“This is our childhood and youth”: friends and colleagues recall Yuri Shatunov

On the morning of June 23, information about the death of singer Yuri Shatunov appeared on Telegram channels. Soon, the director of the artist Arkady Kudryashov confirmed the sad news to socialbites.ca.

“Yura’s heart stopped in the ambulance tonight,” he said.

Kudryashov did not disclose the details of what happened. Then the chief physician of the Domodedovo Central City Hospital, Andrei Osipov, said that the musician died of myocardial infarction.

Yuri Shatunov was born on September 6, 1973. When the boy was 11 years old, his mother transferred him to a boarding school in the city of Kumertau due to health problems. He died soon after.

“I didn’t have a childhood. It happened in a boarding school – there he could only dream of being fed more often, ”Shatunov recalled.

Valentina Tazekenova, the director of the institution, took her into custody. There she met the head of the art circle, Sergei Kuznetsov, who created the “Tender May” group. In the 1980s, the group released its main hits, such as “White Roses”, “Summer”, “Let It Be Night”, “Gray Night”.

After the release of the first album, they were noticed by producer Andrei Razin, who at that time was the manager of the Mirage group. Later, Razin replaced the director of “Tender May” due to the departure of Kuznetsov. Under his leadership, the team lasted only three years, but enjoyed incredible success in the USSR.

In 1991 Shatunov went to Germany and started his solo career. There he met his future wife, Svetlana. From that moment, Shatunov composed old compositions, and also released such hits as “Forget” and “Childhood”. The musician has seven solo albums in his trunk. In addition, in 2009, a feature film of the same name was released about the work of the Laskovy May group, in which Sergey Romanovich played Shatunov. In 2015, the musician was awarded the Film Music Award for his contribution to the development of Russian show business.

In recent years, Shatunov has sued former producer Razin for the right to use Tender May’s compositions. Secondly, he made sure that the author of Kuznetsov’s songs gave him the rights to the songs of the group in 1992. But Shatunov did not agree with this. Soon Kuznetsov was recognized as a victim in case of forgery of his signature. A few days before his death, Shatunov received the exclusive rights to the songs of the group.

After the court decision, Razin stated that he had no legal force. Shatunov answered him on the eve of his death:

“I have a complete list of copyrighted documents. Everything Andrei Razin is trying to do against me, I call death cramps.

Colleagues and acquaintances of Shatunov remembered him as a cheerful and pleasant person. For many, the musician’s work is still associated with the carefree times of childhood and adolescence. They told socialbites.ca about it.

Singer Tatyana Bulanova.

We met him over 20 years ago on a joint tour in Germany. At that time I was a few years old – and I really liked the Laskovy May group, I even went to their concerts. When we met, I was surprised at how simple Yura was – without quirks and fame. Very nice and wonderful. He talked about his difficult childhood. And I’m surprised that everything that happened didn’t break him. She became a real person, she.

I like the way you sing. I saw his first clip on a channel recently. He sang very well, considering that he did not study anywhere. This is an absolute talent from God. It saddens me to know that he is no longer there.

The actress starred in the TV series Happy Together with Yulia Zakharova – Shatunov.

– They wrote an episode especially for him in “Happy Together”. We had a great, fun and cool day. We laughed a lot. He’s so funny and awesome. At that moment, we all became friends. He seemed very talented in acting to me, he was very active. And yet – a very European person. It is a pity that such a wonderful person went to the rainbow.

Sergei Amoralov, member of the group “Stubborn Swindlers”.

– I was little when I learned about “Tender May” from my cousin. He wrote “Yura” on his hand with a razor blade.

It’s a legend. No matter how interested we are in the “Tender May” work. What a pity. Presumably, he creatively said whatever he wanted. Family – condolences. And so, a good, kind man. I haven’t heard anything bad about it. In terms of creativity, everything is great there. This is a period, you must admit. You can relate differently, but that’s a myth.

Singer Mitya Fomin.

“This is an unexpected loss. It is strange, unpleasant, sad and painful. Yesterday we heard that Pierre Narcisse died, he died today. These are young people who actually still have to live and live. It’s a shame! Many artists choose to perform a completely different repertoire.” or when he stopped singing, his songs were in demand more than ever before. Especially now, when many people need his music, his songs. This is our childhood, this is our youth. This is history. When we were still very young, someone said that it was low quality and pure music , but years passed, and we became convinced that for millions of Russians the songs “Tender May” were and remain about a carefree pastime, the state of associations with childhood.