“Being the daughter of Yuri Khoy is an honorable mission”: Irina Klinskikh - about his father, music and the era of the 90s

The Gaza Strip group appeared in 1987, getting its name in honor of the ecologically disadvantaged region of Voronezh, where the local rock club was located. Literally a few years later the nation-wide popularity fell on the band - “collective farm punk,” as the “Sector” style of music was sometimes called, with caustic satirical texts and catchy melodies, came to court in the dashing 90s.

On July 4, 2000, when work was underway on filming a video for the song “Night of Fear” and a new album was planned, the leader of the Gaza Strip passed away. He did not live a few weeks before his 36th birthday.

Rumors around the death of Yuri Klinsky do not cease even 20 years later. According to the official version, the founder of the Gaza Strip died of a massive heart attack, although he had not consulted doctors because of heart problems. As RT told his eldest daughter Irina, neither drug nor alcohol in the musician’s blood, as the autopsy showed, was found.

Klinsky had his wife Galina and two daughters: the eldest Irina and the younger Lily. Galina Klinsky never remarried. Now she is engaged in household chores and helps the eldest daughter with her grandson. Lily works at the bank, and Irina Klinsky preserves her father’s creative heritage: organizes concerts, conducts them and prepares new projects.

“The atmosphere was hellish”

- Irina, what do you remember about the day when you learned about the death of your father?

- I was 13 years old, my sister is five. We were in Usman with my grandmother at a party. Dad drove us there the day before, as he was busy filming a video. That day I was not my own, I cried all day, as if I felt: something was going to happen.

In our village there was a patch where all the guys were going to walk, play, ride. At this place I was waiting for dad, he was supposed to come that day. He was not and never was. Toward night, I saw a car, but it was not my father who got out, but the sound engineer of Gaza Strip Andrei Deltsov and his father’s brother’s wife. Well, in ordinary life they couldn’t intersect, so I somehow immediately understood what happened.

They immediately told me that dad was no more. As we walked home, I fainted, and then again, already in the room. I just could not realize how this is - two days ago I saw him, but now I can’t meet him.

We arrived home in Voronezh. The atmosphere was hellish. In the parental bedroom, our family photos were laid out all over the bed, apparently, dad looked at them shortly before his death. The apartment without a father was incredibly empty. Survive this I do not wish anyone. The pain subsides, but does not become easier. And every time I remember my father, there are tears in his eyes.

- How do you remember your father?

- One of the last images in my head is this: a solid man, in jeans and a jacket. I remember how at first I didn’t even recognize him when he went into the apartment: just then he changed his image, walked with his hair combed back.

The stage image of his father did not intersect with the way he was at home and in general in life. Dad was a rather modest person. At home, no one cursed or drank, and he smoked on the balcony or in the porch so that we children would not see. I believe that it should be so in the family.

He did not educate us in severity. He explained everything intelligibly and patiently. Since childhood, I have been left with an attitude: before you do something, you need to think about why this is necessary and what the consequences will be. Although we saw him infrequently, he constantly disappeared on tour, we missed him.

• © Photo from the personal archive

“You can't dance at the grave”

“ Have you left something in memory of your father?”

- Yes, I have everything distributed. I store records, as expected, vertically, cassettes in a separate box, drafts and photographs also separately. There is an old father’s photo album, there are laid out photographs in the order in which he did it. I don’t risk touching. We still have his clothes left, we didn’t even wash them, we are afraid to damage them. We keep everything carefully. And we sold our apartment, where we all lived together.

“ Your father’s grave has become a meeting place for his fans.” Do they still meet there, drink and dance?

- Some people believe that Yuri Khoy would be glad that people gather like this on his grave, sing, dance. I even corresponded with one of the men who came. Like an adult, judging by the photo on social networks, there are two children. But to the question, it would be nice to him if on the grave of his father they would dance and drink, I received a stream of aggression. This is completely incomprehensible to me. Still, the grave of a person is a place where you simply can’t drink, sing and dance. This is unacceptable.

Because of these gatherings on the grave, much needs to be repaired: a granite fence, marble details of a tombstone, everything will cost about 500 thousand. We will be doing this summer.

- Six years ago it was planned to erect a monument to Yuri Khoy in Voronezh, but the project was frozen. At what stage is he now?

- They don’t want to bet on him. This place can not be found, then something else. Before that, they said that they would erect a monument, and they would drink and smoke near it, the children would begin to ask: “Who is this uncle?” And then what should they answer, they say, the one who sang obscenities? I'm already tired of upholstering all the rapids, but maybe I'll try again when the officials responsible for the cultural sphere change, because dad brought so much to Voronezh in terms of music. If more people understood in creativity, it would be much easier.

“ They're going to make a film about your father.” Will you be involved in the process?

- Yes, definitely! The film will be shot by journalist Pavel Selin. As I understand it, this will be a film about the phenomenon of the 90s, when an ordinary guy created a project like “Gaza Strip”, how it worked out. I would like the film to finally show reliable information so that it is correctly collected, including by those who worked and talked with dad.

"The burden is not easy"

- Which of the Gaza Strip participants do you keep in touch with?

- With vocalist Tatyana Fateeva, guitarist Vladimir Lobanov, keyboardist Alexei Ushakov. Recently phoned with sound engineer Andrei Deltsov. So many years have not seen! Now he lives in Italy and, as soon as the borders are opened, he will immediately come to the concert.

Alexei Ushakov, by the way, recently told me about a case in the life of the pope, which is very revealing, because the pope constantly fought for justice. Once, he and the group were sitting in a studio in Moscow and were surprised to learn that right at that time Yuri Khoy was performing in the Green Theater of Gorky Park. The group got together and went to this concert.

Around the poster, on the stage - dad's double. Father was very outraged. He began to figure out why some obscure man was impersonating him.

The brawl began, in the process, dad broke the microphone, he was dragged by biker guards, started to beat, and caused quite serious injuries. The remaining members of the group also got it. Before them, then no one even apologized! Just started disassembling due to a broken microphone.

- Is it difficult to be the daughter of Yuri Khoy?

- This burden is sometimes not easy. In no case do I hide behind the glory of my father, I do not expose it to the public. It happens that the status is reflected in my personality, this is such a cliche, but first you need to know the person before making conclusions.

It’s hard in my personal life, I don’t want to meet a person who will be the first thing to know whose daughter I am, and only then look at me myself. I'm never the first to say who my dad was.

From my father I got a craving for justice: I believe that it should be everywhere, in actions, in people. I want to show that you can do everything kindly and honestly, and not bypassing. The memory of my father will always be in my heart. I'm very proud of dad. And to be the daughter of Yuri Khoy is a kind of honorable mission.

"Songs penetrate the soul"

“ Why do you think your father’s work has become so popular?”

- People always feel false. It’s not enough just to say that you are with the people - you have to be with him for real. They could come to dad in the yard just to talk, maybe ask for money, if necessary - he did not put himself above others. Even when there was the peak of his career, when he did not get out of the tour, he constantly gave concerts (and taking into account the fact that the conditions that the artists now have were not), despite all the fatigue, he talked to journalists and fans.

Dad opened his eyes to many different situations through his songs. Everything was so sincere and kind to him.

Many still write that he sang exclusively obscene songs, but this is not so. Show me at least one song where there is a mat from and to? To see obscenity and lust everywhere is an exclusively reflection of the human soul. But father’s songs were not about that at all.

- Your favorite songs are not the ones in the top of the charts. Tell us about them.

“One of them is Skotnik.” Many see there a completely different meaning: the cattleman lives with cows, that's scary. But in fact, the song is about pity and compassion for this cattle. And when, for example, I listen to The Drowned Man, then tears flood: the song conveys the feelings of a person who is in a hopeless situation. How did the songwriter feel like his hero?

Yes, dad could have laughed, for example, the song “Socks” is a banter of pure water, but at the same time he understood a lot. There are many Christian moments in the song “The Night Before Christmas”, and I like how the spirit of those times is conveyed. In principle, I can say about all the daddy’s songs that they penetrate the soul. This is a talent to be born with.

- How do you feel about fashion for the culture of the 90s?

- Popularity is natural, because this is a whole era. It is unlikely that we will begin to talk about the 2020s as much and as much as about the 90s. Now in Russia there are not so many outstanding musicians who will be remembered in the same way as before. Most of the current songs do not carry any meaning. No wonder there are so many remixes on the hits of the 90s nowadays. It was an era of talent and truly folk songs. Just recently I watched a film about Yuri Shevchuk. These were real musicians who wrote lyrics and music to themselves.

- What are you listening to now yourself?

- I myself listen to the house, deep house, progressive. I’ve been in this direction since the age of 12. By the way, thanks to dad, it was he who showed the first discs. Music without words can carry a powerful energy flow. At some point, you can relax or, on the contrary, tune in to a creative wave.

Sometimes I listen to what my son includes, he is now nine years old, and I do not understand what is the point, this is a set of words. But at the same time, there are talented young guys in rock music who promote their theme and they do it well.

- What about rap? This is now a fairly popular genre among young people.

- Rap artists are sometimes better than pop musicians. I myself don’t listen, unlike my son. He also does hip hop dancing. It happens that when Matvey listens to rap, I am delighted with how their music is recorded and what kind of recitative. By the way, dad also listened to rap, but foreign.

- Does your son know grandfather’s work?

- Yes.

We constantly listen to Gaza in the car. The other day they watched television with him, the windows were closed, a car drove up and music played from it. According to the first chords, Matvey noticed that this was a grandfather’s song.

Moreover: the son is even considering changing his surname to grandfather, Matvey himself took the initiative. I am not pushing him, but I would be glad if the Klinsky surname continued to live.

“You will be the leader”

- Now you yourself are engaged in concert activities. How did it happen?

- Three years ago, the guys who were engaged in concerts called me and offered to come to St. Petersburg, just to see how everything was going on with them. I arrived, and they immediately told me: everything, Irina, you will be the leader. I was a little confused, but went on stage and everything worked out for me. Probably, if I had been informed in advance, I would have refused, but then the effect of surprise worked, and worked the best way.

- What are your projects?

- We did the punk opera Kashchei the Immortal, I act as a host at concerts. In October, we plan to release a book with dad's notes, drafts and photos that I myself found at home. With the same photos we prepare merch. In addition, we are preparing a project, which for now we keep a big secret - we will talk about it in the fall.

I work with the “gold” line-up of the “Gaza Strip”, with the groups “Gas Attack Sector”, “Black Tuesday”, “Wandering Circus”, where our tour manager Alexander Kuzmichev participates. Sergey Kim is also with us, he is the founder of the Gaza Strip fan club.

• © Katya Zhideleva

“ Do you sing yourself?”

- I am seriously preparing for a debut on stage, for the role of Vasilisa the Beautiful in our punk opera. I sang not by chance, this is a difficult job, especially when you start from scratch. And now, despite the quarantine, I continue to actively engage in vocals with a teacher. I have a voice, only it needs to be constantly trained.

Of course, for me this is all new and there are experiences, a share of responsibility is felt. It has always been like this for me: my soul was torn, I was looking for something, and now there was a way out. Even my mother says that his father would be glad that everything turns out that way. And most importantly, honestly.

- Why is honesty so important to you?

- There are many cover groups that perform my father’s songs solely for the sake of earning. They do it dishonestly, because this is someone else's work. Singing other people's songs is the same as living in an apartment that does not belong to you, without the permission of the real owners.

I’m doing tributes in order to preserve the memory of my father, to listen to his music and remember his work. And at the same time, some attackers seem to be my representatives and are trying to negotiate with others about some projects.

- How do fans of your father react to what you do?

- When I'm on stage, they say that they see in me a piece of him, that I am very similar to him. Every city we come to has a great emotional impact. If the city is small, then we try to communicate with the audience, take pictures, and in return give us flowers or some kind of postcards, very nice. Those who are older come to me, tell me how in my youth they were at concerts with my father. I see happiness in the eyes of these people and for me it is the main thing.