Biography of the Bravo group. Composition of the Bravo group - you need the name of the soloist of Bravo Leonid Soloists of the Bravo group by year

Let's look at the women of the Bravo group. In addition to Zhanna Aguzarova, whom we will not talk about, because everyone already knows her, three more girls sang in the Bravo group. Who are they?

I will quote a fragment from Alexey Pevchev’s book “BRAVO. Authorized biography of the group”:

“The first replacement for Aguzarova was the singer Anna Salmina, invited at the suggestion of the leader of the “Dialogue” group, Kim Breitburg. With Anna, the song “King Orange Summer” was recorded with verses by the Moscow poet Vadim Stepantsov, which, according to a survey of “Sound Track” “MK”, became the most popular composition of 1986.

The song was planned for "Morning Mail". It was not easy for a young, beginning, albeit very talented group to get into one of the most popular TV programs broadcast throughout the country. First, we needed paper for the studio where this song needed to be recorded. Editor Olga Borisovna Mochanova (who later worked in the “Wider Circle” program) said that this was only possible if the lyrics of the song were changed. After consultation, the text was changed. Zhanna was supposed to record the song in the first Ostankino tone studio, but she was several hours late for the recording. Realizing that the recording was cancelled, Khavtan called Anna Salmina.

Anna Salmina

Before Bravo, Anna worked in the groups Blue Bird and Girls. The hit "King Orange Summer" was played actively, information about the replacement of the vocalist was not made public, so many believed that "King King Orange Summer" was being spanked by Zhanna Aguzarova. However, Salmina did not stay long at Bravo.

Evgeniy Khavtan:“Anya completed a very important task, and it is impossible not to appreciate it. The first big hit after the period of the so-called underground was recorded with her. In addition, according to our agreement with the Philharmonic, we had to play at least ninety concerts within three months in order to , in order to submit the program to the artistic council and travel around the country. All these three months, Anya heroically wandered around the Moscow region with the group. And this is almost every day a hundred kilometers of traveling back and forth, plus sound checks and the concert itself. Not everyone can handle this!..."

Group "Bravo" and Anna Salmina - "King Orange Summer"

For some time, the place of vocalist was occupied by the beautiful Tatyana Ruzaeva, but she worked in the group for a record short period. The surviving concert recordings of “Bravo” with Ruzaeva, which are not of very high quality, can be attributed more to a small creative experiment than to an attempt at serious collaboration.

Tatyana Ruzaeva as part of the group "Bravo"

Evgeniy Khavtan:“At some point, I realized that all attempts to find a replacement for Zhanna were useless. It was simply impossible to replace her with someone else.”

The last attempt to work with a female vocalist was made by Khavtan after he heard eighteen-year-old singer Irina Epifanova. She had a strong voice, a cheerful disposition and fit right in with the group associated with the girl on the microphone. Epifantseva previously sang in the Arbat street group “Battleship Kibadadi”. Her two new songs - “Jamaica” (a cover of the old hit by Robertino Loretti) and “Red Light” - were played on all radio stations in 1990. The two surviving tracks, recorded in the Orion studio, feature the brass section of Sergei Bushkevich (trumpet) and Alexey Ivanov (saxophone), with Kvartal leader Arthur Pilyavin playing keyboards.

Irina Epifanova

Irina Epifanova:“Zhenya Khavtan called me, we met at the beginning of 90. Aguzarova was already getting ready to go to America, left the group, and Zhenya Osin had been working at Bravo for almost a year. I had to say goodbye to the Battleship Kibadadi group, they understood everything correctly , and I started working with Khavtan.

Group "Bravo" and Irina Epifanova - "Jamaica"

When the Bravo group was invited to Donetsk on June 2 for the MuzEko-90 festival, all our unimaginably popular rock bands came there. The Moscow group left immediately after the end of the event, but Peter stayed to drink, and so did the Bravo group. We were accommodated in the Donetsk hotel, and the windows looked directly onto the stadium where the stage stood. Even before the concert, at about nine in the morning, as soon as we arrived, the saxophonist and drummer from “Bravo” and I approached the stage and were just starting to put our instruments on stage when we saw a man in a light jacket, it was Georgy Guryanov, drummer from the group “Kino” . He came up and asked Fedor (our saxophonist): “They say you have a girl, a soloist?” And Fedya points at me: “Here she is!” Guryanov asks: “What kind of flowers does a girl like?”, I answer: “Any white ones!” "Will roses be okay?" "They'll do!" I ask Fyodor: “Will Tsoi give me roses, or what?” He laughed in response. She began to torture him, and he admitted: “The song will be performed in your honor three times - “White Roses” in the restaurant, but you’re staying for the banquet!” A local Donetsk band was playing in the restaurant, and Guryanov, wearing dark glasses, when Tsoi appeared, approached the musicians and said something. And they played "White Roses" three times in a row. They finished off everyone. At tables with white tablecloths and Olivier, like the roses from the song, sat rows of rocker guys, all wearing very black leather biker jackets.

Group "Bravo" and Irina Epifanova - "Red Light"

After “Roses,” Tsoi came out, stood on the protruding edge of the stage and said into the microphone: “Our regiment has arrived, we must congratulate the Bravo group on their new soloist!” Everyone was completely drunk, I was the only one sober. I remember Sergey Lapin (bass in Bravo) was sitting, Bushkevich was sitting, Igor Danilkin and Chatsky, our technician, were sitting, and they were shouting to me in unison: “We congratulate you, now you will stay with us forever!” I say: “This can’t be!” They told me: “No, Ira, this is your sentence, you will remain in fate for the rest of your life.”

Irina had a lot of plans, but, as it turned out, they ran counter to the plans of the Bravo group. The roads diverged. Together with Irina, saxophonist Fyodor Ponomarev, with whom she had an office romance, left the group."

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"Bravo"- a popular Russian group. Music in the beat style of the 50s and 60s. The team is known for its "hip" image.

Brief biography:

The group was created in 1983 (Moscow) by Evgeniy Khavtan (guitarist) and Pavel Kuzin (drummer), who previously played in Garik Sukachev’s band.

Period of Zhanna Aguzarova:

The lineup was also replenished with Alexander Stepanenko (saxophone) and the then-unknown Zhanna Aguzarova (vocals). Their first magnetic album was distributed exclusively through friends.

March 18, 1984 – the first, as it later turned out to be illegal, concert took place Bravo, which ended in scandal. All participants and organizers then wrote explanatory notes for illegal business, because the concert was paid.
Aguzarova spent several months under investigation for falsifying her passport (according to false documents she was listed as Ivanna Anders), and then left Moscow due to lack of registration.

Sergei Ryzhenko is hired into the group to fill the vacant vocal position.

In 1985, Zhanna Aguzarova returned to the team, after which, through the joint efforts of Bravo, they managed to achieve a legal position.

Thanks to the help of Alla Pugacheva, the group attended the TV show “Musical Ring”. The next year was marked by participation Bravo in the festivals "Rock Panorama-86" and "Lituanika-86". The professionalism and popularity of the team was rapidly gaining momentum.

In 1987, the first official studio album, “Bravo,” was released, with a circulation of five million copies.

Period of Valery Syutkin:

Discord arose in the relationship between the musicians and Aguzarova, as the singer chose to remain underground. As a result, she left the group. As a result of the casting, Evgeniy Osin became the next vocalist. But a year later he left Bravo.

In 1990- Valery Syutkin became the permanent vocalist of the group. After which a fresh hit was recorded -

Updated Bravo lineup:
- E. Khavtan (guitar)
- S. Lapin (bass)
- I. Danilkin (drums)
- S. Bushkevich (trumpet)
- A. Ivanov (saxophone)
- V. Syutkin (vocals)

With this composition, the group recorded albums that later became popular: “Hipsters from Moscow”, “Moscow Beat” (hit album -), and also. Tours took place throughout the CIS and videos were shot, which were regularly played on radio and TV.

Robert Lenz period:

In 1994, Valery Syutkin left the group. He successfully invested all his efforts into a solo career, eventually becoming the leader of the Syutkin and Co. ensemble.
At the same time, Pavel Kuzin (one of its founders) and Alexander Stepanenko (the first saxophonist) returned to Bravo.

With the release of the album "At the Crossroads of Spring", the name of the new vocalist was announced - Robert Lenz (he remains the same at the present time) - a previously held casting (in 1989).
Evgeniy Khavtan has also performed songs in recent years.

Popular hits during this period were the following compositions: “It’s dawn outside the window”, “If on Mars” and.

The group recorded many albums, the first of which was released in 1983. The group's style gravitates towards rock and roll, beat and rockabilly of the 60s, with elements of surf rock, ska, swing, new wave, etc.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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  The group was founded in the fall of 1983 by guitarist Evgeniy Khavtan and drummer Pavel Kuzin, who left the Postscript group due to stylistic differences. The vocalist of the new band was Zhanna Aguzarova, known under the pseudonym Yvonne Anders. Saxophonist Alexander Stepanenko and bassist Andrey Konusov joined the group. With this lineup, in the winter of 1983, the first magnetic album was recorded, distributed through friends.

  The debut concert of “Bravo” took place in December 1983 at a disco in Krylatskoye. "Bravo" performed the most relevant music for that time: "new wave", neo-rockabilly and reggae. The group's second concert took place on January 28, 1984 at school No. 30 in Moscow. Together with Bravo, the following took part in the concert: “Zvuki Mu” (the group’s debut), Viktor Tsoi, Sergei Ryzhenko, and the experimental duet “Ratskevich & Shumov”. The concert on March 18, 1984 at the Mosenergotekhprom cultural center ended in scandal. The organizers and participants of the illegal concert were detained by the police and forced to write explanatory notes, since holding unofficial concerts for money was an illegal business. Zhanna Aguzarova spent several months under investigation for falsifying documents (her passport was issued in the name “Yvonne Anders,” under which she performed) and was forced to leave Moscow due to lack of registration. In her absence, the composition of the group changed significantly, and Sergei Ryzhenko performed the duties of vocalist.

  In 1985, with the return of Zhanna, the group managed to achieve legal status and join the Moscow Rock Laboratory. Thanks to meeting Alla Pugacheva, Bravo was invited to the Leningrad TV show “Musical Ring”. At the beginning of May 1986, the group took part in the Rock Panorama-86 festival, where they received the audience award, and 2 weeks later - in the Lituanika-86 festival. On May 30, the musicians performed on the same stage with Alla Pugacheva, Alexander Gradsky, and the groups “Autograph” and “Cruise” in the concert “Account No. 904”, the proceeds from which went to the Chernobyl relief fund. In 1987, the Melodiya company released the first official release in the USSR, “Bravo” - the album of the same name recorded by the group in 1986 Ensemble "Bravo"(C60-26201 004), which sold about 5 million copies.

  Transition period (1988-1990)

  By this time, the musicians' relationship with Aguzarova had deteriorated, who preferred to remain underground. The scandals ended with the departure of the vocalist. She was replaced by Anna Salmina, who sang the hit song “King Orange Summer,” for which a video clip was shot and shown on Central Television in the “Saturday Evening” program. The song “MK” became the most popular composition of 1986 according to the “Soundtrack” poll. After Salmina, Tatyana Ruzaeva worked in the group for a short time, and then Zhanna Aguzarova decided to return to Bravo, but in 1988 she left to pursue a solo career. “Bravo” arranged auditions for new vocalists, including Robert Lenz and Evgeniy Osin, who came to every rehearsal, begging to be hired as anyone, be it a drummer or a guitarist. In 1989, he was taken into the group, the team recorded an album with him Let's say to each other “Bravo!”, which was distributed only on reels. Despite this, the songs “I’m sad and easy” and “Good evening, Moscow!” became popularly known. At the beginning of 1990, Irina Epifanova joined the group, who recorded two songs with her: “Jamaica” (in Italian) and “Red Light”. This period was captured in one of the episodes of the TV show “Brain Ring”, namely on the set of the semi-finals of the first season, where the group performed these two songs. Soon, however, Irina left the lineup for a solo career and already in August took part in the Yalta-90 music festival, where she took third place.

  Syutkin period (1990-1995)

  After a long search in 1990, “Bravo” finally found a permanent vocalist - he became Valery Syutkin, who had previously played in the groups “Telephone”, “Zodchie” and “Fan-o-man”. At first, there was disagreement in the group about his hairstyle. Syutkin had impressive hair, which did not fit into the image of a dude. After lengthy debate, Valery finally agreed to adjust his hairstyle and adjusted it to rock and roll standards. V. Syutkin’s original hairstyle can be seen when watching the very first video of the updated “Bravo” lineup for the song “Vasya,” filmed specifically for the Soviet television program “Morning Mail,” in which the presentation of the new lineup and new material was supposed to take place. On August 25, 1990, a new line-up of the group debuted: E. Khavtan - guitar, V. Syutkin - vocals, I. Danilkin - drums, S. Lapin - bass, A. Ivanov - saxophone, S. Bushkevich - trumpet. With this lineup, the group recorded their most famous albums: Hipsters from Moscow, Moscow bit And Road to the clouds.

  The song “Vasya” became the first joint work of Khavtan and Syutkin and launched the next round of popularity for “Bravo”. It started with Khavtan playing a piece of music for Syutkin and asking him to compose some text about the dude. The singer immediately came up with a story about a certain macho man who is known throughout Moscow for his toughness and irresistibility. The only problem that arose was when the character had to choose a name. At first, Khavtan insisted that the name should be pretentious (the dudes loved this very much) - for example, Edik. But Syutkin, on the contrary, thought that it was much more fun to play in contrast - let the super-duper-man be called extremely simply. Then bassist Sergei Lapin blurted out: “What if it’s Vasya?” “Not this!” - Khavtan begged, but he was finally convinced.

  The material of the first album was combined: some of the songs (“Vasya”, “Hold on, dude!”, “Girl of 16 years old”) were written in the new creative collaboration of V. Syutkin and E. Khavtan. Together with him, V. Syutkin also brought to the group a composition of his own composition, “I am what you need.” The track was included in the album along with the instrumental composition “On the Dance Floor” (E. Khavtan). The rest of the album's material was previously recorded and performed by previous vocalists. The album featured a new sound of the songs “King Orange Summer”, “I’m Sad and Easy”, recorded in collaboration with E. Khavtan and the leader of the group “Bakhyt-Kompot” V. Stepantsov. The album also contains songs based on the poems by Evgeniy Osin “Good evening, Moscow!” and “Star Shake”, as well as A. Oleynik’s “Fast Train”, the music for which was written by Khavtan. In addition, the collection included a cover version of the famous Soviet hit of the 1960s “Black Cat”, sung by Valery Syutkin. The new phonogram for the old tracks was not rewritten; Syutkin’s vocal parts were superimposed on the already finished material. The collection was published in 1990.

  In October 1992, the group's first full-length album was released, the result of two years of work. All compositions on it were written in tandem by composer Evgeniy Khavtan and lyricist Valery Syutkin. 10 music tracks last about 30 minutes. The sound concept of the new albums was somewhat different from previous works. If before this, melodic guitar passages and experiments with a synthesizer were often used, coupled with beautiful and melodic female vocals, then the new sound changed towards classic rock and roll, the samples for which were mainly the classic American rock and roll sound of the 1950-1960s. x years. A particularly striking example is the album Moscow bit, consisting on the one hand of light and elegant compositions (“Lunatic”, “What a pity”, “That’s all”), and on the other - of fiery dance tunes (“Polar Twist”, “Space Rock and Roll” ), which, in turn, fully corresponded to both the spirit and sound of the classic shake, boogie and foxtrot.

  After Valery Syutkin took his place at the microphone, the group began its second round of popularity. If the first wave of success was associated mainly with romantic underground symbols and aesthetics, then the new image was focused entirely on the paraphernalia of the dudes. The key fetish of the Syutkin period is the tie. Fans at concerts shower band members with them. Hundreds of ties from that time are still kept in the collections of Syutkin and Khavtan (in an interview Khavtan said that he gave away all the ties long ago). A separate song appears - “Stylish Orange Tie”. In addition to a tie, the dude had to wear a loose jacket and trousers that would be comfortable to dance in, as well as wear dark glasses and multi-colored badges. In general, this image was borrowed from the stereotype of the appearance of a dude, which had already become a classic by that time, providing for all of the above details.

  The updated “Bravo” tours most of the CIS. The peak of Bravo's popularity was between 1990 and 1994. The group's videos appear on television, occupying first places in the charts. The culmination of the group’s second round of popularity are the anniversary concerts dedicated to the group’s tenth anniversary, held in Moscow in 1994. After a long break, Zhanna Aguzarova took part in them. Thus, the Bravo groups of 1983 and 1993 performed on the same stage. The concerts ended with the joint performance of the song “Leningrad Rock and Roll” by Aguzarova and Syutkin.

  In 1994, former Bravo musicians Denis Mazhukov (keyboards), Igor Danilkin and Dmitry Gaidukov created the beat group “Off Beat”. On August 12, 1994, the team made its debut at the Moscow club “Alyabyev”.

  Lenz period (since 1995)

  In 1995, Syutkin left Bravo and began a successful solo career at the head of the Syutkin and Co ensemble. At the same time, one of its founders, drummer Pavel Kuzin, and the first saxophonist and keyboard player Alexander Stepanenko returned to the group. The name of the new vocalist was hidden until the end of recording the album. At the crossroads of spring and was announced only in 1996. It turned out to be Robert Lenz (he remains in this position to this day), who had already taken part in the casting for this place in 1989. In recent years, Evgeniy Khavtan himself also began performing songs as a vocalist.

  In 1998, the group celebrated its 15th anniversary with the Bravomania concert tour, in which Syutkin and Aguzarova also took part. The tour was a great success, but the final concerts were canceled due to Jeanne's non-participation. In 2004, the group, celebrating its 20th anniversary, again invited its former vocalists, as well as friends: Garik Sukachev, Maxim Leonidov, Zemfira, Svetlana Surganova.

  In 2008, as part of the celebration of its 25th anniversary, the group gave a series of concerts: on October 31 in St. Petersburg (the special guest was Zhanna Aguzarova), and on November 12 in Moscow, in addition to Zhanna Aguzarova, Yuri Bashmet was invited with the chamber ensemble “Moscow Soloists” , with whom Bravo prepared a special program.

  In parallel with his work at Bravo, Havtan released several albums of side projects (the working title of the project was “Mickey Mouse and the Stilettos”). His song “36.6”, co-written with Dmitry “Sid” Spirin from the group “Cockroaches! ", topped the chart "Chart's Dozen".

  On September 19, 2011, the new album was released Fashion(named after the hit of the same name), which critics called one of the group's best works.

  In November 2013, an anniversary concert was held at the Moscow club Stadium Live, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the group, which was also received positively.

  On October 16, 2015, on Evgeniy Khavtan’s birthday, the album was released Forever, previously planned for the group’s anniversary. The peculiarity of the album was that Evgeniy Khavtan this time acted as the main vocalist, relegating Robert Lenz to the background.

  In 2018, the Bravo group will turn 35 years old. The band plans to release a new album for the anniversary. Bravo leader Evgeniy Khavtan spoke about this in an interview with Nashe Radio: “We have big dates coming up, downright scary ones. If we manage to record a record by this big date, it will be the best gift. That is, there won’t be any “funeral wreaths.” ", well, as is customary, when everyone comes out and brings out these “wreaths”, flowers, everyone says what a good hero of the day, it seems like he’s already lost his mind, but he stands, smiles, and doesn’t understand what’s going on. I want avoid that and release the record by that date." After the concert on December 2 at Moscow's Glavclub Green Concert, the group promised to take a long break, during which, apparently, they will actively work on the new album.

  The musicians of "Postscript" did not make any impression on Havtan, just as he did not make any impression on them. The only one he liked then was drummer Pavel Kuzin, who even then was drumming “quite briskly and technically.” But the “union” nevertheless took place, and, as it turned out later, Khavtan’s “branded” gadgets and guitar played an important role in this. Evgeniy tried to lead the team away from their chosen musical style, which was a mixture of art rock and hard rock, towards something, in his opinion, more progressive. In addition, the new guitarist did not like the bassist, and soon Sergei Britchenkov (the author of the lyrics of the composition “I Believe”) was replaced by bass guitarist Karen Sarkisov, brought by Khavtan. For some time, the renewed band (Garik Sukachev, Evgeniy Khavtan, Pavel Kuzin and Karen Sarkisov) played music in the new wave style, songs from the repertoire of the group Secret Service, Police and Garik’s compositions. But since the performances took place at dances in the club of the Mosenergotekhprom plant, where the musicians had a base, it was necessary to dilute the program with Italian pop songs. This situation did not suit anyone, and after one of the concerts, sitting in Kuzin’s kitchen, Pavel and Evgeniy decided that they were not on the same path with Sukachev. At the same time, Garik came to a similar conclusion, so the musicians separated by mutual agreement.

  The process of creating a new team began with the search for a saxophonist, because, according to Khavtan, it was impossible to play new wave without a saxophone. In Zhelsznodorozhny near Moscow, Alexander Stepanenko was found playing in a local banquet hall. Then Zhanna Aguzarova appeared: one night a call rang in Zhenya’s apartment, and the girl on the other end of the line said that she wanted to sing and was looking for an ensemble. “Before this, such alternative people as “Mukhomory” told me about her, whom the KGB had already tried to put in prison, and they miraculously had not yet gone to jail by that time. They told me that there was such a girl, and I was already ready for this call She came and captivated us all,” recalls the leader of the Bravo group, which began with the following line-up: Evgeniy Khavtan (leader, guitarist, composer), Ivanna Anders (aka Zhanna Aguzarova - vocals), Andrey Konusov (bass guitar ), Pavel Kuzin (drums), Alexander Stepanenko (saxophone). By the way, the name of the group was invented by Zhanna’s friend. After one of her visits to the Bolshoi Theater, the girl thought that the traditional theatrical cries of “Bravo” were a good name for the group. The musicians agreed that her proposal was better than the options they came up with - “Twist”, “Sheik” or “KVN”.

  The first song of the ensemble was the composition “Cats,” which Zhenya played to Zhanna on the guitar, and a few days later the vocalist brought a poem by William J. Smith for her. According to Eugene, Zhanna then had a rare gift for finding very successful poems for songs. The poetry and music of Havtan she brought formed the basis of the first 20-minute recording, which appeared on cassettes in 1984. “We were playing concerts, and I already felt that we were being watched,” says Evgeniy Khavtan. “In order to perpetuate our creativity, not yet knowing what will happen to us, we are at our rehearsal base with the help of the first distributors of magnetic albums Viktor Alisov and Yuri Sevostyanov We made this record, which today is a benchmark for me in terms of energy, mood, amount of sincerity and amount of crap - everything corresponds to the idea of ​​what a group’s first record should be.” This session is famous for the fact that bass guitarist Andrei Konusov, whose wife pinched his finger during a domestic quarrel, actually played his instrument with three fingers.

  A few weeks after the recording, on March 18, 1984 (Bravo considers this date its official birthday), the group’s infamous concert took place at the Mosenergotekhprom cultural center, the main characters of which were law enforcement officers, and the final coda was performed at the local branch police, where the musicians wrote explanatory notes about who organized their performance and how and where tickets were distributed. They could not imprison all members of the ensemble because there was no corpus delicti. Zhanna Aguzarova, who had problems with Moscow registration and passport, suffered the most - she was arrested and spent several months in a pre-trial detention center, and “Bravo” ended up on the well-known “black list” of prohibited teams, in which it occupied third or fourth place - after "Aquarium" with "Alice". However, during Zhanna's absence the group continued rehearsing. However, not believing in the possibility of further work for Bravo, the musicians began to leave the team. Bass guitarist Andrei Konusov went to Carnival, where he also played for a week and then ended his career as a bass guitarist forever. Instead, Timur Murtazaev, who played the double bass, came to Bravo. Alexander Stepanenko, who graduated from Gnesinka and simply needed concert practice, was invited to “Dynamic” by Vladimir Kuzmin. The departed saxophonist was replaced by Igor Andreev. During the “transitional” period, instead of Aguzarova, who wrote letters asking him to wait for her, Sergei Ryzhenko (“Football”, “Last Chance”, “Time Machine”) sang. The debut of the ensemble in the new composition took place at Alexander Lipnitsky’s birthday, which was celebrated at his dacha and where musicians from the groups “Kino”, “Aquarium” and “Zvuki Mu” were present among the guests. All of them took part in the festive concert, two years later the day after which Evgeniy Khavtan was expelled from MIIT.

  To make it more convenient for the KGB to control the creativity of young people, in 1985 a creative rock music laboratory was created in Moscow, where Bravo was invited. Zhanna Aguzarova returned, the ensemble received the status of an amateur group, Alla Pugacheva became interested in them, and invited the guys to take part in the “Score 904” concert, which took place in 1986 after the tragedy in Chernobyl. After the television broadcast of this concert, in which the song “I Believe” was performed, “Bravo” opened the way to television. The same Pugacheva presented the artists in the “Musical Ring” program. On Zhanna’s recommendation, xylophonist and keyboard player Pavel Markazyan joined the group. At the same time, Bravo was invited to Rock Panorama-86, which took place at the Central House of Tourist. Recognized masters of rock music - Alexander Gradsky, "Time Machine" and "Autograph" - were against the participation of an unprofessional team in the festival. However, the guys played their songs so desperately and famously that they received two awards at once - the audience award and the prize for the best show program. The then sharks of the nascent domestic show business could not remain indifferent to the fate of the young team. Valery Goldenberg invited Bravo to work at the Moscow Regional Philharmonic, and already in the status of philharmonic workers, the musicians took part in the Lituanika-86 festival, where their program was also recognized as the best. Believing that it was too early for Bravo to be professionals, Zhanna Aguzarova left the group after another scandal. Anna Salmina took her place at the microphone and sang the super hit “King Orange Summer”, which became the most popular composition of 1986 according to the “MK” Soundtrack poll. After Salmina, Tatyana Ruzaeva worked in the group for a short time, and then Zhanna Aguzarova decided to return to Bravo. In 1987, the company "Melodiya" released the record "Bravo", which was sold in the amount of 5 million copies - it was for this circulation that Evgeniy Khavtan was paid a fee of 260 rubles. The band’s performance at “Rock Panorama-87” was not as successful as the year before, because “Brigade S” loudly announced itself, and “Nautilus Pompilius” came from Sverdlovsk to conquer Moscow.

  In 1988, Zhanna Aguzarova again left the group to pursue a solo career. "Bravo" arranged auditions for new vocalists, including Robert Lenz and Evgeniy Osin. The latter came to every rehearsal, begging to be hired as anyone, be it a drummer or a guitarist. In the end, his persistence won out - in 1989 he was taken into the group as a soloist. Together with Osin, the team recorded several things that were never published anywhere, however, two songs - “I’m sad and easy” and “Good evening, Moscow” - gained all-Union fame. A year later, Irina Epifanova sang in Bravo instead of the departed Evgeniy Osin. Ironically, her work at Bravo is also reminiscent of two songs - "Jamaica" and "Red Light". In the same 1990, Evgeniy Khavtan invited Valery Syutkin to the team. One of the main conditions of his work in the group was a change of hairstyle - Khavtan persuaded Valery to cut his long hair. One of the first joint works was the song “Vasya,” which launched the next round of popularity for “Bravo” - this was the second renaissance of the ensemble, its leader believes. The first concert with frontman Syutkin took place on August 25, 1990 in the city of Sumy, consisting of: E. Khavtan - guitar, V. Syutkin - vocals, I. Danilkin - drums, S. Lapin - bass, A. Ivanov - saxophone, S. Bushkevich - trumpet .

  A year later, the album “Hipsters from Moscow” was released, and the record “Moscow Beat” was recorded. These two discs, plus the later Road to the Clouds, became the best-selling albums in Bravo history.

  The period from 1991 to 1994 became the most intense in the creative biography of the group (more than 1000 concerts). The team gave a colossal number of concerts, filling stadiums and traveling the length and breadth of the country. In 1992, the disc “Moscow Beat” was released, and a year later, after a successful tour dedicated to its 10th anniversary, “Bravo” recorded “The Road to the Clouds.” The musicians were the first in our country to include a remix of the title song on this disc, which they did together with Alexey Solovyov and the Raketa group. The release of the album was preceded by the release of a single with “Road to the Clouds” and several other things. By the time the record was released on General Records in 1994, it became clear that Valery Syutkin was leaving the team for a solo career, as creative differences arose in Bravo over what the group would represent in the future.

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  In the same 1994, the composition of "Bravo" was replenished with St. Petersburg bassist Dmitry Ashman, who played in the teams "Good Night" and "Never Trust Hippies", Kuzin and Stepanenko returned. Robert Lentz ("Quiet Hour" and Message) was again invited to fill the vacant vocalist position, and this time he agreed. However, for some time Bravo hid the name of its new singer, conducting rehearsals in an atmosphere of secrecy and simultaneously recording the album “At the Crossroads of Spring,” which was released in 1996. The release of the disc was again preceded by the release of a single. Evgeniy Khavtan considers this record one of his favorites, because it has “a very right mood.” In the spring, a presentation of the disc and the program “At the Crossroads of Spring” took place at the State Central Concert Hall “Russia” - this was the first performance of “Bravo” with a new soloist on a large stage. At the last of three concerts, on May 24, fans of the group were in for a real surprise - at the end of the program, Zhanna Aguzarova, who had just returned from America (who had gone overseas in 1990), unexpectedly appeared on stage and sang “Cats” and “I Believe.”

  The following year, the artists recorded “Hits About Love” - an album a little uncharacteristic of their usual style. At the end of 1997, the presentation of the single “Serenade 2000” took place, released in the original sleeve in the shape of a heart pierced by a guitar. “Serenade” itself was sung in a duet by Robert Lenz and the leader of “Bakhyt-kompot” Vadim Stepantsov. In general, Mr. Stepantsov wrote more than one text for “Bravo” - almost every album of the group contains compositions based on his poems.

  “Hits About Love” was released in 1998 by Exprope. The group decided to celebrate its 15th anniversary with a grandiose tour "Bravomania" with three soloists - Robert Lenz, Zhanna Aguzarova and Valery Syutkin. However, after the fifth concert, Zhanna left her colleagues and returned to Moscow. The solo concerts planned for the fall at the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall, which concluded Bravomania, did not take place.

  In 1999, the group members were engaged in their own projects. Alexander Stepanenko recorded two albums "Sea". Pavel Kuzin made the disc “Bravo, Zhanna” with remixes of the best songs performed by Zhanna Aguzarova, Evgeniy Khavtan mastered the computer and worked on the virtual project “Mickey Mouse and Stilettos”. In the summer, the musicians got together to prepare material for the new album. The first single from it - "XX Century" - was released on December 6 on the collection "U-2" together with the young groups "Dancing Minus", Nike Borzov, "Cartoons"....!

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  Biography, life story of the Bravo group

  Bravo is a Russian musical group formed in 1983 in Moscow. The permanent leader of the group, guitarist and author of the songs performed by the group is Evgeniy Khavtan. The group recorded many albums, the first of which was released in 1983. The group's style tends to the beat of the 50s-60s, with elements of jazz.
  Bravo is known for its hipster image, which influenced clothing fashion in the 80s.

  Periods of creativity

  1. Aguzarova period

  The group was founded in 1983 by guitarist Evgeniy Khavtan and drummer Pavel Kuzin, who left Garik Sukachev’s group “Postscript” due to stylistic differences. The vocalist of the new band was Zhanna Aguzarova, known under the pseudonym Ivanna Anders. Saxophonist Alexander Stepanenko and bassist Andrey Konusov joined the group. The first magnetic album was recorded with this composition, distributed through friends.
  The debut concert of “Bravo” on March 18, 1984 at the Mosenergotekhprom Palace of Culture ended in scandal. The organizers and participants of the illegal concert were detained by the police and forced to write explanatory notes, since holding underground concerts for money was considered an illegal business. Zhanna Aguzarova spent several months under investigation for falsifying documents (her passport was issued in the name “Ivanna Anders,” under which she performed) and was forced to leave Moscow due to lack of registration. In her absence, the composition of the group changed significantly, and Sergei Ryzhenko performed the duties of vocalist.
  In 1985, with the return of Zhanna, the group managed to achieve legal status and join the Moscow Rock Laboratory. Thanks to meeting Alla Pugacheva, Bravo was invited to the TV show “Musical Ring”. The following year, the group took part in the Rock Panorama 86 festival, where they received the audience award, and later in the Lituanika-86 festival. The group began to gain popularity and professionalism. In 1987, the first official release of “Bravo” took place on the state recording company “Melodiya” - the Bravo record of the same name by the group, which sold about 5 million copies.
  

  CONTINUED BELOW

  
  2. Syutkin’s period

  By this time, the musicians' relationship with Aguzarova had deteriorated, who preferred to remain underground. The scandals ended with the departure of the vocalist. At the casting, the group selected Evgeniy Osin, who worked in the group for only a year, to replace the new vocalist.
  In 1990, Bravo finally found a permanent vocalist - Valery Syutkin. At the same time, the group’s new hit was recorded: the song “Vasya”. On August 25, 1990, a new line-up of the group debuted: E. Khavtan - guitar, V. Syutkin - vocals, I. Danilkin - drums, S. Lapin - bass, A. Ivanov - saxophone, S. Bushkevich - trumpet. With this lineup, the group recorded their most famous albums: “Hipsters from Moscow”, “Moscow Beat” and “Road to the Clouds”. Bravo tours most of the CIS. Videos of the group appear on television.

  3. Lenz period

  In 1994, Syutkin left Bravo and began a successful solo career at the head of the Syutkin and Co. ensemble. At the same time, its founder Pavel Kuzin returned to the group. Bravo hid the name of the new vocalist until the end of the recording of the album “At the Crossroads of Spring,” and the vocalist was introduced only in 1996. It turned out to be Robert Lentz, who had already participated in the casting in 1989, and remains in this place to this day. In recent years, Evgeniy Khavtan himself also began performing songs as a vocalist.
  In 1998, the group celebrated its 15th anniversary with the Bravomania concert tour, in which Syutkin and Aguzarova also took part. The tour was a great success, but the final concerts were canceled due to Jeanne's non-participation. In 2004, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary, again inviting its former vocalists, as well as friends: Garik Sukachev, Maxim Leonidov, Zemfira, and the Mashina Vremeni group.
  In parallel with his work at Bravo, Havtan released several side project albums. His song “36.6”, co-written with Dmitry Spirin from the group Cockroaches!, topped the Chart’s Dozen hit parade.

  Discography:
  Albums
  * 1987 - BRAVO
  * 1987 - Bravo Ensemble
  * 1989 - Bravo Group
  * 1990 - Hipsters from Moscow
  * 1993 - Moscow beat
  * 1994 - Road to the clouds
  * 1996 - At the crossroads of spring
  * 1997 - Serenade 2000 (mini-album)
  * 1998 - Hits about love
  * 2001 - Eugenics
  Singles
  * 1994 - Road to the clouds
  * 1995 - The Wind Knows
  * 2001 - Love doesn't burn
  Collections
  * 1993 - Zhanna Aguzarova and “Bravo” 1983-1988
  * 1994 - Live in Moscow
  * 1995 - Songs of different years
  * 2004 - Star Catalog (tribute)