Gorky Park (band)

Gorky Park / Парк Горького
Gorky Park in 2006
Background information
Origin	Moscow, Russia
Genres	Hard rock, glam metal
Years active	1987–2001, 2005–present
Labels	Mercury Records
Associated acts	Aria, Tsvety
Website	http://www.gorkyparkmusic.ru/
Members	Aleksandr Marshal Alexey Belov Yan Yanenkov Alexander Lvov
Past members	Nikolai Noskov Nikolai Kuzminykh † Alexey Nelidov Alexander Makin Victor Khonkov Sergey Okost

Gorky Park (international title) or Парк Горького (Russian title) is a Russian hard rock band, that gained mainstream popularity in the United States during Perestroika. Gorky Park is famous for its kitsch use of western stereotypes of Russians, such as pseudo-traditional clothing, balalaika-like guitar design and the hammer and sickle as their logo. It was the first Russian band to be aired on MTV.

In 1987 guitarist Alexey Belov, vocalist Nikolay Noskov, bassist Alexander "Big Sasha" Minkov, guitarist Yan Yanenkov, and drummer Alexander Lvov (formerly from Aria) came together to form Gorky Park. Stas Namin, a famous 70's soviet musician, became the band's manager. Because Gorbachev lifted the censorship, many underground rock bands, including Gorky Park, became able to receive more widespread popularity. Later that year the band left Russia for the United States in search of a record deal.

In the U.S. the band soon made some connections in the record business. One of the first people to take notice was famous guitarist Frank Zappa. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora also helped them to secure a deal with Mercury Records.

The band released a self-titled debut album in 1989, featuring initials 'GP' stylized as a Hammer & Sickle on the cover. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and a growing interest in Soviets to western countries, Gorky Park soon became widely known. The band seemed to be a kind of symbol of American-Russian friendship. The band's first video, "Bang", received MTV rotation. Their next two singles, "Try to Find Me" and a collaboration with Bon Jovi, "Peace in Our Time", received rotation on mainstream radio stations.