"Agata Kristi" (Agata Kristi) is a legend of Soviet and Russian rock. The songs of this band were listened to by our parents, their lyrics are known by heart by our generation. Modern youth has adopted this love, and "Carpet Helicopter" has become an indispensable companion of singing to the guitar. For more than two decades of existence, they have released about fifty nationwide hits. A unique genre, inimitable vocals, deep, sometimes depressive lyrics, became the main platform for the birth of Russian rock.
History of origin and composition
When the Soviet Union began to disintegrate, not too much attention was paid to music. Therefore, it is surprising how three schoolmates who studied together at the Ural Polytechnic Institute were able to build an entire "empire". Vadim Samoilov, Alexander Kozlov, Peter Mai - students of the radio engineering faculty, who already in their young years firmly knew that music was their calling. They founded a band called "RTF UPI". Missing days and nights at rehearsals, they recorded three albums. The guys performed in clubs, small concert halls, in the institute. But it was not enough. All the more they were loved in their hometown, and the number of fans was rapidly increasing.
February 1988 is considered special for the collective. After all, it was then that their first full concert was held, and the name of the group was officially changed to "Agatha Christie". Then Vadim Samoilov's younger brother Gleb joined the main lineup and started playing bass guitar.
During the history of their existence the line-up changed often. When they were students, saxophonist Alexey Mogilevsky, bass guitarist Alexander Kuznetsov, keyboardist Igor Karpenko, drummer Albert Potapkin, and vocalist Alexander Ivanov went on stage with them.
When "Agatha Christie" was already quite popular, there were also periodic replacements in the collective. In its creative biography there were such names as Lev Shutylev, Dmitry Khakimov, Konstantin Bekrev, Roman Baranyuk.
But Vadim Samoilov, Gleb Samoilov, Alexander Kozlov, Andrey Kotov are considered to be the "golden" composition of the group. They brought the greatest fame and popularity to "Agata" and wrote the weighty part of hits.
Creative path
After the first concert, they were often invited to various festivals and rock clubs. Popularity gradually increased, the band members actively recorded new songs. In 1989 they stepped on the capital stage for the first time, and then again, and again. They were loved by the public, "agates" were shown on television, and then it was decided to shoot a clip. "Our Truth" became their debut musical picture.
Having already two quite worthy albums ("Second Front" and "Cunning and Love"), the guys went on tour. They traveled first all over Russia, and then Scotland, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Denmark.
But the interest to Agatha Christie faded as sharply as it appeared. In the era of "phonogram disco", rock was not a popular direction in music. The very beginning of the 90's was not too successful. The next released albums that fell at this time - "Decadence" and "Shameful Star" - were imbued with negativity and aggression. But at the same time, their whole depressive nature did not prevent them from spreading across the country.
With the release of the song "Like at War," their popularity grew instantly. They got into rotation on radio and television. The guys began to be invited to various musical programs, and the most famous festivals did not do without their participation.
The fame of "Agatha Christie" spread throughout Russia and many foreign countries. In 1995 the band began to cooperate with the production agency Rise Music. Professional promotion and sponsorship helped them to take part in the most large-scale concerts, to establish an intensive touring schedule, to carry their creativity to the wider masses.
The next album "Opium" reached record sales - about 6 million copies. For this the band was honored with the World Music Awards. The following years were the most successful for the band - packed halls, crowds of fans, full houses in sports palaces. Their songs were known by heart, and always choral singing of folk hits became their calling card. 10-15 concerts a month sounds fantastic, but they had enough strength and energy to make every appearance on stage a real spectacle.
In 1998 there was a special event - the 10th anniversary of Agatha Christie's foundation became almost an all-Russian holiday. The frequency of appearance of their songs in radio airs reached record highs, the ORT channel congratulated them live from the very morning. But the most sensational was the jubilee concert in SC "Olympiysky". The full stadium was simply hysterical for two hours while the band was singing. The audience of many thousands unanimously performed all the songs with them, and at the end of the program several times called for an encore. Moscow at that time had never seen such a scale.
Having conquered the musical peak, they steadily kept there until 2001. The new millennium brought many other performers, new directions and styles. But "Agatha Christie" remained true to their principles, continuing to release albums in their own theme. Some of their songs were not allowed to be broadcast for their "depressive character". Having toured all of Russia and many foreign countries, the band gradually began to lose its former popularity and fame. By 2008 they practically stopped writing new songs, shooting music videos, going to concerts. This period can be called "the beginning of the end" of the legendary "Agata".
On February 10, 2009 it was announced about the breakup of the band. They played the final tour and put a stop at the festival "Nashestviye". The farewell concert was marked not only by the choral singing of fans, but also by the multi-voiced sobbing of avid fans.
In 2015, the musicians briefly reunited for two nostalgic concerts. But all hopes for the continuation of their creativity were in vain.
Years of musical activity of "Agatha Christie" were marked by incredible success. This band is the only one who could get 4 times Ovation Music Award, Open du Rock Grand Prix, Golden Gramophone, World Music Award and two awards from Fuzz magazine. But the main thing is that their songs are heard from generation to generation. And it will be many more years before people forget the words "The clouds in the sky are hidden, the stars are drunkenly looking down...".
Equally fascinating stories of other rock performers can be found in the artist catalog at kontramarka.de
Discography:
1988 - "Second Front"
1989 - "Insidiousness and Love"
1991 - "Decadence"
1993 - "Shameful Star"
1995 - "Opium"
1997 - Hurricane
1998 - "Miracles"
2000 - "Mein Khaif?"
2004 - "Thriller. Part 1."
2010 - "Epilogue"
