Leningrad (band)

Leningrad (band)

Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград), also known as Gruppirovka Leningrad (Russian: Группировка "Ленинград") and Bandformirovanie Leningrad (Russian: Бандформирование "Ленинград"), is a popular Russian ska punk band from Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), led by Sergey "Shnur" Shnurov.

Composed of 14 members, the band appeared in the late 1990s. They soon became famous for their vulgar lyrics containing obscenity, aestheticization of alcoholism and a lot of Russian mat, the main reason they were avoided by most radio stations at first. But this did not stop Leningrad's growing popularity, partly because of the rich brass sound. The band have made their way to radio and TV (filler noises covering the prohibited words), with Shnurov even presenting some New Year's Eve TV shows.

Circa 2007 the group began experimenting with female back vocals, finally choosing tall redhead jazz singer Yuliya Kogan as a permanent participant.

Disbanded in 2008, Leningrad reunited in 2010. Several new songs and videos have been released since, most of them featuring lead vocals by Kogan, not Shnur.