site.bta25 Years since Passing of Pop and Rock Singer Georgi Minchev

Wednesday marks the 25th death anniversary of Bulgarian pop and rock singer, composer and poet Georgi Minchev (1943-2001).

A founding father of Bulgarian rock and roll in the 1960s, he was a master of blues, blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock and pop rock in this country.

Born Georgi Kurtev in Sofia on April 9, 1943 (Minchev was his stage pseudonym), he graduated in foreign trade from Sofia's Karl Marx Higher Institute of Economics in 1968. While still a student, he won First Prize at the Golden Orpheus Festival with "White Silence", a famous song written by Boris Karadimchev and Bogomil Gudev, performed with Shturcite and the Dimov String Quartet. The song also became Melody of the Year '67.

His first solo performances date back to the early 1960s. At that time, he sang in a duo with Bisser Kirov, was a soloist of Studio 5 and of the legendary rock band Bandaratsite (1964-1966), as well as with Shturcite (1967). They did songs by Cliff Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. He also worked with the band Srebarni Grivni (1968-1969).

Minchev studied film and television directing at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Brussels. After graduating in 1977, he returned to Bulgaria. In the 1980s he diversified into journalism, hosting the Bulgarian National Radio show "Songs of the Week" (1980-1982) and the television contest "1 out of 5" (1982-1984). He started the bands Stari Mutsuni with Petar Gyuzelev in 1991 and Polezni Izkopaemi with Razvigor Popov in 1998.

Following the democratic changes in 1989, he became a square singer and a bard of the democratic transition. It  was that period that prompted his well-known works "Gentle Revolution", "Communism Blues" and "What Times", among others.

Minchev authored more than 300 songs, around 220 of them with his own lyrics, some of which were published in a poetry collection in 1994. In the late 1980s he released his debut album "Bulgarian Rock". Later on, he also released the albums "Rock and Roll Veterans", "Reckoning", "BG Rock" and "White Silence", as well as five singles and numerous cassette recordings. With Polezni Izkopaemi, Minchev released an album of his songs in French, titled "Le Monde De Demain" (2000).

His hits include "What Times", "Blissful Years", "The Boy and Me", "July", "Beer, Sex and Rock'n Roll", "Autumn in Sozopol", "Almost Midnight", "Rock Lesson", "Top of the Charts", "Old Faded Album", "Flirt with One's Own Wife", "The Snow of Memory", "Silver Flocks", "White Silence", "Bread and Marmalade", "Alone at the Bar", "Lazy Beer Day" and "A Story with a Guitar".

Georgi Minchev passed away in Sofia on February 18, 2001 after a long and emaciating battle with cancer.

He has been commemorated by the Tsvete za Gosho (A Flower for Gosho) Rock and Blues Festival, held annually in Sofia since 2001. A street in Sofia's Reduta neighbourhood was named after him in 2016. On June 1, 2013, a monument to him was unveiled in Kavarna (on the Black Sea). The statue stands next to the monument of Ronnie James Dio. It was built on donated funds.. A street in Sofia's Reduta neighbourhood was named after him in 2016. On June 1, 2013, a monument to him was unveiled in Kavarna (on the Black Sea). The statue stands next to the monument of Ronnie James Dio. It was built by fund raising.

Here is how the rock legend summed up his life: "I lived my life in a way few people here have managed to live it. I ate, I drank, I womanized, and I even managed to sing! I never imagined I would be an encyclopedia entry, and I did not do it for that. I never wanted to break through head first. I follow the principle 'Pass the fool by with contempt'. I'm simply above such things. The material side of life does not interest me. We are not of the generation that goes into business. We are fools, enthusiasts."