Gorky Park (band)

Gorky Park / Парк Горького
1988
1988
Background information
Origin Soviet Union
 Russia
GenresHard rock, glam metal[1]
Years active1987–1998, 2022–present (reunions: 1999, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019)
LabelsMercury Records
PolyGram
SNC Records
MembersOleg Izotov
Sergey Arutyunov
Timofei Grigorovich
Marco Mendoza
Alexey Baev
Kenny Aronoff
Past membersNikolai Noskov
Aleksandr Marshal
Alexey Belov
Yan Yanenkov
Alexander Lvov
Websitegorkypark-band.com gorkypark-band.ru gorkypark.group

Gorky Park (international title), aka GP, or Парк Горького (Russian title) is a Soviet and Russian hard rock band formed in 1987 by musician, composer and producer Stas Namin at his producing centre SNC in Moscow.[2][3] It is the only Soviet and Russian band to have some success on the MTV and Billboard charts and become world famous.[2][4]

The main springboard to the heights of popularity in the USSR, United States and other countries was the band's participation in the Moscow International Peace Festival, organised by Stas Namin and Doc McGhee. It took place on August 12–13, 1989 at the Luzhniki Stadium under the motto "Rock Against Drugs" and was broadcast on MTV in 59 countries. Gorky Park participated in the festival alongside Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Scorpions, Cinderella and Skid Row.[2][3][4][5] After the festival, in August 1989, US PolyGram released GP's first and only studio album of the same name, Gorky Park, recorded entirely in English by the original band, which entered the 1989 US Billboard 200[4] chart and brought the band worldwide fame.[2][6]

In the original line-up, with lead vocalist Nikolay Noskov and general producer Stas Namin, the group lasted only three and a half years.[2][3] In 1990, when Namin sent Gorky Park to its first US tour, there was a conflict in the group, and Noskov left the group. They continued with Alexander "Big Sasha" Minkov as singer.[2][6]

After 30 years, Stas Namin revived his project, and on August 28, 2022[7][8][9] the first concert performance of the band in the new line-up took place at the Russian rock festival "SNC. 35 Years" in Moscow Gorky Park.[10][11] The special guest at this performance was the leader-vocalist of the original Gorky Park, Nikolay Noskov. He passed the baton to the new musicians,[9][11][10] The new line-up of GP are musicians from Russia and the US, singing about Love, Peace and Freedom.[12][8][10]

  1. ^ Curtis Zimmermann. "Gorky Park Review by Curtis Zimmermann". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Official website of the Gorky Park band // gorkypark-band.ru
  3. ^ a b c Arthur Gasparyan. Stas Namin: "I was banned until I was 35" // mk.ru (02.03.2018)
  4. ^ a b c "Gorky Park | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. ^ The first show business in new Russia. // Passport to the world, July–August 1993
  6. ^ a b Gorky Park. Birth. // Argumenti.ru (02.08.2017)
  7. ^ We released almost all of the Soviet rock and roll of the '70s and '80s // Evening Moscow, 24.08.2022
  8. ^ a b About the revival of the Gorky Park group // Radiokp.ru, 30.07.2022
  9. ^ a b More than 10 thousand spectators gathered at the Russian rock festival SNC-35 // TASS, 29.08.2022
  10. ^ a b c Revival of the Gorky Park band // Argumenti.ru, 21.12.2022
  11. ^ a b Stas Namin revived ‘’Gorky Park’’ and fulfilled Marco Mendoza's dream // InterMedia, 29.08.2022
  12. ^ About internal culture, real rock 'n' roll, and the new Gorky Park lineup // Radio1, 25.08.2022