The Guys from Liubertsy Music
The Liubers' enemies fought back with music. Grazhdanskaia oborona ("Civil Defense") composed an ironic portrait of Liuber life — the basement gyms, the checkered pants, the train rides into Moscow — which the Liubers, immune to irony, adopted as their anthem. DDT delivered their own send-up at the famed Podolsk Festival of 1987. Yet the Liubers had their own band too. Liube arose from Liubertsy itself, fronted by the rough voice of Rastorguev. Their "Checkered Pants" became a more benevolent anthem, distinguished by wordplay and gentle humor.
Grazhdanskaia oborona: Hey, Brother Liuber / Гражданская Оборона: Эй, Брат Любер! (1986)
Evgenii Lishchenko. From the album Тошнота (Nausea)
Liube: Checkered Pants / Любэ: Клетки (1989)
Lead singer: Nikolai Rastorguev
DDT: Mama, I Love a Liuber / ДДТ - Мама я любера люблю (1987)
Lead singer: Iurii Shevchuk