The Beatmen | it

The Beatmen was a short-lived Slovak (then part of Czechoslovakia) rock band active between 1964 and 1966. They launched the career of Dežo Ursiny, who was a member of The Beatmen aged 17. The band was a one-off sensation in Czechoslovakia, they released two singles during 1965 before they decided to relocate to West Germany (which meant to illegally leave the communist Czechoslovakia). There they released one single which flopped and the band disbanded afterwards due to lack of success.

The Beatmen (apparent even by the name) were greatly inspired by The Beatles. They played their songs at their concerts, to a huge success of the audiences, and they wrote their own songs that resembled mostly the mersey sound of the early Beatles, and which were in any way very well-written. Most of their original songs (though not all) were sung in English. 4 of them were officially released during their time and a bunch of other songs appeared on 1997's Dežo Ursiny's compilation albums Pevniny a vrchy 1&2. and various other compilations.

The band's classic lineup consisted of Ursiny (lead guitar), Miroslav Bedrik (rhythm guitar), Marián Bednár (bass) and Peter Petro (drums). All members sang vocals. The initial lineup included lead guitarist Stano Herko, who would be replaced by Ursiny. Dežo Ursiny would not follow the group to West Germany, instead he would go to form another very succesful Slovak band (of even shorter existence) The Soulmen in 1967. He was replaced by Juraj Eperjesi a few months before they relocated. Drummer Peter Petro returned home a few days after they left (after it turned out his wife would be unable to join him) and was replaced by German drummer Arno Biller before the band disbanded in Germany.

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The Beatmen bola slovenská hudobná skupina, ktorá vznikla koncom roku 1964 v Bratislava.

Skupina sa v roku 1965 predstavila dvomi koncertami v pražskom Divadle Spejbla a Hurvínka na Vinohradoch a v máji toho istého roku hrala v Prahe v divadle Rokoko.

V roku 1966 na jar mali koncert v Mníchove, v Kunstmuseum München ako prvá skupina z východného bloku na Západe. Ďalším úspechom skupiny bolo účinkovanie na koncerte Manfreda Manna v bratislavskej Športovej hale ako predkapela tiež na jar 1966. V lete 1966 sa skupina rozišla s Dežom Ursinym a ostatní členovia odišli hrať do západného Nemecka.

Beatmen bola prvá skupina Deža Ursinyho, hrajúca piesne, ktoré boli, ako bolo vtedy módou, podobné tým od Beatles. Niektoré piesne boli prebraté od Beatles a niekoré sa aj zachovali.


Zloženie skupiny [úprava]Dežo Ursiny – spev, sólová gitara
Miroslav Bedrik – spev, sprievodná gitara
Marián Bednár – spev, basová gitara, vokál
Peter Petro – bicie, vokál

Diskografia [úprava]
Single [úprava]1965 - Break It (text – Peter Petro) / Let's Make A Summer (text Peter Petro)
1965 - Safely Arrived (M.Bedrik – Peter Petro) / The Enchanted Lie (Miroslav Bedrik, Marián Bednár – Peter Petro) .