Lyube
Lyube is a Russian rock band from Lyubertsy, a city in Moscow Oblast. Lyube's music is a mixture of several genres, with influences from both Russian folk music, rock, Russian chanson, and Soviet military songs. The band was founded in 1989, and since then have released sixteen albums. Lyube's producer and main songwriter is Igor Matviyenko.
History
Igor Matviyenko was a music producer and composer working at the Soviet music studio SPM Record when he came up with the idea to start Lyube in 1988. Rastorguyev came up with the band's name.Early 1990s: Debut and Rise to Fame
The band released its first compilation of songs in 1990, titled "We will now live a new way".In 1991, Lyube released its first official LP. The debut album was titled "Atas", and included the title song, along with the songs "Bat'ko Makhno", "Taganskaya station", "Don't destroy, you men", and "Lyubertsy".
Lyube filmed their first music video in 1991 in the Russian city of Sochi, using "Don't play the fool, America!" as the song.
In 1992, Lyube released its second album, titled "Who said that we lived badly...?". The songs for the album were recorded at the Moscow Palace of Youth and Stas Namin's Studio, and the mastering was completed at studio MSM in Munich, Germany. The album included such hits as "Come, let's play", "Don't play the fool, America!", "Rabbit fur", "Tram five", and "Old Noble". Around the release of the second album, Aleksandr Vaynberg and Oleg Zenin left the band.
Mid-1990s: Pinnacle of Success
Lyube's follow-up to their sophomore effort took two years to complete. The new album was titled "Lyube Zone", which was a play on words as the term "zone" has a secondary meaning that refers to a camp for convicts. In 1995, Lyube recorded the song "Kombat". The song has a military feel to it and chronicles episodes from World War II.Late 1990s: Retrospectives, Covers, and Soundtracks
In 1997, Rastorguyev became a "Recognized Artist of the Russian Federation", the second-highest honor for a singer in Russia, awarded by the country's President. In early 1998, Lyube took part in a concert celebrating the Russian singer Vladimir Vysotsky, where they covered two of Vysotsky's hits: "On soldiers' mass graves" and "Song about stars".2001–present
In 2001, Lyube played a live concert on Victory Day in Red Square. That same year, Russian president Vladimir Putin, an avowed fan of the band, appointed Rastorguyev to the position of Cultural Advisor to the Russian government.In 2010, Nikolai Rastorguyev became a deputy of the State Duma of the fifth convocation from the Stavropol Krai, replacing United Russia deputy Sergey Smetanyuk, who was appointed Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Ural Federal District. Rastorguyev became a member of the State Duma Committee on Culture. In this regard, the group holds concerts and takes part in actions of the ruling United Russia party and its youth movement, the Young Guard. In the same year, after being in Lyube for ten years, guitarist Alexey Khokhlov left the band.
On 18 March 2022, Lyube sang at Vladimir Putin's Moscow rally celebrating the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation from Ukraine and justifying the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On 28 June 2024, Lyube's Spotify profile has been terminated as part of EU sanctions.
Guitarist Yuri Rymanov died on 24 January 2026, at the age of 69.
Current lineup
- Nikolay Rastorguyev
- Aleksey Tarasov
- Alexander Erokhin
- Sergey Pereguda
- Pavel Suchkov
- Alexey Kantur
- Dmitry Streltsov
- Alexey Ryabushev
Previous members
- Vitaly Loktev - keyboards and accordion
- Anatoly Kuleshov - backing vocals and percussion
- Alexey Khokhlov - guitar
- Pavel Usanov - bass guitar
- Yuri Rymanov - guitar
- Rinat Bakhteyev - drums
- Alexander Davydov - keyboards
- Yuri Ripyakh - drums
- Alexander Vaynberg - bass and guitar
- Sergey Bashlykov - bass guitar
- Alexander Nikolayev - bass guitar
- Yevgeny Nasibulin - backing vocals and guitar
- Oleg Zenin - backing vocals
- Vyacheslav Tereshonok - guitar
- Viktor Zhuk - guitar
- Andrey Danilin - bass guitar
- Ivan Zelenkov - guitar
- Seraphim Tarasov - backing vocals
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Discography
- Атас
- Кто сказал, что мы плохо жили..?
- Зона Любэ
- Комбат
- Собрание сочинений
- Песни о людях
- Песни из концертной программы "Песни о людях" 24.02.98
- Полустаночки
- Собрание сочинений. Том 2
- Давай за...
- Юбилей. Лучшие песни
- Ребята нашего полка
- Рассея
- В России
- Собрание сочинений. Том 3
- Свои
- ''За тебя, Родина-мать!''