Davron Gaipov

Davron Gaipov was born on 7 October 1961 in Urgench, Khorezm. He began playing guitar as a teenager and, at about 17, joined the ensemble Yalla as its bass guitarist, staying until 1980.

In 1981 he founded his own band, Original. Former Yalla members Abbos Aliyev and Rahim Arifkhodjaev joined it. The group's first record came out in 1981 and it soon became popular across the USSR. Some Uzbek media and music writers count Original among the first rock bands of Uzbekistan.

Gaipov wrote many of the band's songs, among them “Bu nima bu?”, “Kerak emas shahlo ko'zlaring”, “Qaydasan”, “To'xta, to'xta, shoshmagin” and “Otkritoye okno”. From 1982 he was the group's artistic director.

In 1990 he appeared as himself in the musical film “Bu nima bu?”, which was based on one of his best-known songs and marked the screen debut of the actor Obid Asomov. In 1991 he moved to Moscow; he later returned to Uzbekistan and worked as a producer.

Davron Gaipov died on 7 October 2022, on his 61st birthday, and was buried in his native Khorezm region.

By a presidential decree of 28 May 2026 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Dustlik (Friendship) for his contribution to national art and culture.