The Plastic People of the Universe

The musical group The Plastic People of the Universe was formed in 1968, and their work, influenced in the beginning especially by the American Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, became during that time one of the most original not only on the Czech rock scene. The group could not be made to make concessions and compromises by the then regime, which deprived them of their professional license and brought more and more complications with the authorities. The systematic persecution culminated in 1976 with the imprisonment of several members. A group of opposition intellectuals headed by Václav Havel organized a campaign for their support and release, which culminated in Charter 77 in January 1977. Thus, the rock'n'roll group became the impetus for the suppression of democratic opposition of all directions, which was unprecedented in the communist countries of the time. The musicians become close to Václav Havel, recording two of their semi-professional illegal recordings at his cottage in Hrádečka, for one of which the dissent leader and future president selects the lyrics. Throughout, the group maintains a clear artistic vision and musically evolves into an unmistakable expression that is gaining recognition around the world, where their recordings often take adventurous conspiratorial paths. At the beginning of the 1990s, part of the group's members gained a reputation in Europe and the USA as Půlnoc - a band that was based on the origins of the PPU.
The current line-up of PPU consists of permanent leaders: Jiří "Kába" Kabeš (viola, theremin and vocals) and Joe Karafiát (guitar and vocals), supplemented by a new generation of musicians who remain faithful to the original legacy of the group, but at the same time move it closer to the current interpretation audience. The program consists of the group's greatest hits (eg Magické noci, Divuhodhod mandarin, Mochomůrky bílé), supplemented with new compositions mainly from the pen of guitarist Joo Karafiát. This is a comprehensive retrospective of the doyens of the Czech underground.