Video sparks Soviet comeback

Soviet crooner Eduard Khil, now 75, has become an unlikely internet sensation. Photo / Supplied

When Eduard Khil steps on to the stage at a Moscow nightclub tomorrow night, it will be a concert like none other he has given.

Until a few months ago, Khil, a Brezhnev-era crooner long forgotten by most Russians, mainly gave small recitals for war veterans in dingy townhalls.

Now, thanks to the internet, the 75-year-old singer, known online as Mr Trololo, has become an international sensation.

Tomorrow, he will take to the stage in front of hundreds of young adoring fans at 16 Tons, a Moscow venue better known for hosting rock bands and international DJs.

The video that went viral, catapulting Khil to the status of an unlikely internet icon, is a 1976 recording of a song called I'm Very Glad, Because I'm Finally Returning Home. The clip, which has been viewed several million times on YouTube, is at first confusing and then strangely mesmerising.

An orchestral arrangement begins with the camera focusing on a yellow background and metal gates, before Mr Khil strolls into the shot with an inane grin, lip-synching a tune with just "la-la-la" for words.

He sports a brown double-breasted suit, a chunky mustard yellow tie and an off-white shirt, the back collar of which is overlaid with a carefully combed mullet.

For three minutes the strange noises continue - la-la-las and lo-lo-los to a tune that is remarkably catchy.

It is unclear who initially uploaded the video, which was shot when the singer was a household name in the Soviet Union and regularly appeared on television. The singer himself can't even remember where it was filmed.

But the clip's popularity snowballed, and soon there were fan websites, petitions and even t-shirts dedicated to the strange Soviet singer because of the lack of lyrics in the song.

Remixes and cuts of the clip began to appear, as well as dozens of parody versions, uploaded to YouTube by fans who had recorded their own take on the song.

The video's popularity took another leap when, hours after picking up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds, Hollywood actor Christoph Waltz performed his own take on the clip on a popular US television chat show.

Khil, who lives in St Petersburg, said he found out about his found fame from his grandson.

"I was in the kitchen when my grandson came running in humming my song. He said: 'Grandad! You're famous in America'," he recalls. "I came to look and he showed me the video. I was absolutely amazed."

He says the song, written in 1968, was originally meant to be about a cowboy galloping across the prairie, racing back to his home where his belle was waiting for him.

But he and songwriter Arkady Ostrovsky were worried such controversial lyrics would never make it past the Soviet censor, and so decided to record it as a "Vokaliz" - a vocal arrangement.

"It's a very difficult song to sing. It ranges over three octaves. You have to be in absolutely top form to sing it; these days I can only manage it on days when I'm feeling really good," says Khil.

He promises, though, it will form part of the set at the upcoming Moscow concert.

He also released a video message to his fans, challenging them to come up with lyrics to the song.

"We'll all get together some time online and sing it together," he says in the message.

Now a cheerful pensioner, Khil seems to be enjoying the attention. He laughs and jokes down the telephone, often bursting into song. He says the concert in Moscow is nothing special.

"I give concerts all the time, it's just that this one has been very well advertised," he says. "Just the other week, for example, I gave a concert for veterans of the Siege of Leningrad. Though there aren't many of them left now."

There are even plans for a tour of America to reach his new fans, though there are a couple of obstacles.

"My wife says I shouldn't go there, that America is enemy number one. But, of course, things are different now."

- INDEPENDENT