SIGNAL - THE HISTORY |
Each saga has its own beginning. Each rock history has its own pre-history. For the four musicians of SIGNAL: everything begins in a different way, but at the same time quite similarly: falling in love with music. Despite of everything surrounding them in the 70's and 80's, the socialist way of life, the bureaucracy, the communist censorship, all these being on guard and awaiting the musicians only to show their hands above the common marsh in order to break their fingers. It sounds allegorically, but namely SIGNAL knew from bitter experience the draconian measures of the regime at that time after the event in Bourgas. The communist leaders understood perfectly well that rock music is the most uncontrollable channel pouring freedom into the young Bulgarians souls. As this really happened. In the spring of 1971 Yordan Karadjov (Dancho) was invited as a singer by the already legendary band GOLDEN STRINGS. The Strings were founded and managed by the Mishev brothers, Bobby and Ivan. For 8 whole years he was with the brothers, also Christo Lambrev and Roumen Spassov joining them. The great songs of Golden Strings, are "The Khattin Bells" and "Forgotten Coast". The Golden Strings composed the first and only rock opera in Bulgaria, "Legend for the Thracian Treasure". Their work, which had to be performed by students of the National Academy of Theater and ballet, was not released or put on stage but the specialists remember it. Even Panayot Panayotov had to perform an aria in it. In the middle of the 70's however creative contradictions started between the Mishev brothers and the rest of the band. The Mishevs wanted Golden Strings to keep their underground style, which was censored and disliked by the media until then. Dancho, Christo and Roumen wanted to make more popular music, more commercial in order to reach wider scope of audience through the radio and disks. Hundreds of bands gathered and parted at that rock time and the splitting up of Golden Strings is not a paradox. The name of Signal came to life both casually and not exactly so. One night, after their concert in Sliven, Dancho and Roumen talked before going to bed about finding a name for their new band. They went asleep and while snoring, Dancho met in his dream the bass guitarist of the Hungarian band GENERAL, which was on tour in Bulgaria only a few weeks before that. The following dialogue nearly took place: Dancho, "Hey, guy, you have a terrific name, General! Please give advice for our new band's name..." The Hungarian, "Well, yes, my granddad was a general and this is how I called my band General. Why don't you call yourselves Mineral, rhyming it with General, as we are friends with you..." Dancho, "Yup." (Here comes the awakening.) At this moment Roumen also awoke and started for the bathroom with a towel, brush and toothpaste in hand. Dancho, "Roumen, we got a new name, Mineral, and it rhymes with General. He then told him his dream. Roumen looked at his hands, keeping the toothpaste "Signal" and started counting energetically: General, Mineral, Signal. When saying the last name, they both struck so to say their foreheads and shouted, "SIGNAL"! Karadjov, Lambrev and Spassov founded Signal as a separate band together with the drummer George Kokalanov in June 1978. The "schlagger" (this was the exact fashionable word for pop songs in the Bulgarian musical journalism) "Maybe" immediately sent them to the top of the audience's interest, because as musicians they were already prepared and only their repertory needed similar hits. The song was composed by Toncho Roussev. Here a clarification is necessary, that Signal used in this case and further other composers ("To Long For You" is by Gueorgi Kostov, "Is Love A Boat" is by Morris Alajem), but mostly the ‘canto’ as the musicians rearranged the music to such an extent that it became unrecognizable and so Signal's hits were born. An example: even the hit "Maybe", which a year before that was sung by Donika Venkova without success and many people now do not know this fact. The composer Toncho Roussev met the "signalists" in the Nation Radio during the festival "New Bulgarian Music" and suggested to them too that song. Toma Sprostranov released it in "Pulsing Notes" and this is how the magic started for Signal. The paradox is that "Maybe", which due to its colossal popularity had also its German version "Ja Vielleicht", was never awarded in Bulgaria, neither at the pop festival "Orpheus", nor "Melody of the Year", etc. Even now, 7-8 year old children at Signal's concerts sing the song and know the text by heart. Vladimir Zakhariev changed Gueorgi Kokalanov at the drums and so a drummer with sharp and fresh musical ideas reinforced "Signal". This was the first "golden" formation for the band: the four of them, Karadjov, Lambrev, Spassov and Zakhariev experienced and jointly went through some of their star moments, as well as some difficult periods in the artistic and creative career of the band. The organizer and manager in the first years was Stefan Shirokov. The second "golden" team of the ban was formed in the beginning of the 90's. The young guitarist Alexander Marinovsky joined it, and Roumen Spassov left. Spassov devoted himself to the sound recording business, concert sound, and work in the firm "Marko's Music". He will remain in the band's history as the technical genius and ideas generator in the field of apparatuses. Jordan Karadjov composed the tunes, the 'canto' (singing part) of the future songs. Christo Lambrev dressed them in harmony, together with Dancho they arranged them and so the hits were made. Since several years Sasho Marinovsky also makes arrangements, especially for the acoustic album "Flowers", which was in the fashionable "unplugged" style. The case "Bourgas". This was the first public persecution and incrimination of Bulgarian rock musicians after Sasho Sladura's stay in several concentration camps years before that. On the memorial February 10, 1982 during their concert in the famous Izgrev Hall in Bourgas, the militia exceeded their rights and started beating the young people around the stage who got hot. Dancho Karadjov took the microphone and started defending publicly the audience. The militiamen were enraged and started a pogrom in the hall. The musicians suffered too, but their punishment was much more severe, as they were tacitly thrown out of TV, radio and concert life for a year. The musicians found strength to continue after this black hole. Signal won awards at the international pop festival in Dresden. They won first award for performance and two second awards at the international festival "Golden Orpheus": in 1979 they won third award with the song "Don't Say No" composed by Christo Lambrev and Milcho Spassov's text and also in 1992 with "Late Premonition". In the 90's until the very beginning of the new Millennium Signal continue further and to the top, succeeding to prove their class in hard competition with the other musicians who are 20 years younger and very ambitious. Performances in clubs, tours after tours, releases of album after album, all these are the signs of a successful artistic career. The stress in these years was put on the change of the fans, so that it would not happen suddenly and by force, but continuously turning from fathers to sons as fans. But the old fans are jealous and they don't give up their time. This is why each of Signal's concerts finishes with their old hit "To Long for you". Signal's magic continues. The "Signalistics", as a musical "science" and the creation of evergreen songs and hits, as a way of life sensation and as real illustration for a true friendship of four musicians is alive |