Aguzarova arrived in Moscow in July 1982. She adopted a pseudonym, Ivana Anders, because she lacked a passport and thus went by the name on her false documentation, which had belonged to the daughter of a Swedish diplomat. Aguzarova’s first musical endeavor was as the lead singer for the group Krimatoriy (Crematorium). In 1983 she was taken in by Evgeniy Havtan as vocalist for the group that would soon be called Bravo. Together with Bravo she recorded a 20-minute-long cassette tape that, circulated among acquaintances, earned them gigs at a Moscow dance club. But on March 18, 1984, Aguzarova’s past caught up with her when she was arrested after a concert. By some accounts she was deported from Moscow and sent home to Siberia. By others she spent a year in prison and committed to a psychiatric ward. A year later, she rejoined Bravo, which had been invited to take part in the U.S.S.R.’s Creative Laboratory of Rock Music in Moscow. They appeared on TV, festivals and concerts. These years with Bravo, from 1985-1987, were instrumental in Aguzarova’s development as a pop star. In 1987 the government-run label Melodia released the group’s first album, Bravo. In these early years Aguzarova is remembered for her off-beat vintage outfits as well as for her attention-grabbing energy. The singles of Bravo’s Aguzarova phase are “Jeltie Botinki” (Yellow Boots), “Koshki” (Cats), “Veru Ya” (I Believe), and also “Chudesnaya Strana” (Wonderful Country), which was included on the wildly popular soundtrack of 1988 film ASSA, which included songs by other Soviet rock heroes such as Victor Tzoi of Kino, akvarium, and Alisa. By the late ’80s she had gained the status of a pop icon, and left the group to pursue her solo career. Her first and best reviewed solo release was Russkiy Album (The Russian Album), whose musical approach occupied a place between Rock’n Roll and Russian romance (a genre based on gypsy and Italian songs popular in early-20th century Russia). In 1990 Aguzarova took flight for Los Angeles, CA, on the advice of her mentor, Alla Pugachova, who told her that only in America would her talent be fully appreciated. But Aguzarova ended up by a two-year gig singing Soviet standards at the Black Sea Restaurant. Legend has it that she lived in America with documents that she bought for seven dollars upon arriving. She formed a group there called the 1990s that did covers of the group Tzentr (Center). The project was a collaboration with Vasiliy Shumov. During her American years Aguzarova made occasional concert appearances in the former Soviet Union. In 1996 Aguzarova returned to Russia and concerned herself with avant-garde art endeavors such as happenings. But it was not long before she assembled a group of musicians to perform her old hits from the Russkiy Album and her time with Bravo. In 1998 Bravo’s Evgeniy Havtan convinced Aguzarova to take part in the super tour “Bravo with Vocalists from Different Eras,” but erratic and unpredictable as ever, she quickly lost interest and returned to Moscow. In the new millennium Aguzarova lives intermittently in Europe and Russia, surfacing occasionally. She is know for her distrust of the media, and for that reason, relatively little is known about her. Her repeated claims of “internal connections” with Martians have led many to believe that she is mentally unstable. The former manager of Bravo, Maxim Leykin, famously said of Aguzarova, “She is on her own, all alone! She has nothing and no one.”| |
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