Yuriy Shatunov is a true legend of Russian pop music. As a member of the collective "Tender May", he achieved tremendous success. By the time he reached the age of 18, the young man had no musical education, parental love and support, connections in show business. But he had an absolute ear, original vocals, a whole army of fans and nationwide adoration. After the disintegration of the first Soviet youth boy band, the young performer made a short pause. And having gained strength and energy, began to write a new page of creative biography called "solo career". And today he remains for many not just a favorite singer, but a true symbol of the era of youth.
Difficult childhood
Yuri Vasilyevich was born in Bashkiria, in the village of Kumertau on September 6, 1973. Relations between his parents were complicated, so the father's surname was not taken by the baby. Almost immediately after birth, the boy was given to the care of his grandmother in another city. Mother Vera and father Vasily for three years tried to build a normal family, but in the end still parted. However, no one was in a hurry to take the child away.
When Yura was five years old, his grandmother died. At that time, his mother was already living with a new man. He did not want to accept a stranger's son in the family, drank a lot and constantly scandalized. From an early age, Yuri had to simply run away from home, so as not to fall under the wrath of his stepfather.
For some time the guy lived with his native aunt - Nina Gavrilovna. She was a member of the folk song ensemble and tried in every way to teach Yuri musical literacy. But the nephew flatly refused to learn, despite the fact that even then he had a perfect ear and could pick up any melody on the guitar.
In 1982, Vera Shatunova sent her son to boarding school. Two years later she died. Becoming an orphan with a living father, the boy found joy in rare visits to Nina Gavrilovna. She was the only one who showed him care and love.
In 1985 Yura found one more "native" person. It was the director of the orphanage Valentina Tazekenova. She took the boy under her responsibility and took care of him in every possible way. When she was transferred to the Orenburg boarding school as head, Shatunov followed her. It was there that he "made friends" with music.
The period of "Tender May"
In the new boarding school, Yuri met with the head of the musical circle Sergei Kuznetsov. He was just looking for a performer for his own compositions. Young, promising and handsome owner of absolute hearing was an ideal option. They wrote a couple of songs for Shatunov and started rehearsals. Then the same composition included bass-guitarist Vyacheslav Ponomarev, light-music tuner Sergei Serkov and Kuznetsov himself. They called themselves "Laskovy May".
The first performances were in 1986 - first in a boarding school, and then in the local House of Culture. Two years later, the guys recorded their first album with their own efforts. It included such hits as "White Roses", "Gray Night", "Summer", "Melting Snow" and others. They took the cassettes to a kiosk at the railway station. And in the same year they were visited by a famous producer Andrei Razin, who accidentally heard their songs on the train. At that time he was the manager of the popular collective "Mirazh" and had good connections.
The group was invited to Moscow, where they were engaged in their promotion. Although they did not have to put much labor - their creativity conquered the audience from the first song.
"Laskovy May" became the most popular musical group. The guys gave 40 concerts a month. Their personal record - 8 performances a day and an audience of 50 thousand listeners. They were adored, their songs were admired, the guys were sympathized with and sincerely loved. Till 1991 the group had about 20 albums on their account. The success was stunning. Compositions performed by the group for three years did not leave the hit parades. But in early 1991, Yuri Shatunov returned from touring in America and left the project. Without him, the group could not exist.
Solo career
For some time after leaving, he just rested and enjoyed a measured life. But then he realized that he lacked a scene, that he began to be forgotten about. Then Yuri began to work on a solo career.
In the following years, he studied in Germany on the sound engineer, starred in "Christmas meetings" Alla Pugacheva, played in the movie "Thirtieth to destroy". He spends most of his time in the studio, working on songwriting. In 1992 he releases his debut album "You Know", two years later - "You Remember", then - "White Roses" ... He changes producers, contracts with recording studios, adds to his discography. Slowly but surely, brick by brick, he builds his career as a solo performer. After entering the big stage, the artist again waited for fame and success. After all, the generation that grew up on the songs of "Tender May" will never forget and will not stop loving Yuri Shatunov.
In the early 2000s, his songs acquired a completely different style: they became deeper and more mature. The public always warmly welcomes the artist, who performs at concerts and fresh compositions, and all the favorite hits in a new arrangement.
Personal life
Yuri Shatunov has never been deprived of female attention. But the only girl whose heart had to "win" became his wife. With Svetlana they met in Germany, there they settled down and gave birth to two children-Dennis and Estella. Yuri admits that his son and daughter have become the meaning of life for him. Since he was not familiar with parental affection, he tries to give all his love to them. The singer does not talk about personal, carefully hiding from the press all the details of family relations.
Today he continues to create and delight fans with his achievements. Dense tour schedule, scheduled for the year ahead, indicates that the popularity of Shatunov does not fade. Fans are looking forward to new songs and performances. What Yuri will still please his listeners, read in the catalog of artists on the site kontramarka.de.
Discography (solo albums):
1992 - "You know"
1994 - "You Remember"
1995 - "White Roses"
1995 - "Pink Evening"
1999 - "Diary"
2001 - "Remember May"
2002 - "Grey Night"
2002 - "Leaves Falling"
2004 - "If You Want... Don't Be Afraid"
2006 - "Record My Voice"
2012 - "I Believe"
2018 - "Don't Be Silent"
2019 - "Favorite Songs"
