Tsvety (Russian: Цветы,
lit. 'The Flowers') is a Soviet and Russian rock band formed in 1969 by guitarist and songwriter Stas Namin. It was one of the first Russian bands to play rock music on the Soviet stage. According to the magazine “Itogi”, “the whole Russian non-format began with it”.
In 1973 “Flowers” as a student ensemble released flexible records on the firm “Melodiya”, which sold out 7-million copies. Having gained huge popularity in the USSR, the group began its professional touring activity in 1974, but in 1975, due to a conflict with the Philharmonic, the group broke up, and then, by order of the USSR Ministry of Culture, was disbanded, even its name was banned.
The group was restored under a new name - “Stas Namin's Group” - only in 1977 and started touring from 1978, at the same time remaining under a ban in some central media. In the period 1977-1986 the group recorded songs and albums at the Melodiya company, participated in a number of TV programs of the USSR (“Song of the Year”, “Morning Post”, “Blue Ogonyok”, gaining wide popularity in the USSR, in 1977-1983 the group was annually included in the hit-parade “Sound Track” of the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, represented the USSR at the Polish festival in Sopot (1980).
With the beginning of Perestroika the band went to the West and made a four-year world tour. In 1990 the band suspended its activity and for the next ten years did not exist.
Having reunited in 1999 after a break, “Flowers” celebrated their thirtieth anniversary with an anniversary concert, worked at the Stas Namin Theater of Music and Drama, participating in the production of the musical “Hair”, the rock opera “Jesus Christ - Superstar” and other projects.
Since 2009, having celebrated the group's fortieth anniversary, the “Flowers” have again started an active creative life.
