— How was the Mirage group created? What laws of show business had to be followed in the 1980s for him to become popular?
— Yes, there were no laws in the 80s. My songs had to please people and “reach” them as quickly as possible. Therefore, there was only one method: to contact the so-called “authors” who could quickly spread all this so that the song, as they say, sounded from every iron. If people like it, the song will be played everywhere. If you don’t like it, it doesn’t sound good. If I didn’t like the “Mirage” songs, I would have started working on another project that would “make noise”. But fate was positive, I guessed correctly about Mirage.
Everyone is so fed up with formality that they can’t leave the stage; At that time they were working shoulder to shoulder with the power, now they are trampling on the thresholds. Everyone really wanted good music, not the half-gypsy chanson that was performed then. And as soon as something fashionable and relevant to the times appeared, it immediately earned the right to success.
— You were only 23 years old when Mirage was founded. How did you develop your understanding of music and the industry at such a young age?
– These are not such young years – and at a younger age people achieved tremendous success in show business. This is good. As a rule, you don’t think about success. It turns out – that means you did it. So why did this happen? I think I was just sincere, I tried and worked tirelessly. Moreover, God gave me a talent that I use correctly. This is probably the most important thing.
— What did you first pay attention to when choosing the soloists? Which was more important – vocals or appearance, the ability to behave on stage?
– Everything was important. But first of all, the vocals. “Soviet” vocals were immediately rejected. Morning Mail-style bleating and squawking had nothing to do with world music. Therefore, I tried to recruit people whose voices were not distorted due to vocal production. The best candidates were people who had passed the folk singing school. A striking example of this is Natalia Gulkina and Margarita Sukhankina. Like Ekaterina Boldysheva, who graduated from the conducting and choral department of the October Revolution Music School (now the Moscow State Music Institute named after AG Schnittke. – socialbites.ca).
— Do you remember the moment when the group became famous?
— This process is not fast, it is not instantaneous. This probably happened when concert orders appeared, their number increased rapidly, we worked harder. I remember there was a time in 1988 when we played 11 concerts in one day!
– How did you feel then?
“Nothing actually happened because we were so tired.” There was no hypertrophied vanity; I accepted it as it is. It was great that everything went well for me.
– How much did the group earn in the 80-90s and what percentage was allocated to soloists?
– We gained a lot. I don’t remember exactly how much because the ruble was constantly losing value. Terms were negotiated with the soloists and they received a fixed fee for one performance. They didn’t get any percentage.
— What was it like to get your first big money, what did you spend it on?
“The first feeling was: There is a lot of money, but there is nothing to buy with it.” It was even impossible to buy an apartment because square meters per person were calculated and limits were set. It was very difficult to buy a foreign car. Nothing was for sale. So we lived without denying anything to ourselves.
— Are the rumors true that you managed to make a huge fortune in Mirage?
— The fortune must be very great. However, much of it was lost because it was not immediately converted into freely convertible currency. I was unlucky to live in a transition period. Either socialism or the 90s. In a market economy, I would already be a dollar millionaire.
— Why did the composition of the group change so often? Who initiated the change of soloists?
— The initiators were the soloists themselves. I don’t actually remember a case where someone was hired and fired. They were constantly itching because they were not used to working under some kind of rigid agreement. Either husband or lover – they did not understand that they had to work. There were no contracts back then, but there were agreements. And they always had to throw some kind of pretzel. To be honest, when I think about this, all that comes to mind is obscenities.
— Ekaterina Boldysheva, Margarita Sukhankina, Natalia Gulkina, Svetlana Razina, Inna Smirnova, Natalya Vetlitskaya, Irina Saltykova and Tatyana Ovsienko sang in the group over the years. Which of these do you consider to be the best soloist in Mirage history?
“I don’t ask myself: Who is the best, who is the worst, who is responsible? These people worked and became the face of my team. I don’t want to build some kind of pedestal out of them. I am grateful to all of them.
— How many female vocalists do you think have the advantage in a group?
— I think there should be two soloists. Yes, maybe they will gouge out each other’s eyes in the dressing room, but they will compete on stage, and in the end the project will look more attractive in the eyes of the audience.
— One of the most well-known members of the team was Sukhankina and Gulkina. Have you tried continuing the collaboration? If yes, why didn’t it work?
“First we ended the collaboration, then we continued it, then we ended it again, then we continued it again; It’s a kind of historical cycle. We agreed and continued, everything was fine. But then it became “abnormal”. We broke up. This is standard for show business.
— Tell us more about the lawsuit against Sukhankina. To your knowledge, how many times has he performed illegally? How long did you sue him, how is the case progressing?
— I cannot disclose the details of the petition without the permission of my lawyers. Margarita Sukhankina performed illegally countless times. It is certain that it is already over 30 million. She was licensed for six months, but she has been performing on stage for six and a half years. I make approximate calculations based on the amount specified in the license. She has now been performing illegally for seven years and owes around 30 million rubles. More precisely, it is not she, but her management. But if they want to make everything official, let them pay, get a license and continue working.
— What arguments does Margarita present in her defense?
– Yes, none! In fact, Sukhankina’s administration hired a crooked lawyer who constantly suggested leftist fraud schemes to them. The court has already declared it illegal for Sukhankina to perform my songs, and this lawyer was convicted of fraud. And Margarita falls in love with all this. He will end up in trouble with this case because the law will apply and he will still have to pay.
— As the copyright owner, how much do you charge for the performance of a song? Or is the contract prepared according to a different principle?
— 25% of the musical rights and lyrics of the songs of the band Mirage belong to me. I do not sell songs individually. I am not interested. I will consider a more serious proposal – for example, for the creation of a concert program.
— Can “Mirage” “shoot” with new songs with its current lineup and actively perform on stage? Or do such groups only exist because of decades of proven success?
— This is how the “Mirage” group performs. The guys have a very busy tour schedule and no time to rest. As for new songs, no matter what. I don’t know! Time will show us.
— Did you try to save the group “The Little Prince”, which existed until 1994? Why didn’t he return to the stage?
– No, I didn’t try to save anything. Soloist Sasha Khlopkov went to Germany and lived a different life. I wasn’t interested in continuing to work on this project; somehow it didn’t work she. So, actually, what remains is a nice project in the form of phonograms found on the internet.
— How does modern show business differ from the show business of the 80s and 90s?
— When we created Mirage in the late ’80s, show business was running as a business and it was a business. Because the more popular you are, the more you earn. There was a market economy in show business. After the 90s, God knows what, the reincarnation of the corruption “scoop” began: artists lick the heels and other places of those in power and positively release them on television and at prestigious entertainment events, distribute them and give them titles.
– What are you doing right now? Are you planning to enter Russian show business with a new group?
“I’ve never licked ass and I don’t plan on licking ass.” I have been living in Europe for many years, working on projects and hoping to achieve serious success. I’m just planning to start a new band in Europe or somewhere else, there are some drafts already. I won’t be going to Russia for the reasons I’ve stated before.
— What does a project need to be like these days to “take off” and survive for a long time?
— A normal, talented project that people will like will definitely be successful. I hope it will be in English this time.