Tublatanka

Tublatanka
Maťo Ďurinda performing in 2009
Background information
Origin	Bratislava, Slovakia
Genres	Heavy metal (early material) Alternative (mid-career) Hard rock
Years active	1982 - present
Labels	OPUS (1985-1989) Supraphon Records (1990) Tommü records Records (1991-1993) Monitor/EMI Czech Republic (1994-current)
Associated acts	Maťo Ďurinda
Website	Tublatanka.sk
Members	Martin Ďurinda Juraj Topor Peter Schlosser
Past members	Ďuro Černý died-2016 Palo Horváth Jozef Dubán suicide -25/4/03 Martin Uherčík

Tublatanka is a Slovak rock band formed in the fall of 1982 in Bratislava, Slovakia best known for the hits Pravda víťazí and Dnes. The classic lineup consisted of Maťo Ďurinda (also known as Martin Durinda), Palo Horváth, and Ďuro Černý from 1982-1992. In 1992, Palo left the band leaving Martin and Ďuro to record their 1993 album with Martin composing guitar and bass melodies. Ďuro left the band in 1995 due to complications with drugs. Currently the band consists of Maťo Ďurinda, Juraj Topor, and Peter Schlosser.

The band formed in 1982 in Bratislava, Slovakia by Martin "Maťo" Ďurinda, Palo Horváth, and Ďuro Černý. Ďurinda was a student at Comenius University in Bratislava at the time where he met drummer Ďuro Černý in a wine bar called Veľkí Františkáni thanks to a friend of his. The two talked about their favorite bands such as: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Nazareth, The Who, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc. After much discussion the two decided to form a rock trio much like their heroes Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and ELP (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer). But they would need a very talented bassist.

Černý remembered seeing a talented and charismatic bassist named Palo Horváth playing in a band called Mentol so they decided to visit him at his flat in a district of Bratislava called Dúbravka. The three hit it off and decided to jam together for the first time, eventually, they decided to form a band together. The three began practicing and writing songs on the fourth floor of Ďurinda’s campus building until Ďurinda finished his schooling. With more and more songs being written, the trio wanted to sing in a style that everyone could relate to so they approached Martin Sarvaš, who was a student of architecture and good friend of Ďuro Černý to help write lyrics. Sarvaš was a lyricist for a band Černý was previously in.

The band began to perform in bars on most evenings around Bratislava and became quite popular amongst the crowds. Eventually they made a demo tape, gave it to Sarvaš and began shopping around for a record label. Sarvaš became their manager and created the image of their band. While getting intoxicated in Veľkí Františkáni, Černý and Ďurinda thought of their band name. Černý wanted to call the band Tublat (which is the name of an evil ape in Tarzan books) but this name was mocked by crowds while they played. They eventually decided on Tublatanka as a combination of TUBLAT and Moravanka (a former local band they admired). Another version, given by Ďuro Černý in an interview for the newspaper SME, is that a driver for the band suggested they call themselves Tublatanka, as a combination of Tublat- and a parody of local wind ensembles, whose names invariably ended in -anka.