Pop Mekhanika • Поп-механика

‘Popular Mechanics’ Leningrad 1984

Zhdanov University Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg State University),
19 ноября 1984 – «ПМ №12» в Ленинградском Университете им. Жданова
© all pictures: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov

Between 1969 and 1989 the full name of the university was "Ленинградский ордена Ленина и ордена Трудового Красного Знаменигосударственный университет имени А. А. Жданова"

Sergey Kuryokhin • Сергей Курёхин / Vladimir Boluchevsky • Владимир Болучевский / Aleksey Rakhov • Алексей Рахов / Michail Chernov "Uncle Misha" • Михаил Чернов (Дядя Миша) / Sergey Letov • Сергей Летов / Boris Rayskin • Борис Райскин / Vsevolod Gakkel • Всеволод Гаккель / Viktor Sologub • Виктор Сологуб / Grigory Sologub • Григорий Сологуб / Alexander Titov • Алекснандр Титов / Alexander Kondrashkin • Александр Кондрашкин / Viktor Tsoy • Виктор Цой / Georgy Guryanov • Георгий Гурьянов / Boris Grebenshikov • Борис Гребенщиков / Alexander Lipnitsky • Александр Липницкий / Sergei Bugaev • Сергей Бугаев.

This was the fifth Pop Mekahnika concert and first to take place in Leningrad (after two preceding concerts in Moscow, one in Riga and one in Novosibirsk). It was called – retrospectivley – “PM No.12”, adapting the name of its venue, the “Twelve Collegia” (Здание Двенадцати коллегий), which is the oldest building of the Saint Petersburg State University.

“PM No.12” (already) had an extended rock section, next to an impressive brass section with seven musicians, among them Vladimir Bolushevsky, Aleksey Rakhov, Michail Chernov "Uncle Misha", and Sergey Letov, Three string musicians completed the orchestra: Boris Rayskin and Vsevolod Gakkel, who both played the violoncello, and a violin player.

Sergey Kuryokhin conducted the performance, but Kozlov pictures also show him singing. We see rock musicians Viktor and Grigory Sologub and Alexander Kondrashkin from the group “Strannye Igry” / Strange Games, as well as Viktor Tsoy and Georgy Guryanov from the band "Kino". Guryanov and Kondraskhin are both playing the drums. Viktor Tsoy is playing a twelve string electro-acoustic guitar. He is wearing a suit – a rare sight –, perhaps to keep in style with Georgy Guryanov.

Boris Grebenshikov, the leader of “Aquarium”, with whom Kuryokhin collaborated until 1987, played incognito with a false beard and glasses. Another band member of “Aquarium” is bassist Alexander Titov, who at that time played with KINO, too. Alexander Lipnitsky, the bassist of “Zvuki Mu” played with a mask covering his face, Zvuki Mu’s talisman. Also present is Sergei Bugaev (Afrika); he was to become one of PM's main performers.

Evgenij Kozlov used one negative from this film for a series of painted photo collages from 2014: E-E-Classic (НЛО-UFO) more >>. These work has also been included.

Hannelore Fobo, January 6, 2018