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Kris KelmiMusician
Date of Birth: 21.04.1955
Country:  Russia |
Content:
Childhood and Youth
Anatoly Kalinkin (later known as Chris Kelmi) was born in Moscow on April 7, 1955, into a family of metro builders. He was the second child; his older brother, Valentin, was ten years his senior. For a long time, the family lived in a truck trailer, but when Tolik was five years old, the "Metrostroi" company allocated them a separate apartment not far from the Aeroport metro station. Soon after, Kelmi's father, Aril Mikhailovich, left the family. In his new family, Kelmi Sr. had another son, Yevgeny, who would later become Anatoly's administrator.
In addition to general education, Anatoly graduated from the Dunayevsky Music School in piano. Before obtaining his passport, he changed his mother's surname, Kalinkin, to his father's, Kelmi. Around the same time, he created his first amateur group, "Sadko." This group had no permanent lineup and existed for two years before merging with another disbanding group, "Aeroport," led by Alexander Sitkovetsky. This merger proved more successful; the new group, "Vysokosnoye Leto" ("Leap Year Summer"), performed at the "Singing Field" festival in 1977 and even released three albums.
Anatoly Kelmi received his higher education at the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers (now the University of Railway Engineering), where he spent three years in graduate school. In 1983, he entered the Gnessin Institute of Music, studying in the pop music department. Kelmi's teacher was Igor Bril, and his classmate was the famous musician Vladimir Kuzmin.
Music Career
After experiencing the thrill of live performance with "Vysokosnoye Leto," Kelmi decided to pursue music professionally. He adopted the stage name Chris in honor of his favorite literary hero from Stanislav Lem's "Solaris." As Chris Kelmi, he joined the group "Avtograf," the first Soviet group to play progressive rock. In 1980, the group gained nationwide fame after a successful performance at a Tbilisi festival. They began recording at the "Melodia" studio and touring under the patronage of Rosconcert. However, in the autumn of 1980, Kelmi left "Avtograf" to create his own band.
At the Leninsky Komsomol Theater, Chris Kelmi organized the group "Rock-Atelier." They released their first EP with the songs "Raspakhni okno" ("Open the Window") and "Ya pel, kogda letal" ("I Sang When I Flew") and actively participated in the theater's productions, including "Juno and Avos," "The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta," "People and Birds," "Avtograd XXI," and "Till." The musicians also wrote songs for the animated films "Dog in Boots" and "Paradoxes in the Style of Rock." In 1982, "Rock-Atelier" made their television debut on the program "Utrennyaya Pochta" with Chris Kelmi's song "Esli metel" ("If There's a Snowstorm"), with lyrics by renowned poetess Margarita Pushkina.
In 1987, Chris Kelmi assembled a 27-member choir of famous musicians and singers to record "Zamykaya krug" ("Closing the Circle"), which became incredibly popular in a short time. Another significant success for Kelmi and "Rock-Atelier" was the song "Nochnoye randevo" ("Night Rendezvous"), which sounded like a foreign tune during the Soviet era.
Kelmi later recorded songs with multiple vocalists again, including "Verya ya" ("I Believe") in 1990 and "Rossiya Voskresla!" ("Russia Has Risen!") in 1994, but they failed to replicate the success of "Zamykaya krug."
In the early 1990s, Chris Kelmi received an invitation from MTV America and traveled to Atlanta. He became the first Soviet musician to perform on the American music channel. In 1993, MTV filmed and aired a music video for Kelmi's song "Stary volkh" ("Old Wolf"), which enjoyed some success in the US.
From the early 2000s, the artist's career entered a period of stagnation. Kelmi stopped releasing new hits, and in 2003, he published his last compilation of popular songs, "Ustaloye taksi" ("Tired Taxi"). He mainly performed at concerts dedicated to the music of the 1980s and 1990s, and his photos appeared less frequently in the media.
In 2002, Chris became a participant in the reality show "Last Hero 3." The show was set on an uninhabited archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, near Haiti. The musician's fellow contestants included Marina Alexandrova, Tatyana Ovsienko, and Olga Orlova.
In 2006, Oleg Nesterov's authorial program "Po Volne Moyey Pamyati: Chris Kelmi" aired, featuring the legendary musician. The following year, the artist appeared on the TV show "Glavny Geroy" ("Main Hero"), where he performed his popular hit "Zamykaya krug" with some of the singers who had participated in its original recording in 1987.
Over the years, the musician increasingly struggled with alcohol abuse, a habit that had started in his youth. The decline in his popularity affected Kelmi's condition. He was repeatedly detained by the police for driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2017, on the advice of Andrey Malakhov, Chris decided to undergo rehabilitation. He was joined by his colleague Yevgeny Osin and TV host Dana Borisova. The artists traveled to Thailand, where they received treatment for addiction.
Upon returning to Russia, Chris planned to relaunch the "Rock-Atelier" project as the lead singer and songwriter. In his home recording studio, he prepared extensive material for future performances. Additionally, Kelmi composed the anthem for the 25th anniversary of the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament and the fanfare music for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Personal Life
The musician's only wife was Lyudmila Vasilievna Kelmi, with whom he lived for over 30 years. In 1988, they had a son, who was named Kristian in honor of his father's famous stage name. For a long time, the Kelmis were considered one of the most ideal celebrity couples, but in their later years, Chris's drinking problem strained their relationship.
The singer moved out of the city, while his wife remained in Moscow. For their son Kristian, who graduated from the Academy of Law and Management, Chris bought a two-room apartment in the capital. Kristian married, became interested in diving, and eventually drifted away from his father due to his harmful drinking habits.
Chris Kelmi's personal life was once linked to a woman named Polina Belova. The musician's lover did not live with him permanently. According to Polina, their romance began in 2012. The couple even planned to get married, but Chris's official wife refused to grant him a divorce. In 2017, Chris decided to mend his relationship with Lyudmila, who often visited him at his mansion. However, they were unable to restore their close relationship.
The musician was an avid tennis player and a member of the amateur football team "Starko," which consisted of show business celebrities.
Death and Legacy
On January 1, 2019, Chris Kelmi died at the age of 63 in his home near Moscow. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to excessive alcohol consumption. The singer's director, Yevgeny Suslov, said that the musician's health on the eve of his death "had raised suspicions." Paramedics who responded to the call were unable to prevent his death.
The family held a private funeral, attended only by close relatives. The musician's body was cremated, and his grave is located at the Nikolskoye Cemetery in Moscow.
Discography
1981 - "Raspakhni okno"1982 - "Svezhy veter" ("Fresh Wind")
1987 - "Vzlet" ("Takeoff")
1987 - "Mirazh" ("Mirage")
1987 - "Zamykaya krug"
1988 - "My znayem" ("We Know")
1990 - "Otkroy svoj Sezam" ("Open Your Sesame")
1991 - "Ledi Blyuz" ("Lady Blues")
1994 - "Ni o chem ne zhaley" ("Don't Regret Anything")
1998 - "Veter dekabrya" ("Wind of December")
2001 - "Imya na peske" ("Name on the Sand")
2003 - "Ustaloye taksi"
