The Matadors
| The Matadors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Prague, CSSR |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues, beat, rock and roll |
| Years active | 1965 - 1968 |
| Labels | Supraphon |
| Associated acts | Blue Effect, Emergency, Flamengo, Komety |
The Matadors were a beat band from Czechoslovakia. The members were Otto Bezloja (bass guitar, leader), Radim Hladík (lead guitar), Jan "Farmer" Obermayer (organ), Miroslav "Tony Black" Schwarz (drums) as well as Karel Kahovec (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Vladimír Mišík (vocals, bluesharp). The latter two were replaced in late 1966 by ex-Flamengo Viktor Sodoma jr. (vocals).
The Matadors formed in early 1965 from Fontana (The Fontanas), with members from Pra-Be and Komety (The Comets). Fontana's manager (and until early 1965 also their drummer) Wilfried Jelinek secured a promotional deal with an East German manufacturer of sound equipment and music instruments. Since the group began to use an electronic organ named Matador, they changed their name accordingly to promote it. The Matadors performed exclusively in East Germany until April 1966, their live repertoire consisted mostly of cover versions from popular beat groups like The Who, The Kinks or The Small Faces.
Between 1966 and 1968 Supraphon released two Matadors singles and two EPs, another two tracks appeared on an album compilation. The earlier original compositions were sung by Kahovec ("Sing A Song Of Sixpence", "Snad jednou ti dám") or Mišík ("Malej zvon co mám", "Don't Bother Me", "Old Mother Hubbard"). With lead singer Sodoma they recorded their only album in May and June 1968. The Matadors has been released as Supraphon 0130493 (mono)/1130493 (stereo), an export edition with a different sleeve has been released as Supraphon/Artia SUA ST 53992 (stereo) and SUA 13992 (mono). The material on the album includes instrumentals as well as vocal tracks sung in English. They recorded their own songs and covered R&B standards like "I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine" or Junior Walker's "Shotgun". The Matadors also covered Smokey Robinson’s "My Girl" and Bob Dylan’s "It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue" in Them's soulful arrangement. Original material includes "Hate Everything Except Of Hatter" [sic], "Indolence" and "Get Down From The Tree", which is featured on Rhino Records' Nuggets II compilation. Hladík, the most inventive Czechoslovak rock guitarist of that time, was hailed as the "Czech Eric Clapton".
...
Wikipedia