Bi-2 is one of the most successful Russian bands of the 2000s. She owes her appearance to two young people from Belarus - Shura and Leva (real names are Alexander Uman and Yegor Bortnik).
From the history of the group Bi-2
Shura and Leva met in 1985 in Minsk, where they both studied at the Rond theater studio. The common passion for music also contributed to the emergence of friendship. Shura studied at the music school at that time, and Leva wrote good lyrics. In August 1988, Shura, together with other musicians, creates his first rock band. Initially it was named "Brothers in Arms", and later was renamed "The Coast of Truth". The group consisted of 15 people, but its composition was not stable. At an early stage in the history of the group, neither Shura nor Lyova risked performing as vocalists. Shura played bass, and Leva, as before, wrote lyrics.
After a not very successful performance at a rock festival in Bobruisk, the group temporarily broke up, but already in August 1989 a new group appeared, called Bi-2 - abbreviated "Coast of Truth - 2". Shura and Leva became the vocalists of the renewed group. By the way, it was on their initiative that the Bobruisk rock club was created. Soon, in home studios in Minsk, the group recorded their first album, Traitors to the Motherland, which, however, was never released.
In 1991, Shura, and a year later - and Lyova, moved to Israel. There they continue to perform, and even take first place at the rock festival in Jerusalem. Their joint creative activity continued in Australia, where Shura moved to stay with relatives (although Leva joined him only 5 years later). It was there, in Melbourne, that friends managed to record a full-fledged debut album of the Bi-2 group.
On the crest of success
Soon the guys learned that their songs were actively played on the air of Russian radio stations, and in 1999 they arrived in Moscow. Their fate was changed by the song "Nobody Writes to the Colonel." The fact is that it attracted the attention of Alexei Balabanov, who made it the main musical theme of the film "Brother-2". Thanks to the success of the film, the song immediately became a hit, and the Bi-2 literally woke up famous. The second big hit of the group is the song "Silver", recorded with a string quartet.
In the future, the guys actively collaborate and record new compositions with such popular groups and performers as "Spleen", "Chaif", Brainstorm, Yulia Chmcherina and Diana Arbenina. Their albums "Meow Kiss Me" (2001) and "Foreign Cars" (2004) are sold in huge numbers. In 2007, the Bi-2 group received the prestigious MTV Russia Music Awards in the category "Best Rock Project of the Year". Today the popular group Bi-2 continues active concert activity and work on new albums.
