Park Gorkogo
Park Gorkogo
Genres: hard rock, rock, russian, glam rock, russian rock
Similar artists via Last.fm
Ария
About Park Gorkogo
Gorky Park (international title) or "Парк Горького" (Russian title) was a Soviet Russian glam metal band that gained short-lived mainstream popularity in the USA during the Perestroika times. Gorky Park is famous for its kitsch use of Western stereotypes of Russians, such as pseudo-traditional clothing, balalaika-like guitar design, and the hammer and sickle as their logo. It was the first Russian band to be aired on MTV. In 1987 guitarist Alexey Belov, vocalist Nikolay Noskov, bassist Alexander "Big Sasha" Minkov, guitarist Jan Janenkov, and drummer Alexander Lvov (formerly from Aria) came together to form Gorky Park. Stas Namin, a famous 70's Soviet musician and a leader of Tsvety, became the band's manager. Since Gorbachev lifted the censorship, many underground rock bands, including Gorky Park, have become able to receive more widespread popularity. Later that year, the band left Russia for the USA in search of a record deal. In the U.S., the band soon made some connections in the record business. One of the first people to notice was the famous guitarist Frank Zappa. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora helped them secure a deal with Mercury Records. The band released a self-titled debut album in 1989, featuring the initials GP stylized as a hammer and sickle on the cover. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and growing interest in the Soviet Union in Western countries, Gorky Park became widely known. The band seemed to be a kind of symbol of American-Russian friendship. The band's first video, "Bang," received MTV rotation. Their next two singles, "Try to Find Me" and "Peace in Our Time," a collaboration with Bon Jovi, received rotation on mainstream radio stations. Gorky Park participated in that year's Moscow Music Peace Festival alongside Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, and the Scorpions. The band continued into 1990, touring with Bon Jovi and performing at the opening ceremony of the Goodwill Games. Gorky Park often featured bands dressed in traditional Russian style, waving Soviet and American flags. In 1991, the band received a Scandinavian Grammy Award for the best new international act. As the Perestroika era ended, the group's fame in America subsided rather quickly. Nikolai Noskov left the band in 1990, but GP remained active and released albums in the 1990s. Moscow Calling, released in 1993, sold 500,000 copies outside the United States. Their next album, Stare, was released only in Russia in 1996 and was followed by a promotional tour of the former Soviet Union (USSR) states. In 1998, the band released Protivofazza. In 1999, Alexander Minkov left the band and started his solo career under the stage name of Alexander Marshall. Gorky Park was never officially claimed to have disbanded but has been inactive since 2001.
Taken from Last.fm
100,446 listeners · 1,498,293 plays via Last.fm