About Nautilus Pompilius

Originally named "Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves" ("Али-Баба и сорок разбойников"), Nautilus Pompilius (Наутилус Помпилиус, sometimes nicknamed Nau (Нау)) was an influential Soviet rock band founded in Sverdlovsk in 1982 by Vyacheslav Butusov and Dmitry Umetsky. They changed their name from Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves to Nautilus in 1983, and in 1985 lengthened it to Nautilus Pompilius as to avoid confusion with other bands named Nautilus at that time. Their name comes from the scientific name for the Chambered Nautilus, a species of cephalopod.

Founding and later years

At first, ca. late 70's-early 80's, the band performed at small events. They covered songs by foreign artists and also native artists such as Mashina Vremeni and Voskreseniye. Butusov and Umetsky were both students at the Urals Academy of Architecture, then known as Sverdlovsk Institute of Architecture, when they formed the band.

Nautilus was an influential band in the post-punk and new wave wing of Russian rock music, and was also a landmark of the "Ural rock" style. Some of their early hits are often associated with the Perestroika (political movement for reformation within the CPSU during the 1980s) period.

The band's music was featured in the 1997 movie Brother (Брат) where, in the film, the main character accidentally walking onto the set of a music video for the band, resulting in a fight with the security guards. A version of their popular song, "Bound by One Chain" ("Скованные одной цепью") appeared in the 2008 film Stilyagi (Стиляги, also known as Hipsters). The band hired Bill Nelson, guitarist of the rock group Be-Bop Deluxe (as well as others), to produce their 1997 album Yablokitay (Яблокитай), with Nelson also playing the guitar. Butusov has launched a successful solo career since the group has disbanded.