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[ROCK IN LENINGRAD : SAMIZDAT] Roksi. Biulleten’ Leningradskogo rok-kluba [i.e. Roxy. Bulletin of the Leningrad Rock Club] #12 for 1987

Item #1874

[Leningrad, 1987]. 83 ll.: ill., on rectos only. 30x21 cm. Leaves not fastened and not bound. Some creases of the title leaf, cigarette smell.

Typewritten text and full-page illustrations were created on rectos only and then reproduced by photocopy. Design was created by Iulia Tyshkevich.
“Roxy” is considered the first rock magazine in the USSR published in Leningrad from 1977 to 1990. In all, 15 samizdat issues were created. Since 1985, the printrun was increased up to 50 copies. Following this initiative, rock periodicals sparkled in other Soviet cities in the late 1980s.
In the early 1980s, the Soviet authorities still desperately fought against any manifestations of dissent, including youth’s passion for rock music. Overseen by the Komsomol and KGB, the Leningrad Rock Club (LRC) became the first legal venue of its kind. The club was reminiscent of Palaces of Culture and the association was similar to the Union of Soviet Composers. Providing a place for musicians to meet, perform, and discuss their music, the club gave unprecedented creative freedom and helped lead to the Russian rock revolution. (Wikipedia) Although early Soviet rock bands originated in the 1960s, the club led to an emergence of an entire rock industry in the Soviet Union. Since the mid-1980s, the pressure began to lessen. Performers began to tour, perform on television, and have their songs played on the radio.
Along with the founders of the Russian rock music, the periodical mentions names of little-known representatives.
​​The fanzine was initiated by Boris Grebenshchikov, Mike Naumenko, Yuri Ilchenko, Natalia Vasilyeva, Nikolai Vasin. Since the seventh issue (1984), Alexander Startsev had become the editor of Roxy and headed the magazine until its closure. Design and contributors to the magazine changed radically, but the contents remained describing the life of Soviet and foreign rock music. It included editorials, rumor columns, the ‘Lengortop’ hit parade, interviews with musicians, and translated articles from Western sources.
This issue contains an editorial on the magazine itself, another publication ‘RIO’, a club scandal and a rock festival held by LRC. The first article “For Now” was written by journalist Alexander Startsev (under the pseudonym Alek Zander). He wrote that sudden and all-encompassing enthusiasm of the press around rock culture and performers looked suspicious and grotesquely because of the lack of vivid polemics. However, he made notes for each concert and chronicled that various groups were warmly greeted by masses and made notes for each one.
Alek Zander also published his interview with the leader of band Aquarium, Boris Grebenshchikov. In another interview, G. Tsvalin conversed with record producer Andrey Tropillo. K. Kich analyzes performances of nonresident bands in LRC. In the article “Scrap Metal” B. Malyshev elaborates on foreign heavy metal, its early sprouts in the USSR, a Soviet heavy metal group “EDS” (1983-1990) that joined the Rock Club. In “Wave Is Coming” I. Golubenko shared her thoughts about Siberian rock music. S. Oleinik contributed with news on rock culture
It is particularly interesting how UB-40 toured in the USSR. The magazine published the translation of a text from Rolling Stones (1986, No. 488). The first concert was held in the Luzhniki Stadium and a Russian translator interpreted words of the group, filtering them ideologically. There were a lot of security guards who stopped dancing at big concerts. Yet, even Red Army soldiers danced during one concert and thrilled the group.
Photographs were provided by Natalia Vasilieva, Vadim Konradt, Mikhail Pedan. Due to low quality of the reproduction, pictures are overexposed and hardly recognizable. In all, 12 photographs were published: Kino, Kalinov most, Aquarium, Zoopark, Shock, et al.

Price: $550.00