Punk Behind The Iron Curtain: The History of Punk in Czechoslovakia

Back in 1977, the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia was living under the iron fist of the ruling Communist regime, although “state-capitalist” would be a better term. This meant a lot of things hardly imaginable for people living in Western countries, or for Eastern Europeans who barely remember those times. Just briefly, so you can get at least part of the picture:

“All power belongs to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia” was written in the constitution. The consequences of this little sentence included a ban on political opposition, “endless friendship” with the Soviet Union, which had “saved” us in 1968 from the “forces of counterrevolution,” and elections every four years with no real choice but compulsory participation.

Life Under the Regime

In general, the system did not like people acting on their own, outside its legal structures and control. It hated punks’ nonconformist outlook and labelled punk as “a decadent lifestyle smuggled to our country by Western agents as an ideological diversion with the aim of spoiling innocent socialist youth.” Needless to say, such a hostile environment produced a pretty unique and strong punk rock movement.

The First Wave of Czechoslovak Punk Rock

In the second half of the ’70s, there were two important movements in Czechoslovak rock music. The first one, the so-called “alternative rock scene,” was half-legal and half-tolerated by the regime. It was eventually crushed in ’82–’84, when most of its bands were officially banned, but back in the ’70s they still balanced on the edge. Musically, it was influenced by jazz-rock, the “Rock in Opposition” movement, The Velvet Underground, etc. The other one, the “underground rock scene,” was centred around the band The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU). Together with lesser-known bands such as DG 307 and Umělá Hmota, they created an authentic underground culture with its own illegal gigs, magazines, and recordings. Soon after that, the system went nuts and answered in the fashion true to it: a wave of police repression. Nevertheless, the underground survived despite the jailing of its most active members throughout the ’80s.

Both movements were open enough to notice the punk rock explosion in the West in ’76/’77, and with the first punk records being smuggled across the borders, punk began to take root in Czechoslovakia as well. The first bands were from Prague and operated around the Jazz Section organization. This seemingly strange connection resulted from the ties to the “alternative rock scene,” with its jazz-rock influences, and from Jazz Section being both tolerated by the regime and, for its time, extremely open and daring in its support for bands. The organization hosted the Prague Jazz Days Festival in 1979.

Extempore (’74–’81)

Extempore was the first Czechoslovak band to play punk rock live, although only cover songs by The Stranglers, Wire, Magazine, and Generation X, with their own Czech lyrics. Punk rock was just one part of their repertoire in ’79; otherwise, they played alternative rock. Their only original punk song was “Libouchec,” named after a village in northern Bohemia. During this song, at the beginning of the show, the band’s leader Mikoláš Chadima said the word “bullshit,” and the authorities tried to jail him for it.

Zikkurat (’78–’82)

A similar case to Extempore, Zikkurat played covers of The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Ramones, The Stranglers, Devo, and The Jam with wild energy. They were quite talented musicians and also had a few punk songs of their own. The rest of their set was filled with long jazz-rock improvisations. They split after their bass player left them for the popular jazz-rock/new wave band Pražský výběr.

Energie G (’79–’81)

Punk rock in its own raw “teenage anger” form: basic, out-of-tune punk played by 15- or 16-year-old high school students. The important thing was that they played almost exclusively their own songs, with the exception of a few covers of Chelsea and Sham 69. Their first gig ended after three songs when the shocked venue organizer cut the electricity. In ’81, they were forced to stop playing because of secret police interference.

Antitma 16 (’78–’79)

A rather obscure band, similar to Energie G, composed of 15-year-old students playing simple punk rock. The guitarist of Michael’s Uncle, a great hardcore band active from ’87 to ’91, played here.

These bands, except for Extempore, played their first relatively large shows at the Prague Jazz Days in May and November ’79. This festival also marked the first public performance of punk rock in Czechoslovakia and influenced many people who later started bands of their own.

Back then there were no punk bands outside Prague, with one exception. A band called Hlavy 2000 existed in Havířov and probably started as early as ’77, although hardly anyone remembers it. They played a few local gigs in ’77 or ’78 and then split up. Their guitarist later started Radegast.

A few recordings of these prehistoric punk bands do exist. Extempore’s punk repertoire was released on tape by Black Point in ’92, and “Libouchec” can be found on the Velkomesto double LP from Globus International Records. At the beginning of the ’80s, Mikoláš Chadima compiled recordings of unofficial Czech rock bands for the compilation LP Czech! Till Now You Were Alone, released in ’84 by the Italian label Old Europa Cafe. It includes one punk track by Zikkurat and one not-so-punk track by Extempore. Zikkurat also had a double LP released in ’91 called 1979–’82. A few of their punk songs appear there, while the rest are in an alternative rock vein. Their punk covers remain unreleased. All these recordings from both bands are live. Live recordings of Energie G also exist, but were never released.

The 1980s: From Brutal Repression to Conditioned Tolerance

The first half of the ’80s was a time when the system launched a crusade against the entire Czechoslovak rock scene. Lists of bands that were not allowed to play legally were issued by the secret police and cultural institutions. Extempore, Zikkurat, and Energie G found themselves on the most important one, sometimes sarcastically called “the regime chart.” The media launched a heavy propaganda attack, and with the first punk rockers appearing on the streets in their typical fashion, the police began harassing them. They were the regime’s second-biggest “enemy,” after longhairs. It seems that the authorities realized rock music always contained the potential to strengthen the opposition. After the first attack on PPU, the already established dissident movement called for their support. At first the regime tried to eliminate rock music, and when it saw that this was impossible, it attempted to control it as much as it could.

Some later better-known bands started in the early ’80s, this time not only in Prague. The punk rock virus had now spread further.

F.P.B. (’80–’87)

They came from the culturally oppressive environment of North Bohemia, from the city of Teplice to be exact, and, as the first punk band in the area, soon discovered that they were not very popular there. Members of local official rock bands drafted a petition demanding that this “anti-cultural act” be banned, and the authorities successfully prevented F.P.B. from playing gigs in this part of the country. Most of their shows therefore took place in Prague.

F.P.B. played tight, anthemic punk rock with some pretty original parts. The trio consisted of talented musicians, and it showed in their music: a clean guitar sound, an unrelenting artillery of drums, and cleanly sung unison refrains. They were influenced by The Damned, Devo, and Killing Joke, but still managed to find an original approach to punk rock. Their lyrics were quite cool as well and often poetic, attacking issues such as bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and conformity. They were written and sung by the band’s leading member, Miroslav Wanek, on bass and vocals.

F.P.B. played with their first lineup until ’86 and performed around 40 gigs. Clever negotiations by their manager, Peter Růžička, even gave them the chance to play at the infamous Jarocin rock festival in Poland in front of eight thousand people. Shortly after this gig, in the summer of ’86, two original members left for Už jsme doma, which had started the same year. Růžička found replacements in the form of two young punks from Teplice and, together with the only remaining original member, the drummer, managed to keep the band going for one more year. During this period, F.P.B.’s style changed into raw and chaotic, out-of-tune punk madness with the screaming vocals of 16-year-old Radek Uhlíř.

In ’90, the original trio reunited for a while and recorded the LP Kdo z koho, ten toho, consisting of re-recorded older songs. It was released with an enclosed 7-inch EP featuring covers of The Residents and Killing Joke with original Czech lyrics, recorded live in the mid-’80s. Original recordings from ’80s gigs also exist and were released exclusively on tape at the time. The best-known is probably Live in Praha, released by Lük Haas’s Ukrutnost Tapes label in France in ’86, which received a very good review in Maximum Rocknroll. F.P.B. were also one of the very few Czech bands to appear on vinyl before ’89, contributing a short track to the 1984: The Third double LP compilation released by the French label New Wave in ’85.

F.P.B. remain one of the most classic and influential old Czech punk bands. There is no doubt about it. Wanek’s other band, Už jsme doma, have been going strong since ’85 and are perhaps the leading band in Czech alternative rock, with many releases and US tours under their belt.

Kečup (’81–’83)

A high-energy punk outfit from Prague featuring Extempore’s former drummer Ali and the crazy vocalist Limburak. They played around 20 unofficial gigs during the period of strongest repression against rock music. Half of their repertoire consisted of cover songs by UK Subs, The Exploited, Sham 69, and The Rezillos, executed with punk-as-fuck urgency and attitude. Nothing has been released so far, but recordings of some live shows do exist.

A 64 (’83–’84)

After Kečup’s demise, Limburak went on to drum for A 64, which was forming at the time. Named after a hand cream, A 64 picked up where Kečup left off. They were even faster, sometimes described as hardcore, and rawer. Their set contained around 20 fast punk explosions, the most famous being a cover of Peter and the Test Tube Babies’ “Banned From the Pubs” with original Czech lyrics. The song was later included on the Czech! Till Now You Were Alone LP and the mighty World Class Punk compilation tape, compiled by MRR’s Mykel Board for the New York label ROIR. Both were released in ’84. World Class Punk was an important step in informing the rest of the world that punk existed in communist Czechoslovakia. It featured bands from across the globe, including Dezerter, B.G.K., Bastards, C.C.M., and Zyklone A.

A 64 played around ten gigs in ’84 and then split up. Most members later emigrated to the West. Besides appearing on the two compilations, each with the same song recorded at separate gigs, they released a few live tracks on the Hruby Punkovy Hlaska tape compilation from Ukrutnost Tapes. The World Class Punk version sounds better: pretty noisy, out-of-control punk rawness!

Visací zámek (’82–present)

The band’s name translates as “padlock.” It started as a joke when a group of Technical College students spread the rumour that they were the best punk band in Prague. They later decided to form the band for one gig, and when it became a great success, they carried on. In February ’84, they were already so popular that more than 1,000 people came to see them in Prague. A pretty good live recording of this show exists.

Visací zámek, with a two-guitar lineup, blasted mostly short, loud, distorted, basic punk songs, though they also had longer reggae-influenced tracks. Their lyrics were funny, and they were definitely not a very serious band. During their existence, they had to play with several different lineups because of mandatory military service, which was the biggest obstacle to their activity. Otherwise, they were fortunate enough to obtain official papers and could play mostly legal shows.

In ’88, when all the original members finally reunited, they recorded two songs for a 7-inch released later that year by Panton, one of the only three official record labels. The band had to change its name to V.Z., but the first and only officially released punk record in Czechoslovakia finally appeared in a pressing of 10,000 copies, which sold out quickly. Both tracks sound quite good: sharp punk rock without new wave or other influences. Apart from that, they had only a few songs on compilation tapes, including Hruby Punkovy Hlaska, and some live tapes. After ’89, they were among the first punk bands to release a full LP, simply titled Visací zámek, and more records followed, later even through an EMI subsidiary. Today, they have hardly anything in common with the punk scene.

Zastávka Mileč (’83–’84)

Prague was not the only city with a fresh and active punk scene. Plzeň, the regional centre of West Bohemia, had one as well. It started after local teenagers saw the Sex Pistols on a German television programme in ’78 or ’79. In this Czech region bordering West Germany, it was possible to catch the German TV signal, normally heavily disrupted by the regime’s jammers. After a few attempts with bands that never left the cellar, the most active people from the first punk explosion started Zastávka Mileč in ’83. The name means “Mileč Train Stop.” They played tight punk rock, a little similar to The Clash, but with less-serious lyrics. In ’84, they recorded a pretty good studio tape that spread around the country. The trio split the same year because of problems with the authorities and mandatory military service. They managed to play only three or four gigs.

Plexis (’84–’86, re-formed in ’88)

A classic, crazy, punk-as-fuck band from Prague that later turned into boring Guns N’ Roses/The Cult copycats. Their first period was marked by police harassment. Some gigs ended before they had even started because of the cops, but the members also lived an urgent punk lifestyle. Plexis had around 50 songs, most lasting no longer than a minute and played at blazing speed. Petr “Sid” Hošek played guitar and sang, soon becoming one of the leading and most famous figures in Czech punk. After no more than 15 gigs, the band was completely banned by the secret police, who accused them of promoting alcoholism and fascism and attracting “criminal elements” to their shows.

When Plexis re-formed in the autumn of ’88, after some members had played in Visací zámek, they completely changed their style. Their first shows caused many jaws to drop, as people expected the punk sound they had played before. Old Plexis had a few songs released on compilation tapes, and live recordings exist, but remain unreleased.

Zóna A (’84–present)

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, as it was even before ’93, when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia. It was the main, and almost the only, part of Slovakia where punk rock was played before ’89. Bratislava bands were known for sticking to the ’77 punk formula, and Zóna A were the most classic example. Born from the ashes of Paradox and Extip, the first two Slovak bands from the early ’80s, they formed in ’84 and are still playing today without drastic changes to their style. The influence of The Adverts, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols is obvious.

Even though the band tried to obtain permission to play officially, which was the only way to perform in Slovakia, where there was nothing like the Czech underground network of illegal gigs, they had permanent problems with the authorities. The worst incident took place in September ’87, when singer Konyk tried to organize a show on a college campus in Bratislava. Shortly after it began, police broke it up, arrested more than 30 punks, beat them at the station, and cut off their mohawks.

Zóna A recorded four demo tapes before ’89, all in a fresh, melodic ’77 punk style. The band later became fairly well known in the West, especially after releasing records in Germany and appearing on several Oi! compilations there.

Novodur (’84–’86)

Coming from South Bohemia, an area with almost no noncommercial culture, this punk band decided to play only cover songs with Czech lyrics and performed them live in village halls around their hometown of Strakonice. They covered classic bands such as The Exploited, G.B.H., The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Chaos UK, and Abrasive Wheels. They were good musicians and played the songs quite well, while their Czech lyrics gave the material an original feel. They played legally, with most gigs taking place in the summer of ’85. The authorities banned them half a year later, when one of their shows became the target of a well-planned police action. Studio and live recordings exist.

After ’85, the ruling regime seems to have realized that attempts to eliminate rock music completely would never succeed, so it adopted a new strategy. It allowed the Union of Socialist Youth to hold a large rock festival, similar to Poland’s Jarocin, called Rockfest, where young nonprofessional bands could perform. Predictably, repression against illegal gigs followed. Rockfest was mainly a propaganda tool intended to show that “we support young people’s activities too.” The main festival took place once a year at Prague’s Palace of Culture, where annual Communist Party meetings were normally held, and where the September 2000 World Bank/IMF meeting also took place. There were also local Rockfests. Even punk bands were allowed to perform at the main event, though only a few at first in ’86 and ’87, including F.P.B. and Visací zámek. In ’88, a special punk stage was arranged as part of the festival.

By the standards of the Communist years, the situation in ’88 and ’89 was definitely better than it had been in the early ’80s, with more official festivals featuring punk rock. Outside Prague, Brno, and Bratislava, however, it was still pretty difficult to perform. Here are some of the most interesting bands active during this period.

Hrdinové Nové Fronty (’85–’88)

This trio from the city of Jihlava was led by Petr “Biafra” Štěpán. Unlike many other bands, H.N.F., or Heroes of the New Front, were not influenced by ’77 or ’82 punk, but by Dead Kennedys on one hand and Discharge on the other. The result was crushing, raw punk filled with distorted guitar solos and hopeless screams. Some songs were performed at blazing speed, while others were slow, dark, hypnotic opuses. Most of the lyrics dealt with the horrors of war.

The band members were active on the gig, zine, and recording fronts. They organized several illegal shows in villages around their city, released the first punk zine there, called Punk Maglajz, or “Punk Brawl,” a pun on “mag,” and recorded and unofficially released four studio tapes. The best-known one, Valka, or “War,” received a great response. In ’87/’88, H.N.F. were often described as the best Czech punk band. In ’88, they recorded their final tape, Dum na demolici, or “House for Demolition,” and then shifted to gothic rock and changed their name to XIII. Stoleti, or 13th Century.

H.N.F. appeared on several compilation tapes. In ’91, Monitor released the LP Valecny uzemi, or The War Zone, consisting of recordings from their old tapes.

Znouzectnost (’86–present)

When members of Zastávka Mileč returned from military service, they started Znouzectnost, a band in a similar style. Drawing on influences from The Clash, ’50s rock ’n’ roll, and folk music, they created a pleasant and “listenable” form of punk with poetic lyrics. When the drummer died by suicide in ’87 after unsuccessful attempts to “legalize” the band, the lineup changed.

The band also managed to play a show in a church in Plzeň at Christmas in ’87, something unusual in Czechoslovakia, unlike East Germany, where punk shows frequently took place in churches. Znouzectnost’s members released three tapes on their own S.I.R. label before ’89. After that, the band became more popular and started releasing records. They are still playing and sound quite similar to how they did in the old days.

Šanov I (’87–present)

After F.P.B.’s demise, their manager Růžička began working with a new young band called Šanov I, named after a district of Teplice. Radek Uhlíř from F.P.B. later joined them. Šanov I played great, anthemic punk rock in an urgent and raw style, with Uhlíř’s trademark screaming vocals. They were also one of the more radical punk bands, with lyrics directly opposing Soviet troops stationed in Czechoslovakia and the secret police. Unsurprisingly, they had to play mostly illegal gigs.

Several live tapes circulated, and after ’89 they released the LP Konec sveta, or The End of the World, featuring mostly re-recorded older material. It begins with an original recording of a bartender shouting at punks to leave his pub, where they had attempted to hold a gig officially disguised as a wedding.

Do Řady! (’87–present)

Another band from the Teplice area, though mostly based in Prague because its members attended college there. Formed in ’87 from the ashes of V3S, they played hard-hitting, distorted punk influenced by Anti Pasti and Abrasive Wheels. Like F.P.B. and V3S before them, Do Řady! also managed to unofficially sneak into Poland’s Jarocin festival in ’88. Their success there earned them an invitation to record a 7-inch in Poland. The three tracks were recorded with a drum machine, but the record was never released. They appeared on several compilation LPs after ’89.

Zeměžluč (’87–present)

Zeměžluč came from Brno and played basic three-chord punk in a raw and distorted style. Members of Krabathor, a later and fairly famous Czech death metal band, and Insania also played here. They performed mostly at Brno’s youth club on Křenová Street, simply called Křenka, which was the home of punk gigs in ’88 and ’89 in this part of the country. Two demo tapes were released, and in ’90 they self-released the LP Fajn, bezva, prima. Zeměžluč remain active, with around a dozen vinyl releases and a few UK tours under their belt.

Telex (’88–’90)

They started two years after Novodur’s demise and continued the tradition of covering famous punk bands, though this time including more hardcore groups and a healthy dose of original songs. Among other tracks, they covered Olho Seco’s “Isto É Olho Seco,” with their own lyrics about the Temelín nuclear power plant being built near their city. Telex made effective use of their solid two-guitar lineup and played tight, aggressive ’82 punk with tough vocals. In ’89, they recorded a demo officially released in ’90. It contains around an hour of music and lots of intros. In the autumn of ’90, they split, and some members founded L.D. Totenkopf, which moved in a more crossover direction influenced by D.R.I. and Attitude Adjustment.

Lord Alex (’88–’90)

From Bratislava. They played fresh, melodic, classic punk rock in the style of The Clash, Eater, and The Adverts. Several tapes were released before ’89, after which they moved in a more Crass-oriented direction. They split soon afterwards because of the guitarist’s drug problems.

Mladé Rozlety (’87–’90)

Sharing a bassist with Lord Alex and playing most of their gigs together, Mladé Rozlety were initially more focused on ’77 punk before developing into pretty good Dead Kennedys- and Black Flag-influenced punk with strong musicianship. They released two tapes and also split in ’90.

There were dozens of bands playing in Czechoslovakia before ’89. Those mentioned above were the best-known, but there were many more. Also worth mentioning are Mrtvý Miminka, or “Dead Babies,” a Prague band active in ’84/’85 that covered Shitlickers’ “War System”; Vzor 60, a crazy punk-as-fuck band from Brno active in ’88/’89, with a good studio tape, who split after two members emigrated to the West; Smrt Mladého Sebevraha, or “The Death of a Young Suicide,” active from ’87 to ’89 and playing sharp, tight punk somewhat similar to old Italian bands such as Peggio Punx or 5° Braccio; and Tři sestry, or “Three Sisters,” an accordion-driven pub punk band from Prague.

The Birth of Hardcore

The very first hardcore band in Czechoslovakia started in the early ’80s in Havířov, a “concrete city” in the devastated Ostrava mining region near the Polish and Slovak borders. They were called Radegast and were clearly influenced by early US hardcore bands such as Minor Threat, Youth Brigade, Battalion of Saints, and Poison Idea. In ’84, they played their first unofficial gigs, and in ’86 recorded their first demo tape. The result is pretty cool thrashing hardcore with machine-gun-like drumming and harsh female vocals. Another tape was recorded in the summer of ’89 with a different lineup, without female vocals, but still in the early US hardcore vein. In ’92, Radegast self-released the LP Otravena Generace, or Poisoned/Sick and Tired Generation, with re-recorded older songs. They split shortly afterwards.

In Prague, several hardcore bands started between ’86 and ’88, the first of them being P.S., who played more in the punk vein but also had short, fast, loud songs. During ’87, after recording a demo tape, they split into two bands: Kritická Situace, or “Critical Situation,” and Suicidal Commando. The former played fast, melodic hardcore with guitar solos and pacifist lyrics influenced by Crass, M.D.C., and The Varukers. The latter played tight, aggressive hardcore/thrash. Suicidal Commando cited Lärm, Brigada do Ódio, and Suicidal Tendencies as influences, but also had racist lyrics, something sadly not altogether rare in old Czechoslovak punk.

Both bands released tapes: Kritická Situace in ’88 and ’89, and Suicidal Commando in ’88. Kritická Situace continued until ’96. Its leading member, Robert “Jimmy” Vlček, became well known internationally for organizing shows for foreign hardcore bands from the early ’90s onwards. Suicidal Commando split in ’88, and some members continued in Kritická Situace. The guitarist later played with the re-formed Plexis.

In ’87, another band called Michael’s Uncle started in Prague. They began with an early ’70s New York punk/underground sound but later became fast and distorted. In ’89, they recorded a great tape called Svine!, or “Pigs!,” which was also released on LP in ’92. In ’90, they self-released the LP The End of Dark Psychedelia. Their approach to hardcore was original, combining blasting, harsh tunes with slower, heavier psychedelic compositions and madman screaming. They received considerable attention in the West, where they played many gigs in ’90 and ’91 before splitting.

Other interesting hardcore bands included Nasrot, who recorded a raw and brutal demo in ’88 and released an LP in ’91, though they later moved towards a Faith No More/Rage Against the Machine style, and two bands from Brno: Insania, later renamed Skimmed after secret police intervention, and S.R.K. Insania played thrashcore at blazing speed, while S.R.K. began with chaotic punk and later moved into grind/noisecore influenced by Anal Cunt or Brigada do Ódio. Both formed in ’87. S.R.K. split in ’92, while Insania remain active.

Some Difficult Issues

As you have probably already noticed, Czechoslovak punk bands released almost no records before 1989. There was only one 7-inch by Visací zámek and two compilation LPs: Czech! Till Now You Were Alone, featuring A 64 and Zikkurat, and 1984: The Third, featuring F.P.B. That is all, unless you count the Už jsme doma 7-inch from ’89, which would be more accurately described as alternative rock. The real and authentic documentation of old punk and hardcore from this era lies in the tapes.

For punk records released after ’89, when there was a flood of releases, mostly compilation LPs and full-lengths on newly formed commercial labels such as Monitor, Multisonic, and AG Kult, Discography of Eastern European Punk Music 1977–1999 by Lük Haas is strongly recommended. He released it through his Tian An Men Records label.

Lük is also someone to whom the old Czechoslovak punk scene owes a great deal. He visited Czechoslovakia several times and wrote scene reports for Maximum Rocknroll. He also ran the Ukrutnost, or Mercilessness, Tapes label and published the Mala Ewolucja zine, both focused on Eastern European punk. He did a lot to promote Czechoslovakia’s unknown punk scene in the ’80s, at a time when 99% of other punks were interested only in their UK or US idols. Respect should also be given to Maximum Rocknroll for publishing scene reports from communist Czechoslovakia and reviewing recordings by bands from there, firmly sticking to its internationalist approach to punk and hardcore.

That’s all. Hopefully, this short summary gave you at least some insight into the pre-1989 Czechoslovak punk scene. As you can see, no author’s name was originally given, for various reasons, but you could try writing to [email protected].