"When we did our first gig in what was then Leningrad, the atmosphere was a bit grey, not very colourful or rock'n'roll but hearts started opening up over the course of the 10 gigs we did in the city. It ended up a bit like Beatlemania, with fans circling our cars after every show. In Leningrad, we realised we were being watched by the KGB."
"It was like the world was changing in front of our eyes. Suddenly, with Mikhail Gorbachev in the Kremlin and perestroika and glasnost it was possible for this Russian Woodstock to happen. It was hard to believe that people had been sent to prison for listening to western rock music because now there was a Russian audience going nuts to Rock You Like a Hurricane."
The band grew up in a divided country and had been refused entry to East Germany. Their first Leningrad gig began in a grey atmosphere but hearts opened over ten performances, producing Beatlemania with fans circling cars. KGB surveillance was evident in Leningrad. At the Moscow Music Peace Festival, soldiers cheered and joined the audience as glasnost and perestroika enabled a Russian Woodstock. Audiences who had once faced punishment for Western rock went wild for Rock You Like a Hurricane. Wind of Change emerged from those experiences, inspired by a Moskva boat ride to Gorky Park, a whistled melody born from no guitar, and a record-company reversal about keeping the whistle; Matthias Jabs added a Hendrix-like guitar intro.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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