Cool, man!!

That is very cool!! How was it then that the bands were able to perform with out the state stopping them from performing??

In fifties, it was really tough. Usually they pulled it off with not-entirely rock'n'roll repertoir, or they knew somebody with influence, or they hid in some theatre company, or they just played one gig, got beaten up and then played after some time somewhere else. It's like smoking pot. It is illegal, but there are ways how to do it.

By 1960, Stalin was dead and situation in Eastern bloc was getting more bearable. Rock'n'roll players were still facing oppresion, people with long hair were being evicted from trainyards, etc, but things were slowly getting better. In 1968, "Prague Spring" began, as a large process of liberalization and democratization. In August 1968, Warsaw pact's troops invaded Czechoslovakia to put stop to this, but certain freedoms in art and literature were preserved till 70s. After that, rock (or beat) music wasn't illegal because of being rock music. There was good, mindless, proregime beat and bad, imperialistic, twisted, immoral beat.

Stupidity of regime is seen in case of Plastic People of the Universe (Find them on YT, they still perform and are great). These guys and gals just wanted to make their weird and totally apolitical music, but you couldn't be apolitical. Soon, oppression made them anticommunistic.

Gilnar, man it is so good to have you on our forum, that is a great history lesson, it just shows the human spirit will not be denied!!! thank you for sharing this with us!!!!

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

Sadly, reality of life in communistic regime is such an absurd and unbelievable thing that even I just can't understand everything my parents tell me. Some mechanisms, ways how life worked, why regime was doing this or that, I just don't get it. I can imagine that understanding that age must be even harder for someone who never experienced it, or met anyone who did.

I found some songs from Dežo Ursíny, brilliant Slovak rocker, and his band called "The Soulmen". Enjoy!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtoN3T7A5wY&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn0GAFvxrv8&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoU8P611BVs[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoV421d_Ci4&feature=related[/ame]

And this smashed all the hopes into pieces. Freedoms regained in 1968 had some inertia, but soon, "Normalization" began and Czechoslovakia started to lag behind rest of Europe for another twenty years.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUaMkQAYQNw&feature=related[/ame]

Last Soviet soldier left (at the time already free) Czechoslovakia in 1991.

Gilnar, the soulmen, sound a lot like cream! that's good stuff. Man when you see a T-60 tank coming at you, you know it's not going to be a good day!! I hope my country Isn't heading in that direction???

Yes, Soulmen are often compared with Cream. Too bad they released just one EP and one single.

Depends on wich country you live in. Poland, Hungary, Russia, East Germany and I think Bulgaria were the aggressors. Of course they had to be and they've always regretted it (and we forgave them). Except Russia. Many Russian people still think they rode here to protect peace and socialism DOH That's another thing about totalitarian regime - I doesn't only deny your freedoms, it makes you accomplice in it's crimes.

I stumbled upon another Blue Effect song, however I am unsure of who's the singer. This song also had czech version.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyYO37Ko_1E&feature=related[/ame]

Thats good stuff. Gilnar thank you for sharing, I would never have been exposed to it, had you not posted it!Cool1