PT Journal
AU Chmelarova, L
   Vrzal, M
TI Situation, Persecution and Censorship of Rock Music in Moravian Wallachia in the Communist Era: Memories of Two Witnesses
SO Musicologica Olomucensia
PY 2024
BP 7
EP 26
VL 36
IS 2
DI 10.5507/mo.2024.006
DE Czechoslovakia; communist era; oral history; big beat; Moravian Wallachia region; censorship; persecution
AB The article deals with the situation of big beat in Moravian Wallachia in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on the topic of censorship and repression. Within the oral history method, interviews with two musicians who were active in the regional big beat scene in the 1970s and 1980s were conducted for the purpose of the text. The first is a member of the now defunct bands Paranoid and Lunochod from Roznov pod Radhostem. The second one is Petr Fiala, the frontman of Mnaga a Zdorp (formerly Slepe strevo) from Valasske Mezirici, who is still an active musician today. Both interviews provide insights into the way the local bands functioned and the limits they faced, including censorship and, in the case of Mnaga a Zdorp, repression by the communist apparatus. Some of the specifics of the Moravian Wallachian region in relation to big beat, which had to shape its position also in relation to the strong position of traditional folklore, as described by the first of the interview participants, are also discussed.
ER