Tea for Two is a popular pop group performing pop music. The duo included the actor, poet, singer and entrepreneur Stanislav Kostyushkin, singer and composer Denis Klyaver. The group existed from 1994 to 2012.
Neither the musical style, nor the creativity of "Tea for Two" differed in intricate originality. The compositions were simple, understandable to everyone. The duo won fans with their visual appeal and amazing charm. The guys also managed to turn all the performances into colorful shows. They adopted this skill from the stars of the national stage.
Start of joint activities
Earlier, the lives of Kostyushkin and Klyaver did not intersect. Petersburg resident Denis graduated from a music school and three courses of the Musorgsky College. He served in the army where he played trumpet in an orchestra. Stanislav came to Leningrad from Odessa in the eighties. He entered the conservatory, graduated from it.
The history of the group began when the guys met at the Zazerkalye musical theater. They created songs in tandem. One wrote the words, the other - the music for them. Creative activity started with the light hand of Oleinikov, a popular presenter and actor, Klyaver's father. Ilya Lvovich accidentally heard songs performed by his son and his friend and recommended the creation of a duet to young people.
The ensemble turned out to be quite impressive. Two guys of athletic build, but different types harmoniously complemented each other. In one composition, the group existed for twelve years until the moment of disintegration. The first producer of the new team was Kostyushkin's longtime friend Sergei Kuryokhin.
In addition to singers, the collective included guitarist Yevgeny Kulikov, keyboardist Alexei Leonov, drummer Dmitry Zaitsev. Kirill Stepurko was in charge of the bass, Alexander Kosilov played the saxophone, and Konstantin Likhoved on the trumpet. The state also provided for a group of dancers, in which Stas's wife shone.
Successful project
Initially, the duo was planned to be named "Pilot" after the first composition. However, they were in no hurry to name the new group. The impetus was the invitation of Viktor Reznikov to participate in a music competition. The director of the competition gave the name to the newly minted musicians. The offer seemed to him too unassuming.
The debut was a performance at the end of 1994 at the St. Petersburg Youth Palace. However, the real ascent to the pinnacle of success was the participation in the Yalta-Moscow-Transit competition. It was broadcast on ORT. Young performers entered with pop stars, the musicians proved themselves worthy. Both the jury and the audience highly appreciated the new team.
Good luck favored talented musicians. Mikhail Shufutinsky drew attention to the duet. He invited the young people on tour. With the funds received, the group released the first video. After the competition, aspiring singers were invited to cooperate with Laima Vaikule. The guys performed with her for two years. The students learned from her the ability to create bright shows. In the future, each concert of the duet turned into an unforgettable performance.
By the beginning of the new century, the singers managed to release four albums. Some of the compositions from them turned into real hits and in the 2000s were broadcast by many radio stations. The singles "Bird cherry", "Don't cry", "Fellow traveler" won many fans. The guys gave grandiose concerts in many domestic cities.
The video for the song "Farewell to Dawn" was filmed with the company of "Centrum" producers. Then there was a theatrical solo show "Kino" in St. Petersburg. It took two months to prepare for it. The guys even refused the planned tours. The decorations, like the stylish costumes, are impressive.
The audience remembered the extravaganza for a long time. Soon the performance was repeated. The number of fans grew rapidly. The energy of the singers, the incendiary performance, and good humor were highly appreciated.
Breakup of the group
In 2001, new success came. The guys wrote a heartfelt composition "My affectionate". A video was filmed for the song. The famous music video maker Aleksey Boltenko became an assistant in the work on it. The new hit blew up all radio charts in the country, became a member of numerous television charts. A year later, the fifth album of the duet appeared with a name consonant with the song.
Many celebrities have worked with the group. In 2002, the author of their video "Snowstorm" was Ilya Oleinikov. In 2005, the guys starred in the musical "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" as robbers. In 2012, the group performed with Olga Polyakova, TV presenter and soloist. Together they sang the song "Hug Me", filmed a video for it.
Singers also mastered other types of activities. They established an art agency "Tea for Two" to organize the holidays. Later, a production center "Tea for two production" appeared, promoting beginners and recording compositions of musicians who had already declared themselves. The duo received seven Golden Gramophones. The awards were given to the compositions "Desirable", "24 hours", "So that you were mine", "White dress". In total, eleven records have been released, more than a hundred songs have been written.
Information about the collapse of the creative tandem began to appear in 2009. The group ceased to exist after three years. The singers themselves stated this. They did not voice the reasons for the breakup of the duo. There were also no comments on the speculations that appeared.
Stas Kostyushkin
The paths of both soloists went their separate ways after the band ceased to exist. Stanislav started experimenting. He mastered new arrangements of songs popular since the thirties and forties of the last century. Stas's first project called "Shulman Band" was unsuccessful.
The musician did not despair and created a new "A-Dessa". He wrote and performed the single "Fire". The premiere was successful. Very soon a solo album "Not like everyone else" appeared.
Stas tried to find himself in television activities. He tried on the image of the host of the show "Very Karaochen" on the channel "Muz-TV"
Kostyushkin often takes part in various projects. He performed brilliantly in the program "Just the same". Igor Kornelyuk became his best.
The singer also distinguished himself by dancing in the summer of 2018 near the airport in Perm. So Stas held an informal rehearsal before the concert. The musician explained this step by the fact that the team did not have enough time to work out the dance numbers.
Denis Klyaver
The second participant is also versatile. He participated in the popular projects "Two Stars" and "Circus with Stars". The musician performed several roles in the cinema.
He played a policeman in an episode of Stepanych's Thai voyage, took part in the sequel to the film entitled Stepanych's Spanish voyage. The main role in the films was played by Ilya Oleinikov. Denis played in the telenovela "My Fair Nanny", participated in the entertainment shows "Big Difference" and "Factory".
Often, the singer appears on the cameo screen. In 2013, he starred in the TV series Two Fathers, Two Sons. The next year - in the melodrama "There will be no wedding." With the participation of Klyaver in 2017, the crime drama “Nevsky. Test of strength".
Denis was also involved in dubbing. In the animated film Moana, Chief Tui spoke in his voice. Together with the singer Yulianna Karaulova, Denis recorded the song "Home Native" in the project. The singer got an interesting experience, and the work, according to him, gave him great pleasure.
Denis took up a solo career, recording new discs. In 2016, Klyaver released a new album. The singer received the Golden Gramophone for the song Let's start over. In 2017, the presentation of his disc "Love-Silence" took place. The soloist sang one of the compositions as a duet with Jasmine. In April 2018, viewers saw the new track "Spring" and the clip "Let's save this world."
