Four decades the hard way.
Konkurent was founded in Sofia in 1986 by Emil Anchev. Ten studio albums, shows across Bulgaria and Europe, and stages shared with AC/DC, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Toto and Glenn Hughes.
In the late 1970s Emil Anchev played football for CSKA and was a two-time national junior champion. An accident that burned his leg kept him off the pitch for over a year. On crutches, he kept dropping in on his school's rock band rehearsals. One day their drummer didn't show up and the boys asked Emil to sit in – he played better than the regular drummer. Back at CSKA as a reserve, Emil chose rock and never looked back.
The first members found each other through typewritten notes stuck on Sofia bus stops: Emil Anchev (drums and vocals), Yavor Nedev (keys), Pavel Vasev (guitar) and Ivo Atanasov (bass). The name was a statement – "Konkurent" means competitor. They wanted to compete with everyone, themselves included.
For the poster of their first gig they posed by the iron-cross fence of the Battenberg Mausoleum. The next day State Security took them to the Communist Party committee to inspect their lyrics. Some songs were banned, but the debut show at the Nadezhda Youth House was packed to the rafters.
"The Spider" lands on the "Rock for Peace" compilation alongside FSB, Shturcite, Klas and Faktor. Guitar virtuoso Rumen "Richie" Antov joins. Then come the Yuri Gagarin stadium in Varna, crowds of 15,000–20,000 and more than 200 shows a year. In 1989 Balkanton releases "BG Rock II", shared with Era – about 300,000 vinyl copies and 150,000 cassettes. The same year they play the cult Michurin Rock Fest.
Emil hands over the drumsticks and becomes the frontman. "Give Me Time" and the ballad "Mama" become hits, and with "Can You" the band wins Best Rock Group at Golden Orpheus 1995. The debut album "Something Wet" (Union Media, 1995) becomes Bulgaria's best-selling rock album, sells in Japan, Poland and Germany, and is ranked by Heavy Harmonies among the top 10 albums of all time.
French channel MCM airs "Do You Wanna" and "Leave Me Alone" and nominates the band in two categories. Konkurent plays in Cannes at an event that also featured The Rolling Stones and Madonna. In 1997 they are named Rock Band of Bulgaria (BNT & NDK) and present their album at the World Music Fair in Germany – a stage shared over the years with Scorpions, Rammstein, Toto and Iron Maiden.
Konkurent plays the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where before them only Theodosii Spassov and Akaga had represented Bulgaria. They share the stage with Deep Purple, the heroes they grew up hearing on crackly radio. Then come "Live in Montreux" (1999), "Running from Heaven" (2002) and the "20 Years Later" video collection (2006).
After shows in Germany and the Netherlands, AC/DC's management picks Konkurent as the support act in Sofia and Bucharest. The Sofia crowd tops 85,000, a national record.
The single "Born for Rock" and the "In Flames" compilation arrive in 2018. In 2019 the band opens for Whitesnake at Hills of Rock in Plovdiv, and in June 2023 for Glenn Hughes. At the end of 2023 the 10th, anniversary album "The Hard Way" is released and named album of the year.
"I Believe" wins four awards at "Sofia 2025". Today Konkurent mixes veterans with young blood and marks its 40th birthday with a new album and a big Sofia show.
"You sound divine."David Coverdale (Whitesnake) to the crowd, Hills of Rock 2019
In 2026 Konkurent turns 40, celebrating with shows across Bulgaria and a new album, released right before the big autumn concert in Sofia.