Mandry were formed in 1997 by singer-songwriter Serhiy Fomenko, who had previously been active in the Kyiv underground music scene with the group Den' Vmyraye Rano (Day Dies Early).

From 14 to 26 May 2001 Mandry went on a two-week tour of Poland, playing in Wrocław, Warsaw, Kraków, Szczecin, Gliwice, Białystok, Olsztyn, Sopot and Lublin.

At the beginning of November 2001, Creon Music, a French record label, released a compilation called Ukrainian Rock, which included several tracks by Mandry.

On 17 October 2002, the band released their second album, Legenda pro Ivanka ta Odarku, in Ukraine on the Lavina Music record label.

At the end of August 2003 Mandry started shooting the video for "Vitre Tsyhane" (Gypsy Wind), their first to be shown on the all-Ukrainian M1 music channel that October.

[2] In March 2006 they filmed a new video to their song "Ne spy moya ridna zemlya" (Don't sleep my native land), with imagery depicting Ukraine's history and its heroes.