Life in the underground Soviet music scene Part 2 (199)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 863 Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Joanna is questioned by the KGB and the FBI, falls in love with Yuri and starts to smuggle the bands' music out of the Soviet Union to produce the album. Details of the book giveaway are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode199/ Part one is here and part 3 here Joanna’s book, Red Wave written with her singer/songwriter daughter, Madison, includes Stingray’s extensive collection of photographs, artworks, and interviews with the musicians. Buy the book and support the podcast here UK listeners https://amzn.to/3rwItSz US listeners https://amzn.to/3zyvbHX If you are enjoying the podcasts I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Joanna Stingray to our Cold War conversation… Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations 0:00 Introduction and Joanna Stingray's background 3:15 Joanna Stingray's first encounter with the KGB 9:27 Joanna's experiences with the band Kino and living in Soviet Union 15:11 The idea of bringing Soviet music to the US and collaboration with David Bowie 20:12 Struggles with record companies and signing with Big Time Records 22:29 Dealing with the FBI and KGB while collecting content for the album 26:57 Reception of the Red Wave album and its impact 31:20 Smuggling the Red Wave album into the Soviet Union 40:10 Meeting with the KGB and proposal from Yuri 46:38 Joanna Stingray's changing relationship with Russia and the music scene 54:00 Preview of the next episode and closing remarks Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:06.0	Also by this time, I had had a meeting with the FBI who also thought I was a spy like the KGB
0:13.6	and would try to scare me by telling me that the KGB could plant drugs or other things on me, that then they could catch
0:23.4	me and then I'd be coerous into working for them.
0:28.5	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:32.1	Thanks to Patreon Jesse Pollard for our intro today.
0:37.3	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:43.1	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss out on future episodes.
0:49.3	This is the second part of our chat with Joanna Stingray, who was only 23 years old when she first
0:56.1	set foot in the Soviet Union and started meeting now legendary musicians and artists of the
1:02.0	Soviet underground. By 1985, she was writing and recording with them and smuggling their music
1:08.3	to the West in order to produce the groundbreaking album
1:11.6	Red Wave, four underground bands from the USSR. In this part we hear about her questioning
1:19.2	by the KGB and the FBI, falling in love with Yuri, and how she smuggled the band's music
1:26.3	out of the Soviet Union to produce the Red Wave album.
1:30.5	Joanna's book, Red Wave, written by her singer-songwriter daughter Madison,
1:34.8	includes Stingray's extensive collection of photographs, artworks and interviews with the musicians.
1:41.0	Those details in our episode notes.
1:43.8	If you've listened this far, I know that you are
1:46.3	enjoying the podcast, so I'm asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue
1:52.7	producing it. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought-after Cold War
1:58.7	Conversations coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow
	...

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