"Alisa" (Alisa) is a rock band that needs no introduction. Their popularity has spread not only throughout Russia, but also far beyond its borders. One of their most famous songs - "Sky of the Slavs" - can safely be called the anthem of Russian rock. They gathered stadiums thirty years ago, when no other band could even dream of such success. And nowadays the young artists are not young anymore and remain popular, continuing to please crowds of fans with both old hits and new compositions.
How the legend was created
The group "Alice" was formed in Leningrad in 1983. At that time, there was a discord in the collective "Crystal Ball", and the musicians separated. Svyatoslav Zaderiy - their former leader, Pavel Kondratenko and Andrey Shatalin (guitarist of the band "Demokritov Well") united and created a completely new collective. A little later Mikhail Nefedov and Peter Samoilov joined them. The last member didn't last long, and he was soon replaced by Boris Borisov.
The newly formed group could not choose a single direction in music for a long time. After long arguments they decided not to fixate on one genre and just play "as it feels". They created a one-of-a-kind "chaos program", which they presented to the public at the Leningrad Rock Club festival. Konstantin Kinchev, who joined the band in 1984 and became the band's leader, inspirer and "face", heard Alice for the first time there. The artist later admits that he did not plan to stay in the band for a long time, but after the release of the first album, the departure of Svyatoslav Zaderiy and several successful performances, he realized that this was "the beginning of something very big and mighty". And his intuition did not let him down.
Since 1986 their popularity has been rapidly gaining momentum. At that time, the participants had already managed to star in the movie "Cross the Line", and a couple of years later in the movie "The Burglar".
The attention and love of the audience to the collective gradually increased. A new era in Russian rock began - the era of "Alice".
Undying popularity and creative biography
And then there was touring. They traveled from one city to another, conquering the public, gathering full halls. The band released hits one after another. Each year was marked by the release of a new album.
Feeling very confident on stage and off it, the artists became famous for their scandalous actions. At one of their concerts, Kinchev got into a fight with a policeman who wouldn't let his pregnant wife backstage. A case was brought against him, which was soon closed. At the performances of the band there were often riots and scuffles. But it did not interfere, and sometimes, on the contrary, cheered up the musicians, gave them new strength, filled them with energy.
In 1988 they already stood on the stage next to the most popular bands of that time: "Nautilus Pompilius", "DDT", "Black Coffee".
In 1989 the band went on tour in America with the program "Red Wave". They just bathed in the rays of fame. A split was released in the USA and Canada: two vinyls, both sides of which contained compositions of the most popular Russian rock bands. In addition to Alice, there were Strange Games, Aquarium, and Kino.
In the 90s, a lot of Konstantin Kinchev's attention was paid to Orthodoxy. He plunged into faith, which had a vivid reflection on the creativity of the entire collective. Religious themes often seeped into the lyrics. And since 2001 "Alice" stopped giving concerts and participating in any other performances during the Dormition and Great Lent.
In 2000, Konstantin Kinchev was accused of fascism. The reason for this was a picture of a rotor on the cover of the album "Solntsevorot". After long explanations and a number of proofs, the topic settled down. But religion was traced in the band's work for a long time. In the mid-2000s their music became heavier, more radical and deeper.
But after five years the band slightly moves away from the theme of God, spirits and everything supernatural. In order not to lose fans and follow the new musical trends, they began to sing more about the world around them.
What is the secret of the band's success, no one has been able to figure out yet. She more than 35 years hold a whole army of fans. Musicians gather stadiums, bring the audience to hysterics, tear off squalls of applause. Their songs are known to our parents, we know them and our children will know them. Alice's music never gets old, never loses its relevance. Each album pleases with new hits, and the participation of the group in any festival dooms it to success.
"Alice's Army".
In 1991, along with the release of the next album "Sabbath", there was a fan club of the group. It consists of absolutely different people: by age, social status, gender. But all of them are united by boundless love to the band's creativity. They call themselves "Alisomans", go to concerts together, accompany them on tour.
Initially, the club members helped to distribute the group's paraphernalia, then began to receive discounts on tickets. In the early 90's they even published their own newspaper and had a program on the radio. But these projects did not last long.
In 1996 Alice had an official website, which brought their "army" to a new level. Today the fan club continues to live. It is not an organization where you can "join" or where they can "accept". This is simply a million-strong crowd of fans of the creativity of the legendary collective, which maintains relations, communicates with each other, helps with the solution of various problems.
"Alice" in our days.
In the last five years, the collective releases albums not as intensively as before. But for most artists, and this period (once every two years) seems to be an unattainable figure.
Despite all the changes in the band, Konstantin Kinchev has never left his "brainchild". In today's lineup with him are Dmitry Parfenov, Pyotr Samoilov, Andrey Vdovichenko, Pavel Zelitsky and Alexander Pyankov.
Celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2018, they moved on a large-scale tour. Within the framework of concerts, new songs from the latest albums sounded. But the audience almost always along with these compositions demanded to perform such hits as "Route E95", "Vereteno" and others, without which "Alice" would not be itself.
About further merits of the group will be available in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1985 - "Energy".
1987 - "Block of Hell"
1986 - "The Sixth Woodsman"
1989 - "Art. 206 part. 2"
1991 - "Sabbath"
1993 - "For Those Who Fell from the Moon."
1994 - "Black Label"
1996 - Jazz
♪ 1997 ♪
2000 - "Solstice"
2001 - "Dance"
2003 - "It's Later Than You Think"
2005 - "Outcast"
2007 - "Becoming of the North"
2008 - "The Pulse of the Keeper of the Labyrinth Door."
2010 - "Ъ"
2011 - "20.12"
2012 - "Sabotage"
2014 - "Circus"
2016 - "Excess"
2019 - "Posolon"
