Tohir Sodiqov (sometimes spelled Tokhir Sodikov in English) () (born July 1, 1973) is an Uzbek singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the long-time lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Uzbek

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Bolalar. Sodiqov has also established a successful solo career. He has recorded songs in Uzbek,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, and English. Sodiqov has received dozens of awards and nominations, including the title Meritorious Artist of Uzbekistan. He is one of the few

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n artists to have given concerts in the US and to have released albums on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Personal life

Tohir Sodiqov was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

on July 1, 1973. His father, Sodiqov Bahromjon Sobirovich, was a retired officer and died when Sodiqov was a child. His mother, Sodiqova Gulnur Mansurovna, raised him as a

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

. Sodiqov attended Secondary School No. 41 in Tashkent from 1980 to 1990. He is married has three children, two daughters and a son.

Music career

Tohir Sodiqov had no formal music training. He started to play music when he was in high-school. Sodiqov and his friends Ruslan Sharipov, Bahodir Poʻlatov, and Javohir Zokirov, all of whom went to High School No. 41 in

, founded the band Bolalar in 1989.

Bolalar

Bolalar originally consisted of Bahodir Poʻlatov, Husan Sodiqov (Tohir Sodiqov's elder brother), Javohir Zokirov, Nargiza Zokirova, Ruslan Sharipov, Tofik Marduxayev, Toir Odilov, and Tohir Sodiqov. The band became widely popular in Uzbekistan with their song "Bolalar" in 1989. Bolalar recorded their first album, ''Esingdami seni?'' (''Do You Remember?''), in January 1990. Initially, the group's artistic director and composer was Ruslan Sharipov. Over the years all of the original members left the band one after another. Currently, Tohir Sodiqov and Tofik Marduxayev are the only remaining original members. Tohir Sodiqov usually writes both the music and lyrics to his songs. His music has been associated mostly with

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

. The members of Bolalar were influenced by the Uzbek

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer Davron Gaipov and the then-popular Russian band

Laskoviy Mai Laskovyi Mai () is a Soviet boy band from Orenburg founded by Russian songwriter, composer and musician Sergei Kuznetsov. The group's best-known member was Yuri Shatunov, who subsequently went on to some solo success. The group disbanded in ...

. Bolalar and Laskoviy Mai have often been called "the legends of the 1990s." Tohir Sodiqov and

Yuri Shatunov Yuriy Vasilevich Shatunov (; 6 September 1973 – 23 June 2022) was a Russian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Russian band Laskoviy Mai (Ласковый май), which were active during the 1980's. After Laskoviy Mai disbanded ...

, the lead singer of Laskoviy Mai, performed together in Tashkent in 2009.

Acting

Tohir Sodiqov has acted in half a dozen Uzbek films, most notably in ''Tohir va Zuhra: Yangi talqin'' (''Tohir and Zuhra: A New Interpretation'') (2000) and ''Koʻzlaring maʼyus'' (''Your Eyes are Sad'') (2005).

Filmography

Awards

Tohir Sodiqov has won dozens of awards and nominations, including the title Meritorious Artist of Uzbekistan. He has also received Nihol and Tarona awards. He is one of the few

n artists to have given concerts in the US and to have released albums on

References

External links

Official website of Bolalar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodiqov, Tohir 1973 births Living people Male actors from Tashkent Uzbekistani male film actors 21st-century Uzbekistani male singers 20th-century Uzbekistani male singers Russian-language singers of Uzbekistan English-language singers from Uzbekistan Musicians from Tashkent Uzbek-language singers