The perestroika period in the USSR took place under the romantic accompaniment of music in the style of disco and youthful vocals of Yura Shatunov - the “Tender May” group became a real symbol of the era. Despite the fact that teenage girls were considered the main audience of the collective, in fact, almost everyone listened to them. In fact, it was a real boy band - a musical group consisting of boys. Nobody succeeded in surpassing "Tender May" in explosive popularity.
The history of the appearance of the group
The official date for the creation of the group is December 6, 1986. Sergey Kuznetsov, the head of the music club at the boarding school No. 2 of the city of Orenburg, got the idea to organize a vocal and instrumental group. In many ways, the idea was based on sheer enthusiasm and on the boyish charm of Yura Shatunov, to whom Kuznetsov predicted the role of a soloist. At that time, Shatunov was only 13 years old. The mega-popular hit “White Roses” appeared in the band’s first year.
The “Tender May” group started at local cultural events, sang and played at discos, took part in national concerts. Gradually, the press began talking about the collective, touching and laudatory reports about the “nuggets” from the orphanage added benevolence to the audience. Soon after, the administrator of the popular Mirage group Andrei Razin, using his official position and frank fraudulent methods, transferred the group to Moscow and resolutely took up the promotion.
The success was just deafening. The song "White Roses" was sounded in the popular musical program "Morning Mail" - there was no way or rather to get the audience. Soon, a real mania swept the country.
Group "Tender May": a phenomenon of popularity
Offers of concerts and recordings showered on the young talents even more generously than from the cornucopia. It was impossible to manage everything just physically, but at the same time I had to work on new compositions that would support the image of Tender May. Kuznetsov still wrote the songs, but soon conflicts began with Ryazanov. In 1989, Sergey Kuznetsov left the project, and this did not affect the quality of the texts in the best way. His successor, Vladimir Shurochkin, wrote quite high-quality and style-appropriate songs, but he was inferior to previous compositions.
Scandals around the group
Popularity automatically becomes an excellent source of huge money, and it was simply impossible to do without scandals. In addition to the fact that inside the team there were constantly serious disagreements and disagreements, the group “Tender May” was expectedly overgrown with clones. Andrei Razin already practiced touring double teams working under “plywood” when he was engaged in the Mirage team. Now almost two dozen Tender Mayes traveled around the country at the same time, each of which was positioned as a real one.
Revelations and criticisms poured into the group mixed with laudatory reviews, and you can write a separate saga about universal love about fans. Until now, many women with nostalgia recall the period of their insanity at the “Tender May” group. Songs were memorized, recorded on tape cassettes. Recording studios received millions of profits from illegal copies - of course, there was no question of any license, although Razin actively discouraged any attempts to piracy.
Soon, the group turned into the studio “Tender May”, which allowed Razin to send motley groups under the same brand name to cities and villages quite legally. This strategy worked for a very short time, the initial team fell apart before our eyes. One of the last to go is the recognized idol - Yura Shatunov. Rumor had it that he had been trying for almost a year to regain his passport and gain independence.
The influence of the “Tender May” collective on the development of pop music
By style, the music of the group can be safely attributed to the European “disco” - an easily remembered dance melody, a clear rhythm, and the use of synthesizers. As an example of popularity, Shatunov’s visiting card, the song “White Roses,” remained. “Tender May” was easily guessed in almost every third composition of other groups, desperately trying to intercept part of the audience’s “pie” of sympathy.
Basically, the team repeated European trends. This is noticeable - a mixture of teenage rebellion and romantic naivety had a powerful effect on the emotions of students. But there was also a purely Russian component. “Affectionate May” became the Soviet version of the famous franchise, which is known as the “American Dream” - boys from the orphanage become beautiful princes.
The Return of Tender May
The musicians of the finally disintegrated group did not disappear - other groups were created, solo projects, but nobody managed to repeat the dizzying take-off. But in 2009, the sudden news stirred up nostalgia - it became known about the return of the group "Tender May." Shatunov was not included, at that time he lived in Germany. Andrei Razin appeared on the stage as a frontman; Andrey Kucherov, Sergey Serkov and Sergey Lenyuk also took part. The nostalgic return did not bring much triumph, but was generally welcomed: nostalgia for youth is a powerful emotion. The group "Tender May" and the vocals of young Shatunov are still loved.