Brutus (Czech band)
Brutus is a Czech rock group with a long tradition. They call their style true bigbeat (the Czech word bigbeat is different from the English use, more or less connected '60s rock and roll).
Brutus | |
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Jesenice Alexander Sasa Pleska - Brutus member in 2012 | |
Background information | |
Also known as | Mandragora, Elektronik, Kyklop |
Origin | Czechoslovakia |
Genres | True bigbeat |
Years active | 1967–present |
Associated acts | UK Subs, TV Smith, Suzi Quatro |
Members | Pavel Fišar, Jozef Kupčík, Vladimír Hasal, Václav Trlica, Milan Křížanovský, František Matějovský, Alexander "Sáša" Pleska and Zbyněk Šlajchrt |
Past members | 45 |
Brutus was established in 1967 under the name Mandragora. In 1973, their performances were banned by the communist government and they started playing under the name Elektronik. The name was changed to Brutus in 1980 and there was a period (1982-1989) when the band had to play as Kyklop. Since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the band has again been called Brutus and has performed every Friday and Sunday of the year all around the Czech Republic. They have played with the bands UK Subs, TV Smith, Suzi Quatro, Dr. Feelgood, Zóna A, and No Name. They also collaborate with The Vibrators.
The group appeared in the movie Indian Summer (1995) by Saša Gedeon.
Members
There have been 45 members in the history of the band.[1] The founders of the band in 1966/7 were Vlastimil Beneš, Libor Laun, Michal Pleska, Miloslav Černý, Zdeněk Havelka, Vladimír Lankaš, Václav Matějka, Ivan Mikšovic, Jindřich Průcha, Zdeněk Steidl, and Milan Tyburec.
Present members are Pavel Fišar, Jozef Kupčík, Vladimír Hasal, Václav Trlica, Milan Křížanovský, František Matějovský, Alexander "Sáša" Pleska, and Zbyněk Šlajchrt.[2]
The band master is Vladimír Hasal (born 1955) and the front man is Alexander "Sáša" Pleska (born 1947), who plays the keyboard, sings and feeds the audience with his humour.
Concerts and lyrics
Performances by Brutus span four hours of music played almost with no break. The band plays every weekend in two locations, including in big cities as well as whistle stops.
Their song lyrics are mostly cheerful and the topics revolve around music itself, dance, beer-drinking, rough sleepers, and love.
The group also plays classic British and American rock and roll during their concerts.
Discography
- Třikrát denně akt (1991; 2nd ed. 2002)
- Mám horečku (1992; 2nd ed. 2010)
- Somráci - Live (1993)
- Celý večer rock and roll (1994)
- Gorila (1995)
- Best of Brutus (1997)
- Deme na to (1998)
- Alko alkohol, single CD (1999)
- Dík za číslo (2005)
- To samozřejmě můžeš (2008)
- Alko alkohol- Pozdní sběr 1999 (2009)
- 2011-05-28 Plasy, živák /live/ (2011)
References
- "Historie skupiny BRUTUS". Brutus.cz. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
- "Fotogalerie BRUTUS - úvodní stránka". Brutus.cz. 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2014-07-04.