Eight soloists in thirty years of creative activity. The Soviet group Mirage started in 1985. However, in the first year of its birth, the Mirage was known under a different name - the āActivity Zoneā.
Music connected them
The Mirage group (the composition of the first team) was born under the leadership of four gifted personalities: Andrei Lityagin, Margarita Sukhankina, Sergei Proklov, Mikhail Kirsanov.
The first demo, Information for Newspapers, was recorded in the same year, 1985. The amateur roster was distinguished from the subsequent one not only by its name, but also by its direction. It was originally a new wave, originating in punk rock, electronic music, glam rock, post-punk, disco and funk.
At first, the soloist of the group was Mikhail Kirsanov: he was the author of poems, and Andrei Lityagin, who plays the keys, was a composer.
The stars are waiting for them
In February 1986, the āZone of Activityā collective was renamed to āMirageā. Soon the group began an active recording of songs. Andrei Lityagin transferred the right to solo to the female half of the group. The first vocalist was Margarita Sukhankina. Having performed āStars are waiting for usā, āThis nightā and āVideoā, she refused to continue to participate in the project, justifying this with a desire to be realized in an opera career.
After a long search, the first composition of the Mirage group was supplemented by the name of the new soloist. She became Natalia Gulkina. Together with her, the team recorded their debut album "Stars are Waiting for Us." It happened on March 3, 1987.
However, in 1994, Natalia Gulkina, the lead singer of the Mirage group, who participated in the recording of the first album, was replaced by vocalist Ekaterina Boldysheva. It was she who quailed the songs from her debut album to reissue it on a CD.
The first tour of the Mirage group
The debut album was so popular among the audience that Andrei Lityagin decided to start touring. In the fall of 1987, the team went on their first tour. However, before this, the Mirage group replenished its composition again. The second soloist was Svetlana Razina.
It is known that the schedule of concert activity was so tight that it reached 80-90 performances per month: more than three per day. Soon, one of the most popular collectives in the country became the Mirage group.
The old (touring) group included 5 names: Natalia Gulkina and Svetlana Razina - soloists; Sergey Proklov and Igor Ponomarev - guitarists (the second participated only in concerts); Roman Zhukov - keyboard player; Sergey Solopov is a drummer.
The Flight of Soloists from Mirage to Fairies and Stars
Despite the resounding success, in 1988 āMirageā lost its vocalists. We can say that Natalya Gulkina and Svetlana Razina began a solo career in the groups of "Stars" and "Fairy".
Why did this happen? It is believed that Natalia Gulkina was offered to sing to the soundtrack. The songs were performed for her by Margarita Sukhankina, whom Lityagin invited especially for studio recording.
After Natalya and Svetlana left the ranks of the collective, the further successful existence of the collective under the well-known name - the Mirage group was called into question. The composition, fortunately, was soon replenished by Natalia Vetlitskaya. But she did not solo for long, only during 1988. Subsequently, made a solo career. The girlās short stay in the team was not in vain for her. She was captured in the first clip of Mirage.
How is it remarkable? It is a video frame, selected not for one composition, but immediately for three. Such a peculiar potpourri from āI do not wantā, āMusic connected usā and āThis nightā.
The composition of the Mirage group in 1988 is distinguished by the highest instability of personnel and, which is concealed, by little fame among fans. For example, Inna Smirnova, who later also became a member of the Fairies, was also a member of her ranks.
āTogether againā: Sukhankina again sings for āMirageā
In the summer of 1988, the second magnetic album, called Together Again, was released. Paradoxically, Sukankina was again invited to record it. For vocal parts performed by Margarita, it was suggested to āsingā to Natalia Gulkina. She refused to open her mouth to the soundtrack and left the group.
This album traces the further creative mood and the direction of music, in which dance and rock notes harmoniously combine. Such a business card became characteristic of the group due to the influence of guitarist Alexei Gorbashev.
In 1989, the Mirage group, whose composition has changed again, continues to actively tour the country. Despite the fact that the voices of Gulkina and Sukhankina still sounded from the speakers, new vocalists flaunted on stage. Tatyana Ovsienko and Irina Saltykova - this is the new female side of the group that is unstable, but regular in popularity. Soon, Irina Saltykova left her ranks, and Ovsienko became the only soloist. However, for a long time she did not have to bask in the rays of glory in this role. In 1990, Lityagin replaced her with Ekaterina Boldysheva. At this time (since 1991), the group is actively working on recording the third album.
Goodbye, plus soundtrack. Hi Boldysheva
With the advent of Ekaterina Boldysheva into the collective in 1990, the era of touring with a plus soundtrack ended. She performed all the songs exclusively in her own voice. Maybe it was this fact that caused her long cooperation with Lityagin, whose main brainchild was and remains the Mirage group. The new composition, which included Ekaterina Boldysheva, lasted until 1999.
If we look at the history of the group, based on various sources, one fact remains unclear: who performed the songs in the Danceremix remix album, released in 1997? According to one information, all compositions were Boldysheva's bindings. According to others, Catherine performed only a part, the remaining parts were given to Sukhankina.
Records of numerous remixes
The release of the third album did not take place. The reason lies in the economic situation in the country, which is very detrimental to the group. "Not the first time," instead of the anticipated 1991, came out already in 2004.
But the remix albums came out one after the other: "Version 2000", Dance remix 2000 (remix of the Danceremix album), "Back to the Future" and "Throw".
The last collection - "Throw" - consisted of tracks that were supposed to be released back in 1991.
In 2004, thanks to the publishing house "Jam", work was started on the release of "Not For The First Time." In the same year, the third numbered album saw the light of day.
A new stage in the creative path of Mirage
The composition of the Mirage 2004 group is radically changing. Four new soloists come to the team at once: Evgenia Morozova, Maria Kharcheva, Nicole Ambrazaitis and Elena Stepanyuk. However, the girls in the group did not stay long.
In 2005, in the year of the "coming of age" of the collective, the Mirage group holds a number of concerts. One of the most iconic and memorable was the event held in the Olympic sports complex. It was here that every fan was able to see their favorite composition of the Mirage group, even if it belonged to different eras of its development.
Tatyana Ovsienko, Svetlana Razina, Irina Saltykova, Natalya Gulkina, Margarita Sukhankina, Ekaterina Boldysheva sang from the "Olympic" stage. Each of them performed songs exclusively in her own voice.
āSolo for Twoā by Margarita Sukhankina and Natalia Gulkina
Natalya Gulkina and Margarita Sukhankina, despite being involved in the same creative team, were not personally acquainted until the early 2000s. However, when this happened, the vocalists decided to join forces to create their own brainchild. Given the illegality of using the name of the group in which they previously successfully soloed, Natalya and Margarita created a new one: "Solo for Two." But this name did not take root, and women began to use their fairly well-known names to promote the compositions. In 2004, under the names Sukhankina and Gulkina, the single āMirage of Loveā was released. And in 2005 the second joint album āJust a Mirageā was released.
The success of the former soloists Andrei Lityagin took with discontent. He claimed that Sukhankin spoils his compositions with his "wretched remakes."
It is believed that, in addition to verbal resentment, threats rained down on his side towards Gulkina and Sukhankina.
Sukhankina admitted that she suspects Andrei Lityagin of organizing the attack committed on her.
Golden voices of the Mirage group
Fortunately, the confrontation between Lityagin and his former soloists ended peacefully. The result of cooperation between them was the transformation:
- Gulkina and Sukhankina officially became the āGolden Voices of the Mirage Groupā. They were also awarded the name of the official team of Lityagin.
- The composition of the group, existing at the time of the armistice, was renamed āMirage-Juniorā.
- Both groups began to give concerts, which created a little confusion: people did not understand what kind of lineup would be performing at the announced concert.
Here begins a new era in the creative path of the āoldā āMirageā.
The creative union of two vocalists from different compositions has not all been accepted positively.
In 2010, the Mirage group (composed of N. Gulkina and M. Sukhankina) ceased to exist. Since January 2011, Natalia began a solo career. And Sukhankina teamed up with Svetlana Razina.
The cooperation of Sukhankina and Razina did not last a year. At the end of December 2011, Svetlana left the group.
Creative rewards and achievements
At the "Best of the Best" award held in April 2007, the "gold composition" of the Mirage group: Andrey Lityagin, Alexei Gorbashev, Alexander Bukreev and Ekaterina Boldysheva was awarded medals and diplomas in the Professional of Russia nomination.
In 2008, the team of Gulkina and Sukhankina won the project āSuperstar 2008. Dream Teamā. In addition to the golden-voiced participants, domestic television stars of the Soviet period and the beginning of the 90s participated in the television project of the NTV channel.
In 2013, the long-suffering album "Not the First Time" was awarded the status of "Golden Disc" (in terms of the number of copies sold).
Mirage Group: Star Stories
The composition of the original Mirage team became the ancestor of not only the first songs and clips, but also the first books. For example, Svetlana Razina, who made her debut in Mirage in 1987, published a book in 2009. In it, Svetlana revealed not only her secrets, but also secrets regarding the group.
Where to look for the truth?
Interestingly, depending on the source, information about the gold composition varies.
For example, on one site there is information that Sukhankina and Gulkina agreed on a settlement with Lityagin only after he officially recognized them as the āgolden votesā of the Mirage group.
Another site containing information from 2011 says that this title is held by a team including Ekaterina Boldysheva, Alexei Gorbashev, Andrey Grishin, Maxim Oleinik.
However, given the time frame, this discrepancy can be explained as follows. By 2011 (by April), the duet of Margarita and Natalia ceased to exist. Consequently, the title could go to other soloists. This self-willed pulling of the palm from one composition to another more than once became the cause of litigation.