The deadly curse of the "Tender May" group. National Mutual Search Service Where is Konstantin Pakhomov from Tender May now?

Konstantin Pakhomov can be called one of the most mysterious participants of Tender May! He not only stood at the origins of the group, but was also one of the few who actually had a musical education there. But after releasing two solo albums and starring in the cooperative melodrama “Mannequin in Love,” Pakhomov disappeared from television screens for years. Until now, very little is known about him. There are rumors that Konstantin is in the ice cream business and also served in intelligence in two Chechen wars. But there is no one to confirm or refute them. Unlike the other ex-Maevtsy, Kostya does not appear either on the Internet or on Malakhov’s talk show. In this article (which does not claim to be complete or objective), we will try to put together the available information about this mysterious artist!

Little is known about Kostya's early biography. Born on January 13, 1972 in the city of Orenburg. Unlike many other participants in Tender May, he was not an orphan. Before meeting Sergei Kuznetsov, he managed to graduate from music school in violin and sing in a school ensemble. And this meeting could not have happened at a better time...

At that happy time - in the spring of 1988, May was still an Orenburg group, and an unknown administrator of the Mirage group, posing as Gorbachev’s nephew. The first album “White Roses” had already been recorded, which, having dispersed throughout the Orenburg region, brought the group its first... no, not yet popularity - fame. Then the scythe landed on a stone, Sergei Kuznetsov was fired from the boarding school, he was forbidden to see Yura Shatunov, and the group was left without a soloist.

Having settled in the House of Pioneers of the Industrial District, Sergei worked on the second album of Tender May, but the work did not go well. With Yura, he managed to record only one song - “Autumn is Slowly Leaving”; it was absolutely unclear who would perform the rest. At this difficult moment, fate brought him together with Kostya...

Kostya appeared with us after Shatunov and I “promoted” the first album. He came and immediately grabbed the bull by the horns: “I want to sing... I listened to it, everything seems to be fine.” He hears well. He has a good voice, a good, clear voice. But I immediately realized: this is not “my” voice, I don’t need one like that. However, since we had several songs lying dead weight that did not suit Yura, I decided to record them with Kostya.

According to another version, Kostya ended up in the House of Pioneers because their homemade rock band’s equipment broke down and they needed to rehearse somewhere. One way or another, the acquaintance took place there, after which Pakhomov became the new soloist of Tender May.

Having recorded with him the songs “I wish you happiness”, “Flowers” ​​and “Cold Winter Evening”, which had been waiting in the wings for several years, Sergei quickly completed his second album, which received the unofficial name “Summer deceived us”. Yura Shatunov owned only the first track, the other five were performed by Kostya. The last one was the beautiful synth instrumental “A Little About Me.”

But since the public already knew that the lead singer of Laskovoy May was Shatunov, clarification was required. In the introduction, someone’s voice explained the current situation: “Yuri Shatunov was unable to work with Kuznetsov, since further work was impossible due to the negative attitude of the director of boarding school No. 2 in the city of Orenburg towards their joint work.”

From Kuznetsov’s autobiographical book “You Just Were”, it is clear that Kostya aroused conflicting feelings in Sergei Borisovich - on the one hand, Kuznetsov highly valued professionalism, on the other, human sincerity. Seeing how Kostya “works for the public”, with a smile accepting flowers for songs written for Shatunov (at live concerts he had to perform “White Roses” and other songs from the first album), Sergei became more and more convinced that the cooperation was only temporary , and when the time comes, Kostya will step over him and move on.

“Kostya accepted the signs of the audience’s attention without a shadow of embarrassment. This made me feel awkward. I knew that all this was not for him. In reality, all this was intended for Shatunov. Because they were going at him. Because we heard the first album"

(Sergey Kuznetsov, “You Just Were”, 1991)

And when Pakhomov sang songs written for Yura, their author was experiencing a deep internal conflict, which certainly affected his attitude towards Kostya.

Pakhomov was a balanced boy. Somewhat proud. Very well read. He did not smoke and was categorically against alcohol (it seems that he still does not indulge in these things). Of course, in everyday life such a bouquet of advantages only adorns a person. But on the stage, in my opinion, you need a rebel. At least I needed a rebel... I saw that Pakhomov had his own musical path. And he will definitely find her if he gets a little help and support.

(Sergey Kuznetsov, “You Just Were”, 1991)

But Sergei was in no hurry to support Kostya, reasoning that if this was talent, he would make his own way.

Corr: Have you long dreamed of having your own group?
KP: From the very beginning.
Corr: When is this from the very beginning?
KP: As soon as I got to Tender May, I began to dream of my own group.

(from an interview in 1989)

In May 1988, Kuznetsov received an offer from the Orenburg Philharmonic: to perform at the Russian Field festival, whose concerts were to be held in different cities. The texts of Tender May were officially “uploaded” by the culture department of the regional executive committee, but even requests from cultural officials could not convince the formidable Valentina Tazikenova to let Shatunov go on tour.

“The director of our philharmonic society, Igor Petrovich Golikov, called me: I invite you to talk. I came to him, and there Nadezhda Babkina was sitting in his office, we met her. He offers me - they have a festival “Russian Field”, it is held every year, starting from the end of May and ending at the end of June. Let's take part too? I speak with pleasure, only as Valentina Nikolaevna... Well, Igor Petrovich raised all the connections that he had - he was refused. I suggest to the Philharmonic: let's take another vocalist? Let's make the same songs, sing them again. I, of course, didn’t want this, because people listened to Yurka, he sounded from every window, and Kostya would be here... But I had to agree.”

(Sergey Kuznetsov, from an interview in 2016)

As a result, Kuznetsov went to perform with Pakhomov. However, judging by the book “You Just Were”, Sergei from the very beginning considered this cooperation only as temporary, and he did not imagine and did not want Tender May with the only soloist Kostya Pakhomov.

We worked on this tour of 50 concerts. 2, 3 per day. And they received “mad” money - as much as 5.50 per concert! We're coming to the stadium with Kostya - let's unload the equipment. They unloaded and played. Let's get her on the bus. We move to the local Palace of Culture... The same thing happens there. Unloaded - played - loaded. And there is still a third site ahead... And all this for miserable pennies. Therefore, probably, those first tours were not remembered as anything good. Although we were received well. Applause, flowers, fans...

Kostya and I didn’t eat a ton of salt during the Russian Field festival. Fire and water did not pass. Copper pipes too (we weren’t touring in a brass band). But the exhausting work schedule, the exhausting loading and unloading of the apparatus - they survived it all. And Kostya turned out to be a reliable colleague.

It was probably then that Kostya managed to work as a disc jockey - at the same discotheque of the House of Pioneers, where Sergei Kuznetsov officially worked then. At that moment, it was still unclear what the future fate of Tender May would be. Perhaps Kuznetsov and Pakhomov would have recorded the next album together, which would have attracted the attention of some Moscow producer (at the end of the 80s this word was already in use), and perhaps Sergei would have found a new soloist. As for Yura Shatunov, he would have remained to finish his studies at Orenburg boarding school No. 2, secretly dreaming of becoming a professional hockey player. But fate decreed otherwise...

In June 1988, he was sent from the Record studio to Shostka to purchase magnetic tape. Having accidentally heard Shatunov’s voice on the train, he carefully asked his compartment neighbor about the “Orenburg nugget”, then got off at the first station and returned to Moscow, where he arranged a business trip to Orenburg...

Shaking a travel document with the seal of the USSR Ministry of Culture (the Record studio, where he was registered, was actually assigned to the Ministry of Culture), Razin took advantage of the Soviet “vertical of power”, in which the periphery was always afraid of the Center. His ebullient energy and decisive actions brought together what seemed impossible to return. Tazikenova also retreated, allowing Yura to perform again...

But so far only Kuznetsov went to Moscow with Razin. It was not easy to arrange Shatunov’s transfer, but Sergei did not want to take Kostya. After talking with Pakhomov, Razin invited him himself.

Thus, Andrei’s role in Kostya’s fate was not entirely negative, as they now strive to imagine. The first stages of the country and all-Union glory awaited the 16-year-old Orenburg ninth-grader, which he would never have known alone. Until September 1988, when Yura was also transported to Moscow, Kostya was the only soloist of the now Moscow Tender May!

But Razin was not going to engage in the development of Kostya; he had completely different plans in this regard...

After the re-release of two LM magnetic albums, recorded in the final version at the Record studio, Andrey began to work closely on what Kuznetsov’s move was for - recording his songs under the brand of the already well-promoted Tender May. At first, Sergei Kuznetsov was against Razin becoming the lead singer of Tender May, but depending on him for everything, the founder of the group now had less and less rights to his own opinion...

Having no ear for music, Razin had an excellent commercial sense and understood perfectly well that if he himself as a singer was not interesting to anyone, then together with Tender May he would always be received with a bang!

Yuri Guk also collaborated with May (it was his pen that wrote the musical pamphlet “Stupid Owl,” ridiculing the critic Yuri Filinov), and soon Razin borrowed the song “You, Me and the Sea” for his young soloist Andrei Gurov.

In his later interviews, Andrei admits that he tried, as far as possible, to “cut off the oxygen” to all the artists who left Tender May. In his interviews, he invariably said that Kostya was asking to come back, in turn, Kostya claimed that Razin regularly calls him back. However, in the film “How Much Are the Affectionate Nowadays,” Razin was emphatically friendly:

“Konstantin Pakhomov is a man who worked with us in Tender May for a year, I am very grateful to him. Konstantin Pakhomov is the same guy whom I took from school in the 9th grade, a school student, no one knew him then, Kostya was taking his first steps in the house of pioneers in vocals, suddenly, after a year, having worked for us, he received some kind of then the audience, popularity, thanks to our joint work, will then talk about their leader, about the soloist, about the fact that Andrei Razin is mediocre, he cannot play any type of instrument, he does not have basic hearing. I will say that maybe this is Kostya’s childhood, self-affirmation, I don’t blame him in any way, Kostya is right to some extent, and I really like that, in general, he talks about it openly. Once upon a time we were very close friends, he did almost everything I told him, he staged himself very well creatively, now he works independently, Kostya stands very tightly on the stage, I’ll tell you that this will last for a long time, maybe education he will receive a musical, professional one. But practice, practice, a lot of practice. Having worked 500 concerts with me, Kostya is the strongest at the moment...”

(Andrey Razin, film “How much are the affectionate ones nowadays”, 1990)

According to Arthur Gasparyan, a staff critic of Moskovsky Komsomolets (by the way, who dedicated three articles to Kostya), when the singer reached military age, his fans organized an entire “committee for the defense of Kostya Pakhomov”, planning to picket the Ministry of Defense!

We are no longer Tender May

This symbolic name was given to the concert program with which Konstantin and his group toured the country after the release of the first album. Since the group had too little material of its own for a solo section, performances by local groups were included in the concerts, as if as a load.

Corr: You called your program “We are no longer Tender May,” is it so important for you to emphasize this?
KP: Of course, everyone is used to the fact that Kostya Pakhomov is LM. But now these are completely different things. This can be understood both by the performance and by the music, by its quality, at least. Lyosha Glyzin had the same situation after leaving Vesyolye guys.
Corr: Does anything connect you with LM now?
KP: No, I haven’t seen them for a long time, and they don’t interest me.

Memories of how these concerts took place were brought to us by the Ufa newspaper “Leninets” in 1990:

“We were waiting for Kostya, Kostenka and whatever his fans call him. But the idol, having given them plenty to squeal and scream and sing just a little, left, leaving the stage to the Arbat group playing hard rock. But Pakhomov finally completed the program, singing a couple more songs. At this point the “show” was over. As they say, “thank you for your attention.” It was not possible to talk to Kostya Pakhomov himself. “I can answer your questions. If I want,” the administrator (or director) of the show snapped. This half-condescending “if I want” is quite symbolic. This phrase is the vital and creative credo of the group, a group that does not have its own name, does not have its own equipment and, most importantly, in my opinion, there is no desire to work and sing. But I really want to make money. Attract as many spectators as possible and, calling a spade a spade, inflating it, quickly “reel in the fishing rods.” So that in the next city, just as greedily waiting for this “not TENDER MAY,” you can repeat your trick. The team is insured against mistakes because they will “hit” in the place where they just were, and not because where they are now. But the main insurance policy against punctures is not this, but the viewer. The same girls and boys who flock to “May”, thereby making them invincible, inviolable and invulnerable.”

When asked by Arthur Gasparyan whether Kostya would like to return to Tender May, but without Andrei Razin, he will answer that “he has already grown out of these children’s pants.”

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1990, Andrei Razin’s book “Winter in the Land of Tender May” was published, in which he accused Kostya of theft:

“I suffered with him. He comes from a wealthy family, is favored, and considers himself almost Michael Jackson. In the team, the children from the orphanage did not like him. I had to resolve conflicts. But I didn’t want to leave. Even after Kostya stole money from drummer Seryozha Linyuk, I removed Seryozha, but left Kostya. By that time he was already a “star”. After graduating from school, Pakhomov said that he wanted to work independently. I didn't interfere. Free will. But Kostya began his “independence” with television revelations. At first I was offended, but then I realized that the guy was not so simple. He realized that without “Tender May” nothing would happen to him, and swearing at me would arouse interest in him. Realizing this, I calmed down. Let him swear. After all, if he shuts up, he will be forgotten. And things are going to the point that he will soon join the army, from which Kostya tried to escape by all means. A two-year intermission could put an end to his glory. So Kostya was tempted to hold out at least with this. So in the end I was not at all against his dashing “revelations”. I began to understand Kostino’s situation and even sympathize with him. When a person wants to stay afloat by any means, nothing can stop him. Unless life itself teaches.”

(Andrey Razin, “Winter in the Land of Tender May”)

Mannequin in love

In 1991, Kostya, who had already matured, played Zhenya in the film “Mannequin in Love” by the little-known director Vitaly Makarov, in which such famous actors as Boris Shcherbakov, Mikhail Svetin, Svetlana Nemolyaeva and Ilya Oleinikov took part. Kostya’s partner in the film was Anna Tikhonova, the daughter of everyone’s beloved Vyacheslav “Stirlitz” Tikhonov, familiar to us from her roles in such perestroika dramas as “Shuravi”, “Arkady Fomich’s Committee” and “The Enraged Bus”. The composer of the film was Viktor Chaika, and Kostya performed several songs in it - already in new arrangements.

Filming took place in Yalta and Sevastopol, where local residents literally picketed the set to look at their idol!

Reporter: What do you value in a girl?
KP: Beauty and... sex techniques.
Corr: ?! Explain yourself.
KP: I wouldn't like to go into details.

I want to hope

Filming lasted for almost a year, but Kostya managed to overcome this creative downtime. At the beginning of March 1991, he appeared on the TV show "50/50", performing at the Dynamo Sports Palace, after which he went on tour.

In 1992, Kostya’s second, lesser-known album, “I Want to Hope,” was released, in which there was a move away from the Disco of Perestroika towards more modern pop music at the intersection of synth-pop and rock. Thus, Kostya’s work even survived Tender May, which by that time had completely disintegrated.

Unfortunately, due to the age and lack of popularity of the album, which was unlucky enough to appear at the end of the popularity of disco perestroika, we do not know the authorship of most of its songs. According to reliable sources, the famous guitar virtuoso Sergei Mavrin, a member of the groups Black Coffee, Metallaccord, Aria and Kipelov, had a hand in working on the album. With his help, old arrangements, distinguished by a rather primitive synthetic sound, no longer fashionable in the early 90s, turned into full-fledged compositions with a distinct bass guitar background...

“Kostya Pakhomov is one of the soloists of the ensemble “Tender May”. We don't actually know each other. But my childhood friend is Igor Kozlov, with whom I played in the group “Black Coffee” in 1985 (thanks to whom I got into it), with whom I created the groups “Visit” even earlier and later “Metalakkord”, in 1990 was a bass player for Kostya, who, in turn, decided to pursue a solo career. It was 1990, or the beginning of 1991... I couldn’t remember exactly, even with the help of Kozlov. Then two things coincided - an offer from Pakhomov’s group to record guitar for them on their debut [ in fact, the second is D.S.] album, and my emerging fatigue from the monotony of what I record in “Aria”. I just needed an outburst of emotions alien to Iron Maiden, so I easily accepted the offer voiced by Igor Kozlov. Any third-party ideas were good for me, since there were almost no of my own at that time. I was presented with minus (without voice) soundtracks, and I went into a break! I played whatever I wanted, not caring that someone might not like it or not suit the style. Everything went well and I liked it. Including me. Today I’m listening to the final version, already with a voice, for the first time...”

(remembers Sergei Mavrin)

In 1992, a video clip was shot for the song “The Last Day of Spring”. Unfortunately, both the album and the video were the last in Kostya Pakhomov’s creative career. The new songs never saw the light of day, and the following year, 1993, the singer’s musical career finally ended. In online collections you can find unreleased songs: “Spring”, “Summer”, “Love”, “On a Motorcycle” and “Sun”.

What happened to the artist’s ambitious creative plans? After all, he was going to enter the conservatory, produce young musicians, and finally release a disc on “Melodiya”? . The answer, most likely, has long been known to us...

Afterword

The further life and work of Konstantin Pakhomov lie in a thick fog. The earth is full of rumors, but we will not retell them. Sergei Kuznetsov and other former members of the group periodically remember him, without providing any details, however. Even the film crew of the talk show “Let Them Talk” could not find Konstantin. No one opened the door to his Orenburg apartment, and his neighbors saw him only briefly and didn’t really know anything about him.

Malakhov: Andrey, do you know about the fate of Kostya Pakhomov, why doesn’t he communicate with anyone and doesn’t open the door to his neighbors?

Razin: Kostya Pakhomov left the team after literally working for almost a year. And he no longer communicated with any of the guys, nor with Sergei Lenyuk, nor with anyone. Therefore, this is his personal business. As far as I know, Kostya entered the theater institute, successfully starred in several films and after which his career ended in cinema, I don’t know... I heard that he is involved in real estate... Yura Shatunov, for example, also hasn’t heard of him for probably 20 years , maybe 21.

(“Let them talk. Tender May. Stay alive,” 02/28/2013)

There are several Kostya Pakhomov fan clubs on social networks, in which his devoted admirers discuss the merits and demerits of songs recorded thirty years ago, compare Kostya’s vocals with Shatunovsky and brand Andrei Razin for not allowing Kostya to grow and develop in ’89 year. From time to time, public administrators throw in “firewood” in the form of rumors from people who allegedly saw or knew Kostya. There is also a closed forum where Pakhomov allegedly communicates with his fans himself. The mysticism of what happens there is reminiscent of a seance.

We would like to make this biography more complete and reliable, so if Konstantin Mikhailovich himself ever reads it, the editors of the Disco Encyclopedia will be happy to interview him, which will undoubtedly be the warmest greeting to his loyal fans over the past 25 years! In the meantime, we have to put an end to this.

Sources

• 1. O. Nikolaeva - “Comedy in the style of “Tender May””, “Young Leninist”, October 7, 1989
• 2. Igor Shestakov - “Kostya Pakhomov: - “I’m trying not to be a star”” “Informal”, 1989
• 3. “Shatunov’s competitor?”, “Komsomolets Donbassa”, 1988
• 4. Alexander Kasparov - “About the “Tender Mays””, “Rural Youth”, No. 5, 1989
• 5. Alexander Musin - “Tender May”: rumors and facts,” Komsomol Tribe, November 11, 1989
• 6. “Komsomolets - our time”, June 1991
• 7. “Leninets”, Ufa, March 29, 1990
• 8. Arthur Gasparyan, “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, May 24, 1990
• 9. Arthur Gasparyan - “Konstantin Pakhomov: “I work on my own””, “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, 1991
• 10. Arthur Gasparyan - “Kostya is among us again!”, “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, April 1991

Yuriy Shatunov

Nothing is fully known about his real biography. According to one version, Yuri Shatko (according to his passport) was born in Kumertau, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, at the age of 8 the boy’s mother died, his aunt raised him for another four years, and then she sent Yura to an orphanage. It was there, after meeting the head of the amateur artistic circle Sergei Kuznetsov, 13-year-old Yura became the first soloist of the group “Tender May”.

The group was created by Sergei Kuznetsov in December 1986 at Orenburg boarding school No. 2, where he was the head of the music club.

In 1992, after Shatunov left, the group broke up. Yura had 10 million rubles left in his account, with which he was able to buy himself a house in Germany. Shatunov moved to live there and has no plans to return. In 2000, he met his future wife, Svetlana. The Shatunovs have two children, a boy and a girl. He believes that he himself was very lucky: “the party could not swallow me up, since I myself did not want it.”

Andrey Razin

Razin's parents died in a car accident, so Andrei also grew up in an orphanage. He began his creative journey with the group “Mirage”, and when in 1988 he accidentally came across a cassette of “Tender May”, he became imbued with Shatunov’s songs and persuaded the guys to move to Moscow. Realizing that such songs would not be played on radio and television, Razin began distributing cassettes to conductors of long-distance trains and paid them extra to play “Tender May” all the way.

The team consisted of minors and was therefore considered amateur and not professional. As soon as the group administrators turned 18, Razin fired them. Razin was also in charge of the cash register. He was considered a relative of Gorbachev and an underground millionaire, but he was simply a shrewd entrepreneur. When popularity began to go off scale, Andrei Razin began to create fake groups “Tender May”, sending similar boys to concerts throughout the country who simply opened their mouths to the soundtrack.

Since 1991, Andrei Razin went into politics: he founded the International Association of Children from Orphanages and Boarding Schools, was a confidant of Gennady Zyuganov, and then he himself was elected to the State Duma of the Stavropol Territory. In 2014, he tried himself as a banker: he became president of Doninvest Bank, and then resigned 8 days before the license was revoked.

In March 2017, Andrei Razin experienced a real tragedy: his 16-year-old son Alexander died of cardiac arrest.

Alexander Shurochkin

The ex-lead singer of the group became a successful producer and made a star out of his own daughter, Anna Shurochkina, singer Nyusha.

The remaining members of the legendary team were much less fortunate.

“If Tender May had not existed, everything would have been simpler,” says Shatunov, “this group ruined the lives of many. Some are no longer alive, some went to prison, and some drank themselves to death.”

Sergey Kuznetsov

The founder of the group and the author of the main hits subsequently created several more musical groups, but was never able to repeat the popularity of “Tender May”. He continued to make music and launched many projects. However, according to rumors, he lives in his native Orenburg, has a 2nd group disability and suffers from alcohol addiction. At the end of 2016, it became known that Kuznetsov had cirrhosis of the liver.

Igor Igoshin (died at 19)

Drummer Igor Igoshin died in 1992. He played in Tender May for 2 years. After a fight at a friend's wedding, he was taken home, but soon Igor fell out of a fourth-floor window. It was not possible to save him. It is still unknown what happened then. According to one version, he was deliberately pushed from a height.

Mikhail Sukhomlinov (died at 18)

The 18-year-old keyboard player of the original lineup was killed in 1993. at the entrance of Shatunov’s house. According to Andrei Razin, the killer turned out to be a mentally ill man, who was found only in 2000. According to one version, the killer wanted to shoot Shatunov, but accidentally hit Mikhail.

Yuri Petlyura (died at 22)

In 1992, he performed in “Tender May” under the name Yura Orlov, but then left the group and became a chanson performer. In 1996, he died in a car accident after losing control of the car.

Arvid Yurgaitis (died at 34)

Keyboardist who worked in the group from 1988 to 1992. Died in a fire caused by an unextinguished cigarette in 2004.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev (died at 37)

The band's bass player died at age 37 from tuberculosis.

Alexey Burda (died at 37)

Keyboardist of "Tender May" - died of alcohol poisoning in 2012.

IGOR ANISIMOV (DIED AT 40)

The keyboard player died in 2013 from knife wounds in a drunken fight with a friend.

Yuri Gurov (died at 41)

Was the vocalist of the group for 5 years. After the collapse of Tender May, he became a businessman. But in 2012 he died in an accident as a result of a collision with a truck.

Kostya Pakhomov

After leaving “Tender May,” he founded his own group, which was called “Kostya Pakhomov’s Group,” which included former members of “Tender May.” Then he entered the theater institute and successfully starred in several films. After this nothing is known about him. A couple of years ago, the film crew of the talk show “Let Them Talk” tried to contact him, but no one opened the door to his apartment in Orenburg.

The “Tender May” group, which started show business in Russia, recently turned 25 years old. Soloist and producer Andrei Razin gave a festive concert in Moscow, Yuri Shatunov performed in St. Petersburg that day. They did not congratulate each other. And is there any reason for fun?

The guys went missing and spent time in prison

In the 80s, “Tender May” literally blew up the country. Surprisingly, but true: the newly minted stars had neither voice nor hearing, the lyrics of the melodies were below average. But at their concerts, fans were hysterical and waving their bras. Some, unable to get their idol's autograph, tried to open their wrists in the toilets of concert halls.

“The money flowed like a river, we carried money in suitcases,” the producer said proudly AndreyRazin. It was he who came up with the story of the double groups. I recruited cute kids from orphanages, put together several groups, and they traveled around the country. Concerts of a popular group could take place in 5–10 cities simultaneously. They sang to a soundtrack. In response to fans’ demands to present the “face of the group”, Yura Shatunov, the administrators replied: “He is sick.”

We tried to find the lead singers of a popular group from different years. It turned out that many of them are already... in the cemetery! Moreover, the children died at a young age, before they even reached 25 years of age. There is no longer bass guitarist Vyacheslav Ponomarev, keyboardists Igor Igoshin, Mikhail Sukhomlinov, Arvid Yurgaitis, vocalist Yuri Barabash...

“I don’t remember exactly which of them died from what: someone was stabbed with a knife in a fight, someone went missing... But really, many are no longer there. Several more people are in prison. Some kind of curse? Perhaps, says the first composer and founder of the group, Sergei Kuznetsov. – I did not analyze why this happened and who is to blame. But there is some frightening pattern.

Our interlocutor also admitted: if he woke up in the morning with thoughts about “Tender May,” expect trouble. It has already happened: either a pipe in the house will burst, or the neighbors will flood...

And ex-soloist Konstantin Pakhomov, with whom we corresponded by e-mail, does not even say the name “Tender May” out loud. Just briefly – “LM”. To avoid trouble. Now he doesn’t even talk about the past with his friends.

The first fans were paid for hysterics

The group was created at Orenburg Orphanage No. 2 as an amateur art group by music lover Sergei Kuznetsov. At one of the group concerts, the guys were seen by Andrei Razin from the Stavropol Territory, who had set himself the goal of conquering Moscow. He persuaded the young musicians to rush to the capital. Many ex-soloists belittle the merits of the cunning Razin, but it was he who negotiated concerts, introducing himself as Gorbachev’s nephew (in fact, they are fellow countrymen with Mikhail Sergeevich - from the village of Privolnoye, Stavropol Territory). Businessmen and politicians made concessions to him. And Razin brought the first crowd of girl fans to the door of one of the cultural centers, paying them to squeal... And then there was a chain reaction.

Already in 1990, the number of fans of the boy band exceeded 16 million people. Hundreds of female fans ran to fortune tellers to bewitch their idols.

Numerous love spells weakened the energy of young musicians. It’s not for nothing that experienced artists regularly provide themselves with energy protection and have their own magicians. The result of witchcraft influences could be the death of the youngest children.
Shatunov says that for several years he felt bad, was sick - there was a feeling that all his strength had been sucked out of him. Miraculously he recovered. Now Yura lives in Germany and rarely gives concerts in Russia.

– I have a small house in Germany. There is an apartment in Sochi, but not in Moscow. He spent all the savings he had - he treated money carelessly, did not think about the future, says the ex-idol of millions. Suitcases of money did not bring happiness to anyone. Only Andrei Razin walks around important and happy, saying that he has achieved everything he wanted in life.

Interesting

In the music scene they tell a story. Once on a visit to Yuri Shatunov came in Alla Pugacheva. Then she was not the number one star - an ordinary singer. We sat down to dinner. Shatunov began to slurp loudly - how did the orphanage pupil have good manners? To which Alla Borisovna made a maternal remark: “Yur, this is indecent.” To which the 15-year-old artist, picking his teeth with a fork, replied: “When you have as much money as we do, then we’ll talk.” Pugacheva did not try to educate her young colleague anymore.

At first, Kostya Pakhomov studied at the Orenburg school of the Industrial District since he comes from Siberia, from the city of Orenburg. Then he started working as a DJ at the local Orbita House of Culture. Then composer Sergei Kuznetsov came to this recreation center "Orbita" and invited Kostya Pakhomov to record an album that would become the first in the history of the "Tender May" group. It was 1988! Then Kostya Pakhomov, together with Sergei Kuznetsov, participated in the “Russian Field - 88” festival, which took place in the Orenburg region. In 1989, Konstantin, together with the guys from the group (Yura Shatunov and Sergei Serkov as well as Sergei Kuznetsov) moved to Moscow to Kakhovka. In 1989, Konstantin left the group "Tender May" and created his own group, recorded a solo album, sang rock, and performed. In 1991, he starred in the film “Mannequin in Love” together with Boris Shcherbakov, young Anya Tikhonova, and Ilya Oleinikov. Then he left the stage and films. This was around 1993! It is known that Kostya served 2 times in the army in Chechnya. Then he received higher education at the Moscow Institute of Arts! And then any connection with him disappeared! I don’t even really know if he graduated from university, what he’s doing now, or even where he is and how his fate turned out! He was with us in Leningrad with concerts at the PETERSBURG SKK and YUBILEY SKK. I really liked him! But Konstantin suddenly disappeared!