It is understandable that many admirers of modern music will not be able to tell anything about this group, since its birth goes back to the distant 60s of the last century. What is the group “Funny Guys” and who was one of its members?
Where does the song begin?
The Soviet musical ensemble first appeared in 1966. At this time, none of its participants, including the creator of the team, Pavel Slobodkin, could have thought that after some several decades the fame of the “Jolly Fellows” would boom throughout the country: they would become winners of many competitions and festivals, collect prestigious awards, set a record for album sales and reformed into a musical theater. In the meantime, the group has a long way to conquer the peaks of Olympus.
By the way, the emergence of the pop genre is associated with the collective “Funny Guys”. The composition of the group included novice performers who were awarded the titles of laureates for the performance of youth songs, which would subsequently be regarded as official recognition of the new trends in Soviet music. The ensemble succeeds in securing the unique repertoire, which is difficult to compare with something else, with the release of the first collection of 1970. Even then, many compositions for a long time sat in the hearts of the audience: “Dream”, “People Meet,” “Aleshkina Love”.
Wide embrace of cooperation
The successes and further advancement of the team are constantly followed by Pavel Slobodkin. Thanks to him, the group “Funny Guys” (photos you can see in this article) is replenished with young, but undoubtedly talented authors. Oleg Ivanov, Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Yuri Antonov create their first famous hits: “Write me a letter”, “Swing”, “Why?” Many songwriters want to join the team. David Tukhmanov and Ilya Reznik give the group the songs “How wonderful this world is”, “I won’t come to you”, “It's easy to fall in love”, “At that mountain”.
The first concerts of the ensemble “Funny guys”
The composition of the group is replenished with Gradsky, Barykin, Malezhik, Glyzin, Lerman, Buynov, Dobronravov, Seagull, Dobrynin. The names of these people need no introduction. They, like many other members of the collective, later become solo performers, but they never forget about the “Guys” in which they began their musical activity.
Performances of the team are held at the highest level, which in the Soviet years was problematic. Concerts are accompanied by sound design, decent performance, professional level of skill of all performers. It develops its own style. In combination with the original repertoire, for many years it turns into a branded “feature” of “Happy Guys”.
Window to Europe
The formation of the ensemble as a theater of songs, new to the country, does not affect popularity in any way. His fame is only gaining momentum and increasing audience recognition. In 1973, the group “Funny Guys” received an invitation to a recording contest held in England. This was a kind of starting point for the recognition of Soviet music in the West. Pavel Slobodkin is awarded the highest praise, who, as an artistic director, turns out to be quite strict and principled, which, however, only reinforces good support for the collective in the music market.
New faces, new success.
For several decades, the composition of the ensemble has been constantly changing. In this, according to Slobodkin, he sees nothing wrong: “Guys” were perceived as a music platform, on which all performance skills were practiced. And therefore, fluidity is a common thing. In 1974, Alla Pugacheva got into the soloists of the group “Funny Guys”. The young singer is already familiar to the public. Here she writes a number of compositions, including “Harlequin”, with which she wins the “Golden Orpheus”. Slobodkin personally participated in the recording and mixing of the hit that brought Pugacheva fame in the country and abroad.
Two years later, the team went to Prague, where the next recording contest was held. He was remembered for a joint performance on the same stage with Abba, Bonnie M. and Mireille Mathieu. 1980 will be marked for the ensemble participation in the Olympic Games.
It's never too late to improve
In 1983, the public appreciated the new album in the style of electro-pop, which, in particular, partially included the soundtrack to the film “Assa”. The group “Funny Guys” remembers classical music, devoting individual concerts to it. From this period, a large-scale departure abroad began thanks to various festivals at which the team acquires the status of an invited star. He visits the Czech Republic, Finland, Cuba; annually participates in Blue Light and Song of the Year. The 25th anniversary of the activity is marked by grandiose concerts that brought together the former and current soloists of the group. The event is dedicated to the release of the best hits written during this period.
The modern life of the team
Faithful to the project, Pavel Slobodkin dramatically changes the composition of the group. The updated “Funny Guys” appeared in public in 2005 and consist of little-known but talented performers. Concert activity resumes, the team performs at the best Moscow venues. Several times the group performed at Autoradio and again, like many years ago, met on the same stage with eminent stars of the mid 80-90s. In recent years, the group “Funny Guys” has been participating in the gala performance of “Moskontsert”, “Slavic Bazaar”, “Legends of VIA”.
Worthy legacy
As soon as the “Guys” were formed, when Pavel Slobodkin began searching for a studio that could be engaged in promoting their records. The company “Melody” turned out to be a worthy label with which the group “Cheerful guys” ties up a long-term cooperation. The discography of the collective includes more than twenty albums on records, among which are “People Meet”, “Love is a huge country”, “Write me a letter”, “Telegram” and others. Since 1995, over 15 discs have also been released, including hit compilations Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Alla Pugacheva, Yuri Antonov. In 2014, the latest album, “Retrospective,” was released.