Main points
- The band “Phantom-2” was created by Roman Matiyash and Olga Grechko in 1996, and became popular thanks to the album “Star Wars”.
- After the band broke up due to personal circumstances, Roman retired from music and took up sports, and Olga ceased public activities.
“Phantom-2” / Collage of Channel 24
In the 1990s, Ukrainian show business was still in its formative stages. But even then, artists emerged who quickly became wildly popular and sold millions of copies.
- 1 What is worth knowing about the band “Phantom-2”?
- 2 What happened to the band members?
- 3 What is the “Phantom-2” phenomenon?
One of these phenomena was the band “Phantom-2” – a legendary duo that disappeared from the scene too soon. What is known about the group, its history and members – read in the material of Channel 24 .
What is worth knowing about the band “Phantom-2”?
“Phantom-2” was created by Roman Matiyash and Olga Grechko in 1996 in Ivano-Frankivsk.
Few people know that before that Roman was actively involved in music. He had a special style and played bass guitar in the group “Inquisition”. Later, Matiyash became a member of the dance group “Turbo”, from which another group emerged – “Turbo-Techno-Sound”. The musicians took second place at the “Chervona Ruta” in Donetsk in 1993.
But due to a misunderstanding with colleagues, Roman leaves “Turbo-Techno-Sound” and creates the band “Phantom-2” together with his girlfriend Olga Grechko.
They went to school together. She's not much younger than him. And we also had a disco in the park, called “Pyatchok”. He was a security guard, and she went to have fun at that disco. And so it started, it started. And when “Turbo” was still performing, she went to concerts with them. And when “Turbo” broke up, they decided to create their own new modern project together,
– recalled Oleg Matiyash, the singer's brother.
“Phantom 2” – “Two”: watch the video online
In October, the band released their debut album, “Star Wars,” which sold over 1 million audio cassettes, not counting pirated copies. The band became wildly popular: they had countless concerts, teenagers imitated their style, and songs were played from every iron.
“Phantom-2” was even invited abroad. The band performed on the same stage with the Bad Boys Blue team and DJ BoBo stars. The following year, Roman and Olga released their second album “Without Control” and continued touring. They also released two music videos.
“Phantom-2” – “Without Control”: listen online
Back in 1998, Roman Matiyash announced another album and talked about plans to shoot music videos. But then personal life intervened: Roman moved to Lviv, Olga stayed in Ivano-Frankivsk. Due to the distance, the couple broke up, and after that the band itself broke up. It lasted 4 years.
It was because of the breakup that the band completely broke up. There was no question of a replacement. Olya simply left and that was it – “if you want, do it.” She didn't forbid replacing her, but he said: “Period. So we've exhausted our options,”
– said Oleg Matiyash.
What happened to the band members?
Neither Roman Matiyash nor Olga Grechko returned to music.
Roman devoted himself to sports: he worked as a trainer, bodybuilder, and consulted on healthy eating and diet. In 2012, Roman had an accident. He was hit by a car at a crosswalk. The man was in the hospital for a long time, and he underwent a kidney transplant.
Roman Matiyash / Photo from Facebook “Territory A”
On July 8, 2017, Roman Matiyash passed away after health problems. He was buried in his native Ivano-Frankivsk. Olga Grechko was also present at the farewell.
Olga's current whereabouts are unknown. She ceased public activity after leaving the band.
Olga Grechko / Photo from Facebook “Territory A”
What is the “Phantom-2” phenomenon?
The band's work continued to live on even many years after its demise. Their main hit “Dvoe” was covered by other Ukrainian bands – ANTITILA, KARNA and others.
During the full-scale war, “Phantom-2” helped raise funds for the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Bloggers Vladislav Taran and Darya reworked the hit “Two” for a charity fundraiser and raised over 300,000 hryvnias in a few days.
And the following year, Lesya Nikityuk and her colleague Igor Novinchuk reincarnated as the participants of “Phantom-2” to raise funds for ground drones.