| Psí vojáci | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Origin: | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Genre: | Experimental rock, alternative rock, art rock, Prague underground |
| Years Active: | 1979–2011, 2012–2013 |
| Past Members: |
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Psí vojáci (lit. Dog Soldiers) was a Czech rock band from Prague, fronted by singer, pianist and songwriter Filip Topol, son of playwright Josef Topol and brother of writer Jáchym Topol. Topol formed the band in 1979 with drummer David Skála and bassist Jan Hazuka, his elementary school classmates. It disbanded in August 2011, then reformed in October 2012 with the original line-up and finally ceased to exist in June 2013 with Topol's death. The band was named after the Dog Soldiers, a Cheyenne military society that appeared in Thomas Berger’s novel Little Big Man. They were a part of the Prague underground countercultural movement, and were influenced by punk rock as well as avant-garde and classical music including composers of the second half of the 18th century. Topol also performed solo on the piano and played songs from his solo albums, often with confessional lyrics.
Psí vojáci first performed publicly in 1979 at the IX. Prague Jazz Days and they soon drew attention of the secret police. At the time, the band members were 13 years old. When Filip Topol was questioned by police for the first time, he was not even fifteen years old. The band was not allowed to perform publicly and it only played at private underground events (e.g. at Václav Havel’s cottage in Hrádeček). In the course of several years the band repeatedly changed style as well as members. At first, Filip’s brother Jáchym cooperated in song writing for the band. Later on, Filip started writing lyrics himself. In late 1980s the band started to perform under a pseudonym P.V.O. (Dog Soldiers in Person) and the Prague Junior Club Na Chmelnici became their home stage.
After 1989 Psí vojáci became popular concert performers and they started playing at many clubs as well as music festivals. They toured clubs in Hungary, Austria, Germany and Netherlands and they performed at music festivals in Belgium and France. Their songs were used in films (e.g. Žiletky by the director Zdeněk Tyc, where Filip Topol played the main role) and they also participated in creating scenic music for several theatre plays.
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