Leva and Shura "Bi-2", whose biography will be described later, became known in 2000. Then Alexey Balabanov’s film “Brother-2” was released, the main soundtrack to which was the duet's hit “Colonel”. But the creative biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva began much earlier.
Group geography
The biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva is quite suitable for a geography lesson. Musicians were born in Belarus. Leva, Yegor Bortnik, in Minsk, Shura or Alexander Uman - in Bobruisk. Leva and Shura lived in Israel, after they moved to Australia. But only in Russia they were able to truly understand and accept. Today, Leva and Shura travel around the country, sometimes giving concerts with the participation of a symphony orchestra, and romp around the world. Life with constant traveling has long become familiar.
The meeting of Leva and Shura
The joint creative biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva began with the Minsk theater studio "Rond", to which Leva came in 1985. It just so happened that study ceased to interest him after the 8th grade of the school. Most of the participants are adolescents aged 14-18 years. But it was the studio that had a decisive influence on Leva, shaped its life principles and values.
The director of the studio noted that Leva did not show too much interest in literature. In his opinion, without literature, further stage advancement was impossible. Shura undertook to help a friend in the educational process. This was the starting point of the joint biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva. The Minsk Politburo banned performances, and soon Shura and Leva changed the texts to sheet music.
First stage steps
Leva was fond of poetry, but wanted to get an assessment of her work, showed poetry to Chur. He took the verses to his uncle, who had little connections and experience in the field of show business. Soon, Shura found out that in one of the clubs there was an opportunity to take equipment. So the idea was born to create a group. "Brothers in Arms" - that was the name of the first joint group of Shura and Leva. She was recognized as quite successful. At one of the festivals, Shura and Leva beat Max Pokrovsky and other already eminent teams. Soon, the musicians renamed the group to "Coast of Truth", shortening the name later to the modern "Bi-2". In 1991, the guys traveled around Belarus, released their debut album, which has the provocative title "Traitors to the Homeland."
At first, the group could not boast of a stable team, but Shura and Leva always stayed together, wrote songs together and discussed emerging issues.
The life of the group after the USSR
The collapse of the Union hurt the popularity of musicians. It was difficult to create in the context of perestroika, and Shura went to work in Israel. For a year and a half, the musician changed 15 professions in various fields. In 1992, the Bi-2 group re-assembled and won leadership at the Jerusalem Rock Music Festival. After the musicians gave several concerts and recorded their hit "Barbarian". Then they again had to leave.
Shura left for Australia and devoted himself entirely to music. The most successful was Shura's collaboration with the Chiron group. Shura and Leva decided to reunite the Bi-2 group. The first album was not very successful, but the second, named the same name with the group, brought fame to the musicians.
Group awards and projects
Bi-2 recorded tracks for many domestic films, including Alexei Balabanov’s “War”, in which the song “Fellini” sounded.
Three times the musicians received the title "Group of the Year", collected the most prestigious Russian awards "Golden Gramophone", "Muz-TV".
Alexander has his own solo project, called the "Shura Bi-2 band."
Personal life
The personal biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva does not become public. Shura met his love in Italy on vacation. From this marriage, the musician has two children: Eva (8 years old) and Oliver (5 years old).
Leva was married to Irina Makeeva, and in this marriage he had a son. But Leva left the family for Asya Streicher. In 2008, the couple gave birth to a son, Aiv, and after another 2 years, a second son named David.
Those who say that Russian rock is dead, the creative biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva proves the opposite. We suggest you remember how it all began and listen to the debut track "Bi-2" on the Russian scene "Colonel"
Their work is alive after two decades, and the composition "Compromise" made its way to the heights of the music charts, which is a rarity in the world of pop music. We hope that the biography of Shura "Bi-2" and Leva will delight fans with interesting facts for many years to come.