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Jaromír Nohavica | |
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 Jaromír Nohavica | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1953-06-07)7 June 1953 (age 72) |
| Genres | folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, lyricist, poet |
| Instrument(s) | guitar,accordion |
| Labels | Panton,Monitor,Sony Music /Bonton, |
| Website | www |
Jaromír Nohavica orJarek Nohavica (born 7 June 1953, inOstrava) is aCzech recording artist, songwriter,[1] lyricist and poet.
He was born inOstrava and has played guitar since he was 13. He began studies at theTechnical University of Ostrava but eventually left the school. He tried various jobs, including as a freelance lyricist. He gained fame with his first song for Marie Rottrová,Lásko, voníš deštěm (You Smell of Rain, My Love; actually a cover version of the songShe's Gone byBlack Sabbath). He lives inOstrava with his wife and two children.
In 1982, he started performing in public, and his songs gained popularity. His first album,Darmoděj (The Wastrel), released in 1988, sold out immediately. A mythical aura arose around Nohavica which survived even the crisis period of his treatment for alcoholism. He released the somewhat pessimisticMikymauzoleum (Mickey Mausoleum), an album containing mainly melancholic songs.
Meanwhile, from 1986 he was a collaborator of theStB, secret police force incommunist Czechoslovakia.[2][3]
In 1994, he recorded a live album,Tři čuníci (Three Piglets), intended for children, with humorous songs.
In 1996, Nohavica releasedDivné století (Strange Century). He and his producer employed new instruments and voices for the new songs on the album, which became a huge success. Two years later theJaromir Nohavica and Kapela (i.e. the Band) came out withKoncert (Concert), a record featuring Nohavica playing with a band, which recognizably changed his music. The album contains mainly older material, but his treatment gave it a new appeal. His studio album from 2000,Moje smutné srdce (My Sad Heart), contained mostly sad songs about love.
Nohavica also starred inPetr Zelenka's movieRok Ďábla (Year of the Devil), which was awarded the main prize at the 37thKarlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2002 and several other international film festivals. He translated the Polish musicalPainted on Glass forDivadlo Na Fidlovačce and poeticized Mozart's operaCosì fan tutte for theNational Moravian-Silesian Theatre.
He has enjoyed popularity in neighbouringPoland andSlovakia, as well as Czech Republic.
In 2007, Czech singer-songwriterJaroslav Hutka accused Nohavica of having collaborated with theStB (the Communist-era Czechoslovak secret police). Documents released the previous year indicated that in the 1980s, Nohavica had met two exponents of the Czechoslovak exile cultureKarel Kryl andPavel Kohout in Austria, and had informed the police about their activities.[4]
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