delayed the release of the finished album until the release of the film for almost a year and a half, risking reducing the level of their popularity by performing old things. After the premiere of the film in 1994, it became clear that the group was still loved by the public, despite the rather experimental sound of the musical material in a manner unusual for “Lube”. The “Lube Zone” CD became the best among domestic CDs in the production and sound category at the end of 1994 in Russia; for winning among more than 60 (sixty) Russian recording companies, it was awarded the “Bronze Spinning Top” prize. The CD's creativity and design have been praised by American design firms.

In 1996, at the “Slavic Bazaar” festival in Vitebsk, Nikolai Rastorguev, in a duet with the People’s Artist of the USSR, first performed the song “Talk to Me” (music by Igor Matvienko, lyrics by Alexander Shaganov), which was soon included in the album, which became a new stage in the collective’s creativity. The same masculinity, mischief, and soulfulness in the songs remain, only the theme has changed. The Chechen war entered into more than one Russian family; the song “Combat” from the album of the same name, which was written even before these tragic events and dedicated to the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, turned out to be relevant. According to the results of many charts, this composition became the song of 1996. The single "Combat" was released on February 23, 1996. In May of the same year, the group's album was released, entirely dedicated to a military theme. It sounds like new compositions - “Samovolochka”, “Soon Demobilization”, “Moscow Streets” - and already well known to several generations “Dark Mounds Are Sleeping”, “Two Comrades Served”. There are no groups on the Russian stage that, like Lyube, would perform works close to the army spirit. And the popularity of the album “Combat” is proof of this.

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation (number 1868) dated April 16, 1997 “For services to the state, great contribution and strengthening of friendship between peoples, many years of fruitful activity in the field of culture and art,” Nikolai Vyacheslavovich Rastorguev was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

In February 1997, the Lyube group released a disc on which they presented the most famous compositions of the group over the eight-year history of its existence (from 1987 to 1997). Each "Lube" record is presented in the "Collected Works" with its best songs. The author of the music of almost all the group’s songs is Igor Matvienko, the authors of most of the poetic texts are Alexander Shaganov, as well as Mikhail Andreev. In December 1997, the group released their new album, “Songs about People.” A video clip was shot for the song “There Behind the Fogs” by director Oleg Gusev and cameraman Max Osadchy, which first appeared on television in November 1997. With the release of this album, the group opened a new stage in their work - abandoning military themes, the new disc is conceptually selected songs about human relationships - happiness and unhappiness, sadness and slight nostalgia for a bygone time did not leave indifferent the majority of those to whom these songs are dedicated - ordinary people.

In February 1998, in support of the album “Songs about People,” the group went on a concert tour of Russian cities. The tour was sponsored by the Peter the Great trademark. The group's multi-day voyage ended with a concert at the Pushkinsky Concert Hall on February 24. A video and audio version of this performance was released on two CDs, audio and video cassettes in the spring of 1998. In 1999, the group celebrated its tenth anniversary. A number of performances by the group and the new album “Lube” were dedicated to this event. The anniversary album, consisting of 10 tracks, was released on May 10, 2000.

In 2001, the Lyube group gave a live concert on Red Square in honor of Victory Day. That same year, Vladimir Putin, the country's president, appointed Nikolai Rastorguev as cultural adviser. In 2002, the group released the album “Come on for...”, in 2005 – “Rassya”, in 2009 – “Ours”, in 2015 – “For you, Motherland!”.

“Lube” celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2004 with collections of the best military songs and several concerts, some of which were dedicated to the celebration of Defender of the Fatherland Day. In honor of its twentieth anniversary, the album “Own” was released in 2009. In 2014, the group turned 25 years old - a rare event for show business.

The rock group “Lube” will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019. Its permanent leader and soloist is a charismatic owner of a courageous baritone. Under the direction of the producer, the team managed to become the most nationally patriotic of the domestic ones. More than once he called “Lube” his favorite group.

Compound

The idea of ​​creating a team belongs to Igor Matvienko. In 1987, he worked at the Record studio: the composer and producer felt that listeners had a need for new music, different from the monotonous Soviet pop music. Together with the poet Matvienko developed the concept of the new group, selected the lyrics and music for the songs.

Creativity was based on patriotism with elements of folklore and military themes. The musical accompaniment is rock, mixed with Russian folk songs. At the head of the group, Matvienko saw a strong vocalist, who would often be supported by backing vocalists, and sometimes would perform full-fledged choral parts. All that remains is to find that same leader.

The producer met Nikolai Rastorguev at an audition for the “Hello, Song” ensemble, where he worked as artistic director. Igor Matvienko was looking for a soloist to replace the one who left the group. Rastorguev had experience working in the group “Rondo” and VIA “Six Young People”. The producer's image of the stocky Nikolai did not fit with the rock band format. However, Rastorguev convinced Matvienko of his need.

“Lube” began recording its first songs on January 14, 1989 - the date is considered the official birthday of the group. The name of the group was invented by Rastorguev: in addition to the fact that he lived in Lyubertsy, “lube” is translated from Ukrainian as “all kinds, different.” This meant that the team uses different genres in their creativity.

The first line-up of “Lube” was as follows: vocalist Nikolai Rastorguev, guitarist Vyacheslav Tereshonok, bass guitarist Alexander Nikolaev, keyboardist Alexander Davydov and drummer Rinat Bakhteev. The arrangement was undertaken by artistic director Igor Matvienko. The first cast did not work together for long. However, during the existence of the group, the core has rarely changed: many members have been playing in the group for 20 years.

Today, the Lyube group consists of permanent vocalist Nikolai Rastorguev, keyboard player and accordion player Vitaly Loktev, drummer Alexander Erokhin, guitarist Sergei Pereguda, bass guitarist Dmitry Streltsov and backing vocalists Pavel Suchkov, Alexey Kantura and Alexey Tarasov.

Nikolai Rastorguev was awarded the titles of Honored and People's Artist of Russia - in 1997 and 2002, respectively. Group members Vitaly Loktev, Alexander Erokhin and Anatoly Kuleshov were awarded the title of Honored Artists of the Russian Federation in 2004.

During its existence, the Lyube group lost two talented musicians: on April 19, 2016, bass guitarist Pavel Usanov died from a traumatic brain injury received in an attack. On the same day in 2009, another Lyube member, Anatoly Kuleshov, died in a car accident. A plane crash on December 25, 2016 over the Black Sea claimed the life of the band’s former backing vocalist Evgeniy Nasibulin, who worked in the band in the early 90s.

Music

The first tour took place in March 1989 in Zheleznovodsk and Pyatigorsk. The concerts took place in empty halls - no one knew the Lyube group yet. In December of the same year, she invited the team to “Christmas meetings” with the songs “Atas” and “Don’t ruin, guys.”

It was the Prima Donna who came up with the stage military image of the frontman. The uniform rented from the Soviet Army Theater suited Rastorguev so well that the audience mistook him for a retired officer. After the broadcast of the concert, the Lyube group instantly becomes famous. A few months later the band's first album was released.

In March 1991, concerts entitled “All Power - Lyube!” were successfully held. In addition to the fans’ favorite songs “Old Man Makhno”, “Atas” and “Lyubertsy”, new compositions were performed that had not previously been broadcast on radio and TV: “Hare Tulupchik”, “Don’t be a fool, America” and others.

After the success, “Lube” begins to shoot videos: the city of Sochi was chosen as the location for the first one. The frames were drawn by hand, so the video was shown to viewers only in 1992. Two years later, the video for the song “Don’t Be a Fool, America” was awarded a special prize “For humor and quality of visuals.”

In the same year, the group changes its performance style to a more serious one, adding more rock and expanded choir parts. The new album “Lube Zone” was recorded for almost two years, which included the hits “Horse” and “Road”.

The collection “Collected Works”, published in 1997, included Rastorguev’s favorite song, according to the soloist himself, “There, Beyond the Fogs.” In the early 2000s, the group actively recorded albums and performed at various venues. On May 9, 2001, the group gave a grand concert live on Red Square in honor of Victory Day. The following year, President Vladimir Putin personally attended the performance of the Lyube group at the Festivalny Concert Hall in Sochi.

The research holding ROMIR Monitoring at the beginning of 2006 conducted a study, according to the results of which the Lyube group was considered the best pop group in Russia in January of the same year, beating and. The main fans are men of the middle and older age groups and people with high incomes.

In 2010, Rastorguev became a deputy of the Federal Assembly from United Russia, and also joined the State Duma Committee on Culture. In this regard, the team often takes part in actions of the ruling party, as well as the Young Guard movement.

In 2014, the Lyube group celebrated its 25th anniversary. The team released an album dedicated to this significant event. The presentation took place on February 23, 2015 at Crocus City Hall, where the group performed the “Combat” program. On February 7, on the opening day of the Sochi Olympics, the Lyube group presented the composition “For you, Motherland.” Igor Matvienko told reporters that the song is dedicated to the Games.

In 2015, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, Lyube, together with officers of the Alpha group, recorded the song “And the dawns here are quiet...”. The composition was used as the ending theme for the film of the same name.

It should be noted that the songs of the Lyube group are heard in more than 30 films. One of the most famous compositions was the soundtrack “Carry Me, River” for the 2000 TV series and feature film of the same name “Border. Taiga novel." The song was performed by the Lyube group together with its producer Igor Matvienko.

A few years later, the Lyube tracks “Let’s break through, opera!” and “Call me quietly by name” the whole country begins to sing - the songs are used in the popular series “Deadly Force”, produced by Channel One.

Musical compositions have been repeatedly nominated and won at various festivals and competitions: “Song of the Year”, “Muz-TV Award”, “Golden Gramophone”, “Chanson of the Year”. For example, the song “Come on for...” in 2002 received three prestigious awards.

"Lube" now

In 2015, a monument to the Lyube group was unveiled in Lyubertsy. The sculpture was called “Guys from our yard”, although it was originally planned to use the title of another song – “Dusya-aggregate”. The composition represents a girl sitting on a bench with a dumbbell in her hand, behind her is a man with a guitar, reminiscent of Rastorguev.

Since 2007, the lead singer of the group has been fighting for health. Nikolai was diagnosed with chronic renal failure; in 2009 he underwent surgery to transplant a donor organ. In 2017, due to emergency hospitalization, he did not go on stage in Tula - immediately before the concert, Rastorguev became ill. The Lyube press service clarified that the soloist was diagnosed with arrhythmia.

In 2018, the group is constantly touring: a busy schedule is posted on the official website. On average, Lube has 10-12 concerts a month. The team is invited to various Russian cities not only to indoor venues, but also to concerts on an open stage dedicated to City Day and professional holidays of city-forming organizations. In honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day, the team traditionally organizes two men's musical evenings at the Crocus City Hall.

Discography

• 1989 – “Atas”
• 1992 - “Who said that we lived badly?”
• 1994 – “Lube Zone”
• 1996 – “Combat”
• 1997 – “Songs about people”
• 2000 – “Half Stops”
• 2002 – “Let’s get…”
• 2005 – “Scattering”
• 2009 – “Ours”
• 2015 - “For you, Motherland!”

Clips

• 1992 - “Don't be a fool, America!”
• 1994 - “Moon”
• 1994 - “In the wild”
• 1994 - “Come on and play”
• 1997 - “Beyond the Mists”
• 1997 - “Guys from our yard”
• 1999 - “Let’s break through!”
• 2000 - “Soldier”
• 2001 - “Wind-breeze”
• 2002 - “Come on for...”
• 2003 - “Birches”
• 2008 - “Steelworkers of Russia”
• 2009 - “A Dawn”
• 2014 - “Everything depends on God and a little on us”
• 2015 - “And the dawns here are quiet, quiet”

Today, one of the most popular Russian groups of the post-Soviet era is celebrating its 25th anniversary - January 14, 1989 is considered the birthday of “Lube”.

The RG website has prepared several interesting facts from the history of the group.

Boots and tunic

Nikolai Rastorguev's stage image owes a lot to Alla Pugacheva. “Lube” achieved first fame after participating in “Christmas Meetings” in 1989. Then the Diva, drawing attention to the theme of the songs of the young group, suggested embellishing them with external elements in the style of the times of Gleb Zheglov and Volodya Sharapov - boots, tunics and the like. The idea turned out to be successful, and the corresponding costumes became a recognizable part of Lyube’s performances for a long time.

At Alla Pugacheva's "Christmas Meetings". Photo: Vladimir Vyatkin / RIA Novosti www.ria.ru

Beatlemaniacs

The official discography of “Lube” sometimes includes two “solo albums” by Nikolai Rastorguev - “Four Nights in Moscow” in 1996 and its later re-release “Birthday (With Love)”. The content of these albums is strikingly different from all other work of the group, although they were recorded with the help of the other members. On these records, Rastorguev realized his long-time dream - he recorded his cover versions of the songs of the legendary "The Beatles". It is noteworthy that the songs were recorded with minimal copyright edits in the arrangements, but they sound fresh and original.

Who if not Rastorguev?

The Lyube group, as you know, was a well-thought-out conceptual project of Igor Matvienko, and it was he who was responsible for selecting the group members. The longest search was for the frontman and vocalist. Among others, even the lead singer of the “Moral Code” Sergei Mazaev was considered for this position, but ultimately Nikolai Rastorguev became the permanent leader of the group. Much later, in 2005, Mazaev, together with Nikolai Fomenko, nevertheless took part in the recording of the group’s track - the song “Clear Falcon”.

Sergei Mazaev and composer Igor Matvienko. Photo: Ruslan Krivobok / RIA Novosti www.ria.ru

What is "Lube"?

The meaning of the group's name remains unclear to many. However, according to its author Nikolai Rastorguev, everyone is free to see in it the meaning that he considers correct. In addition to the obvious variant of origin from Lyubertsy near Moscow, this word has a Ukrainian meaning - “any”, which once again confirms Rastorguev’s words.

Graduates

The fate of some former members of the group who played in it in the early stages was curious. The second drummer of "Lube" Yuri Ripyakh decided to devote himself to producing work in 1991. Perhaps it is thanks to this decision that we today know the popular singer Alena Sviridova, whom he invited to the capital in the early 90s. Around the same time as Ripyakh, bass guitarist Alexander Weinberg played in Lyube. In 1992, he left the team, and today he is involved in politics - he is a member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the legislative branch of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Guest artists

For the first time, all the main musical parts in the studio versions of the songs were performed only by the band members themselves only in 1996 - seven years after its appearance, for the album "Kombat". Before this, Lyube’s busy concert schedule interfered with the recording process, and Igor Matvienko was forced in a number of cases to involve session musicians while the group was on tour.

The permanent producer of the Lyube group is Igor Matvienko. Photo: Alexey Filippov / RIA Novosti www.ria.ru

Childhood and adolescence

Remembering his childhood, Rastorguev noted that it was the most ordinary: yard games, football, forays into the forest, trips to nearby construction sites. For such adventures, he was often punished by his strict father, as well as for his mediocre academic performance: Kolya had C grades in almost all subjects, including behavior. Although the boy certainly could not be called “stupid” - in his free time he read a lot, drew, and played the guitar.

Rastorguev became interested in music thanks to a friend, whose mother was the director of the Illusion cinema and always provided her son and his friends with contraband. In 1974, the boys saw A Hard Day's Night on the big screen, a film about the history of The Beatles. The film became a real event in the life of the young Lytkar resident.

Inspired by the success story of the Fab Four, he began to master the guitar, although he was sure that he had neither hearing nor ability for music. However, it was precisely thanks to his vocal abilities that he was accepted into a musical ensemble that performed in the cultural center of neighboring Lyubertsy. And the singer’s love for The Beatles remained throughout his life. In 1996, he even released the album “Four Nights in Moscow,” presenting listeners with his cover versions of Liverpudlian hits, and once attending a Paul McCartney concert, he could not contain his feelings and burst into tears.

Nikolay Rastorguev – Hey Jude (The Beatles cover)

After graduating from school, the young man became a student at the Moscow Technological Institute of Light Industry. He entered there not of his own free will (he himself wanted to continue his musical career), but at the insistence of his parents. Nikolai often missed boring lectures, and in the end the management decided to deprive him and other persistent truants of their scholarships. After this, Nikolai decided in his own way to “deal with” the head of the group, who reported to the dean about the missed classes. The beaten headman ended up in the hospital, and student Rastorguev was expelled. It is noteworthy that Nikolai’s mother sided with her son: “He did everything right. I myself taught him that you can get punched for telling the truth.”

This was the end of Nikolai’s higher education. He got a job as a mechanic at the Lytkarino Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering, and soon married Valentina, a girl who lived in the same yard. In 1977, their son Pavel was born.

The beginning of a musical career

Until 1985, Rastorguev performed as part of the VIA “Leisya, Song”, until the group was disbanded due to criticism of the authorities (the participants were accused of failure to fulfill the state program). Left without work, Nikolai auditioned for the VIA “Singing Hearts”, but there was no place as a vocalist for him. But he was warmly welcomed in the musical group “Rondo” - for about a year he was the band’s bass player.

Nikolai Rastorguev in the group “Rondo” (“Hello, lights out”, 1985)

In 1986, Rastorguev replaced vocalist Oleg Katsura in VIA “Hello, Song”. The new “assignment” became fateful for Nikolai: he met the aspiring composer and keyboard player Igor Matvienko, who, as it turned out, had long been nurturing the idea of ​​​​creating a musical group with songs on patriotic themes.

Rastorguev and the Lyube group

The history of the name “Lube” originates from the Ukrainian language - “Lube”, which in the youth slang of those years meant “anything, any”. By naming the group this way, the musicians wanted to emphasize that their songs would be received with a bang by all music lovers, regardless of age, gender and genre preferences.

“Cages”, the first video of “Lube” (1989)

Two months later, the song “Old Man Makhno” was heard on the radio. And the group first appeared on television in 1989, performing the songs “Don’t chop, guys” and “Atas” at the second New Year’s festival “Christmas Meetings” by Alla Pugacheva. According to Rastorguev’s recollections, it was the prima donna who gave “Lube” some advice regarding her image. At her suggestion, the group members wore military uniforms from 1939: a tunic, tarpaulin boots and riding breeches.

In 1990, the demo album “Lyube” was released - “We will now live in a new way or rock about Lyubertsy.” The title song of the album told the story of a young man who lives with the times, plays sports, criticizes the Western way of life and promises to help his hometown start a new life. Later, the record formed the basis of the debut album “Lube” - “Atas” (1991).

The group's popularity is growing rapidly: a prize at the Song of the Year 1990 festival, appearances on television, including the popular intellectual show What? Where? When?". In 1992, the group’s second full-length album, “Who Said We Lived Badly?”, was released.

“Lube” - “Roulette”, performance on “What? Where? When?"

In 1993, the musicians decided to mix their music videos into a feature film. This is how the film “Lube Zone” with Marina Levtova in the title role was released. In the story, her heroine, a journalist, interviews prisoners and guards of the zone, and each story is a song by the group.

"Lube Zone"

In May 1995, “Lube” presented to the public a song that became their number one hit: the composition “Combat,” which instantly topped the domestic charts and was recognized as the best song of that year. A year later, the album of the same name was released, which, in addition to “Combat,” included the compositions “Soon demobilization,” “Moscow streets,” “Eaglets,” “Dark mounds are sleeping” and other hits. In support of the album, the group staged a large-scale tour, later there was a performance at the Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk and a duet between Rastorguev and Lyudmila Zykina (“Talk to Me”).

Two years later, the musicians delighted listeners with their fifth studio album, “Songs about People,” which included the compositions familiar to all fans of the group: “There, Behind the Fogs,” “Guys from Our Yard,” “Starlings,” “The Volga River Flows” (duet with Zykina) , "Song about a friend."

"Lube" - "Combat"

In 2000, “Lube” celebrated its 10th anniversary with the album “Half-Stanochki”. Almost all the songs from the new record became hits. Thus, the song “Soldier” was awarded the “Golden Gramophone”, and the composition “Let’s Break Through!”, with which the series “Deadly Force” began with Konstantin Khabensky, was known to every TV viewer in the “zero” years.

In 2002, Rastorguev was awarded the title of People's Artist. In the same year, Nikolai tried himself as an actor on the stage of the Mayakovsky Theater, taking part in the production of “Love in Two Acts.”

Rastorguev also has experience working on television: in 2005, he had the opportunity to host a series of documentary programs, “Things of War.”

Political activity

In the 2012 presidential elections, Rastorguev supported Vladimir Putin; was registered as his official trustee.

Personal life of Nikolai Rastorguev

Soon after the birth of their son Pavel, difficult times began in the young family. Valentina's father, who provided financial assistance to the newlyweds, died, Nikolai was left without work and did odd jobs. However, harmony reigned in the house: the understanding wife did not force Nikolai to do any job, believing that sooner or later his talent would be appreciated.

Alas, the marriage, which stood the test of difficulties and hardships, eventually cracked. 15 years after his marriage, in 1990, Nikolai met the costume designer of VIA “Zodchie” Natalya. For a long time they met secretly, and one day Nikolai simply did not return home from tour, and soon married his beloved. In 1994, the couple had a son, Nikolai.

The younger Rastorguev did not have a particular passion for singing, but he still sang in the school choir, and also voiced Giard, one of the main characters, in the cartoon “Prince Vladimir.”

Health problems

In 2007, the singer became seriously ill. Constant fatigue, insomnia, lower back pain... At first he blamed his heavy workload and age, but doctors diagnosed him with “chronic renal failure” in an extremely advanced state.

A kidney transplant was required, and while doctors were looking for a donor, Rastorguev had to undergo hemodialysis every day. Because of this, the geography of Lube’s tours was seriously reduced, until the singer underwent a transplant in 2009.

Nikolay Rastorguev: exclusive interview for the 60th anniversary

In September 2015, Rastorguev was hospitalized during a concert in Tel Hashomer, Israel. Due to the extreme heat, his blood pressure dropped; He staggered, barely finished the last song and almost collapsed on the floor, after which he was admitted to a local clinic.

Nikolay Rastorguev today