The key facts

  • Alexey Tarasov's funeral service was held on November 4, attended by about 40 people
  • Rastorguyev was absent from the farewell; earlier he confirmed that the musician had been battling cancer
  • Tarasov died on October 30 at the age of 64

A farewell without the band's leader

The farewell ceremony for Alexey Tarasov, former backing vocalist of the band Lyube, took place on November 4: the funeral service was held at the Church of Cosmas and Damian in Moscow, attended by about 40 people. The artist is planned to be buried at Rublevskoye Cemetery. The band's leader Nikolai Rastorguyev did not appear at the memorial event — this was reported by the outlet WomanHit, which also notes that Rastorguyev was never seen in conflicts with Tarasov, so there may be valid reasons for his absence.

The illness and the musician's final months

Alexey Tarasov passed away on October 30 at the age of 64. He was one of the long-standing members of Lyube, having joined the band almost from the day it was founded. As the portal StarHit reported, citing a source, the musician was fighting two types of cancer at once: in February he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer with a malignant tumor in his vocal cords, and a few months later intestinal cancer with metastases was discovered. Rastorguyev confirmed that Tarasov was battling cancer, and said that he had been hospitalized but could not be saved.

The memory of loved ones and fans

Fans of the band noted on social media that recently Tarasov had not taken part in Lyube's performances — on stage he was replaced by his son Serafim. Serafim himself earlier posted archival photographs in memory of his father.