One of the iconic names in Bulgarian music - the knight of rock poetry, Alexander Petrov, celebrates his 70th anniversary with a concert on October 25 in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture. The concert collects some of the most emblematic songs based on his poems.

The poetry of Alexander Petrov, always loaded with strong messages, is essential to the existence of a number of hits by renowned rock bands in Bulgaria from the past few decades, such as Tangra, Shturtsite, Factor, Signal, Diana Express, BTR, D2. His lyrics that touch the hearts have contributed to creating the hits of a number of solo artists such as Stenli, Vili Kavaldzhiev, Valdi Totev, Kiril Marichkov, Iliya Angelov, Georgi Hristov and many others.

Born in Sofia on September 23, 1953, Alexander Pertov graduated in Bulgarian philology from St. Kliment Ohridski University. When he was a child, he wanted to study history, but his path in life went into a different way. His first steps in rock music came almost by accident - composer Boris Karadimchev offered him to write the lyrics for a song of a then little known band. The first hits were born and later the song "The love we can't live without" became one of the evergreens from the repertoire of the famous Tangra band.

"Somehow I entered this profession with a kick through the front door," Alexander Petrov says jokingly and tells us more details about his concert entitled "Rock Poetry" in a conversation with Dilyana Tracheva:

"This is the second time you mention my 70th anniversary and this worries me a lot because you will drive away all the young musicians who would have called me. That's why I say this is not an anniversary concert. It is a concert that would not be repeated. The audience will have the opportunity to hear truly emblematic songs, performed by such beloved Bulgarian rock bands on one stage."

On stage on October 25 guests will see Tangra, Signal, Factor, BTR, Kiril Marichkov and Stenli - all artists linked to Alexander Petrov. When asked about the things that have changed over the years, he says:

"I couldn't say that anything is different. First of all, we have huge trust in each other. They trust the words that I write and I trust the music that they make. So that's what is keeping us together all these years. They are the ones who actually made my poems very popular and I can never forget this."

The concert is entitled "Rock Poetry" - Alexander Petrov’s trademark. He has protected it under all the rules of the Intellectual Property Act.

"It is entitled Rock Poetry because all the songs that will be performed were first created as poems and then I gave them to composers and musicians to dress them in music. I have selected meaningful songs in which I've tried to put some kind of message. It's normal that each generation has its own music, with its own idols on the stage and I accept that as part of the evolution. However, good taste is very important in any case because in every genre there are many worthy things, but there are also absolutely unnecessary so-called...songs. I just wish I could listen to more songs about the good, about hope, about the eternal topics, such as love and breakup... Of course, a song should also entertain. But at the same time, I wish there were more songs that make us think about these eternal things in life that we cannot do without."

One of these eternal topics is love and Alexander Petrov is the author of the unforgettable lyrics of "The Love We Cannot Live without" - an eternal hit of the Tangra band.

English: Al. Markov

Photos: Facebook/Alexander Petrov,  Ani Petrova, National Palace of Culture