Autograph (Russian band)
Encyclopedia
Autograph was a Soviet Russian art rock
band, considered a pioneer of progressive rock music in Russia.
The group was founded in 1979 by Alexander "Sasha" Sitkovetsky, and achieved a considerable success at the first Soviet state-sanctioned rock festival
held in Tbilisi, Georgia with Sitkovetsky's songs 'Fasten Seat Belts', 'Ireland. Ulster' and 'Blues Caprice'. In 1982 vocalist Arthur Berkut
joined the band to finalize the lineup: Alexander Sitkovetsky
- guitar, vocals, Arthur Berkut
- lead vocal, Leonid Goutkin - bass, Leonid Makarevich - keyboards, Victor Mikhalin - drums, vocals.
Autograph was a typical for a Russian rock
band, playing more instrumental-based sound and much less symbolist lyrics. They are credited as a pioneering Soviet progressive
/art rock
band.
After a triumphal success and exhaustive touring throughout the USSR, Autograph became the first Soviet rock-group to achieve commercial success in the West, having toured more than 30 countries. On July 13, 1985, the band - the only one to represent the entire Eastern Europe - took part in Bob Geldof
's Live Aid
concert, performing before more than 2.5 billion people worldwide (transmitted live from Moscow). The signature song they performed was Нам нужен мир (or Nam Nuzhen Mir - We Need Peace).
In 1987 the band represented the USSR in the Soviet-American concert Our Move organized by Bill Graham
with Santana
, Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt
and James Taylor
as featured artists. Autograph also performed at numerous international festivals along with John McLaughlin
, Murray Head
, Kenny Rogers
, Tom Cochran
, Glass Tiger
, Ten Years After
, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
; opened for Chicago
; worked closely with David Foster
in Canada and Moscow, became a winner of the Sopot-87
contest in Poland bringing home coveted independent press and audience awards as well as the best song prize for Sitkovetsky's The World Inside.
After two years working successfully with an American manager Mary Becker, in 1989 the band signed a contract with Herb Cohen
(Frank Zappa's management) in Los Angeles
, California. Their debut album Tear Down the Borders on Rhino Records
was released in 1991 and one of the most popular songs I Need You from that album was recorded by Rick Springfield
for the blockbuster movie Iron Eagle II
.
Disbanded in 1990, "Autograph" reunited in summer of 2005 for a major re-union tour and a final grand anniversary concert at Moscow Olympic Stadium
. This historical event attracted thousands of the legendary band's fans and was the first ever to be held in "live-surround" format in Russia. The Autograph - 25 Years DVD and a live CD were released soon after.
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band, considered a pioneer of progressive rock music in Russia.
The group was founded in 1979 by Alexander "Sasha" Sitkovetsky, and achieved a considerable success at the first Soviet state-sanctioned rock festival
Tbilisi Rock Festival (1980)
The Spring Rhythms. Tbilisi-80 was a musical event held in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian SSR, Soviet Union, from March 8 to March 16, 1980. It was the first official rock festival in the Soviet Union and is frequently considered the turning point in the history of Soviet and Russian rock...
held in Tbilisi, Georgia with Sitkovetsky's songs 'Fasten Seat Belts', 'Ireland. Ulster' and 'Blues Caprice'. In 1982 vocalist Arthur Berkut
Arthur Berkut
Artur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev , better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut , is a Russian singer. Through his career he participated in numerous bands, most notable are Autograph, Mavrik, and Aria....
joined the band to finalize the lineup: Alexander Sitkovetsky
Alexander Sitkovetsky
Alexander Sitkovetsky is a British violinist.-Family:Sitkovetsky was born in Moscow to a musical family; his father being guitarist and composer Alexander Sitkovetsky of the Autograph fame, mother Olga Sitkovetsky being a pianist, his great uncle and aunts being violinist Julian Sitkovetsky and...
- guitar, vocals, Arthur Berkut
Arthur Berkut
Artur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev , better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut , is a Russian singer. Through his career he participated in numerous bands, most notable are Autograph, Mavrik, and Aria....
- lead vocal, Leonid Goutkin - bass, Leonid Makarevich - keyboards, Victor Mikhalin - drums, vocals.
Autograph was a typical for a Russian rock
Russian rock
Russian rock refers to rock music made in Russia or in the Russian language. Rock and roll became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s , when the Soviet underground rock bands...
band, playing more instrumental-based sound and much less symbolist lyrics. They are credited as a pioneering Soviet progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band.
After a triumphal success and exhaustive touring throughout the USSR, Autograph became the first Soviet rock-group to achieve commercial success in the West, having toured more than 30 countries. On July 13, 1985, the band - the only one to represent the entire Eastern Europe - took part in Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
's Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert, performing before more than 2.5 billion people worldwide (transmitted live from Moscow). The signature song they performed was Нам нужен мир (or Nam Nuzhen Mir - We Need Peace).
In 1987 the band represented the USSR in the Soviet-American concert Our Move organized by Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
with Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
, Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
and James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
as featured artists. Autograph also performed at numerous international festivals along with John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, Murray Head
Murray Head
Murray Seafield Saint-George Head is a British actor and singer, most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" and "One Night in Bangkok" and his album Say It Ain't So...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Tom Cochran
Tom Cochran
Thomas Leon Cochran was an American football fullback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he played college football at Auburn University. He died in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida in January 2010.-References:...
, Glass Tiger
Glass Tiger
Glass Tiger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1983, in Newmarket, Ontario.-Biography:Originally named 'Tokyo', the band produced several hit singles in Canada and placed two songs on Billboard magazine's top 10: "Don't Forget Me " and "Someday," both of which came from their debut album, The Thin...
, Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes are a Jersey Shore musical group led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recorded and/or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" and...
; opened for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; worked closely with David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
in Canada and Moscow, became a winner of the Sopot-87
Sopot International Song Festival
The Sopot International Song Festival is an international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It was the biggest Polish music festival altogether with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest annual song contest in Europe...
contest in Poland bringing home coveted independent press and audience awards as well as the best song prize for Sitkovetsky's The World Inside.
After two years working successfully with an American manager Mary Becker, in 1989 the band signed a contract with Herb Cohen
Herb Cohen
Herbert "Herb" Cohen was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and many other Los Angeles-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Life and career:Cohen was born in New York...
(Frank Zappa's management) in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California. Their debut album Tear Down the Borders on Rhino Records
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
was released in 1991 and one of the most popular songs I Need You from that album was recorded by Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
for the blockbuster movie Iron Eagle II
Iron Eagle II
Iron Eagle II is a 1988 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the first sequel to the 1986 film Iron Eagle, with Louis Gossett, Jr. reprising his role as Charles "Chappy" Sinclair. An uncredited Jason Gedrick also returns as ace pilot Doug Masters in the film's opening scene.Like its...
.
Disbanded in 1990, "Autograph" reunited in summer of 2005 for a major re-union tour and a final grand anniversary concert at Moscow Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena)
Olympic Stadium, known locally as the Olimpiyskiy or Olimpiski, is a large indoor arena, located in Moscow, Russia. It was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics and hosted the basketball and boxing events. A part of the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, it makes up one architectural ensemble with another...
. This historical event attracted thousands of the legendary band's fans and was the first ever to be held in "live-surround" format in Russia. The Autograph - 25 Years DVD and a live CD were released soon after.