Russian punk rock band
Korol i Shut (Russian: Король и Шут, lit. 'King and Jester') were a Russian horror punk band from Saint Petersburg that took inspiration and costumes from tales and fables.
History
The band was formed in 1988 by a group of school friends in Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg). The founding members were Mikhail "Gorshok" Gorsheniov (Russian: Михаил "Горшок" Горшенёв), Aleksandr "Balu" Balunov (Russian: Александр "Балу" Балунов), and Aleksandr "Lieutenant" Shchigoliev (Russian: Александр "Поручик" Щиголев). Singer Andrei "Kniaz" Kniazev (Russian: Андрей "Князь" Князев) joined the band in 1990 and guitarist Yakov Tsvirkunov (Russian: Яков Цвиркунов) joined in 1996. The band's name, which means "The King and the Jester," was adopted in 1992.[citation needed] Previously, the band was called Kontora (Russian: Контора, lit. 'Bureau').[1]
Korol' i Shut's lyrics are written by Kniazev and feature horror stories and folk tales about pirates, trolls, ghosts and vampires, as well as Slavic mythology.
The band recorded their music for the first time in 1991 in a semi-professional studio. Their music was broadcast on the radio soon after and they began to tour around Saint Petersburg's clubs. They began rehearsing in the club TaMtAm,[2] in which the bands Chimera and Tequilajazzz also started performing.[3]
In 1994, the band released a few copies of a tape named "Bud' kak doma putnik" (Russian: «Будь как дома путник», lit. 'Make Yourself At Home, Wayfarer').
The band's first official album was 1996's "Kamnem po golove" (Russian: «Камнем по голове», lit. 'Rock To The Head') which was distributed by Melodiya. Many other albums were released since then. The first music video was released in 1998 for the song "Yeli miaso muzhiki" (Russian: «Ели мясо мужики», lit. 'Men Were Eating Meat').
The band's lead singer, Mikhail Gorsheniov, died of heart failure during the night from 18 to 19 July 2013. After a farewell tour during the fall and winter of 2013, Korol' i Shut officially broke up in January 2014. The surviving members formed a new band named Severny Flot [ru] (Russian: Северный флот).[4][5]
However, due to the numerous requests of the fans, the former band members decided to keep the name Korol' i Shut exclusively for the release of the unfinished rock musical TODD.[6]
In 2023, a TV miniseries Korol i Shut was released, that combines band's biography with adaptations of its folk horror stories.[7]
