Filip Topol (12 June 1965 – 19 June 2013) was a Czech singer, songwriter, pianist and writer. He was best known as leader of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band Psí vojáci (''Dog Soldiers''), but he also performed as a solo artist. Topol was the younger brother of the writer

Jáchym Topol Jáchym Topol (born 4 August 1962) is a Czech poet, novelist, musician and journalist who became a laureate of the Czech State Award for Literature in October 2017 for his novel ''Sensitive Man''. Life Jáchym Topol was born in Prague, Czech ...

, son of the playwright and

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

Josef Topol Josef Topol (1 April 1935 – 15 June 2015) was a Czech playwright. In 1965, he co-founded ''Divadlo za branou'', a theatre in Prague which was closed in 1972 after being banned by Czechoslovak government. In 1977 he signed Charter 77. He was m ...

and grandchild of the writer Karel Schulz.

Biography

Topol was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He started playing piano as a child and was introduced to the Czech intellectual and artistic underground movement while he was still very young. He has co-founded Psí vojáci in 1979, along with the drummer David Skála and bassist Jan Hazuka. The band was named after the warriors from Thomas Berger's novel '' Little Big Man''. He made his solo public début at the age of 13, as an

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

before the first performance of the

Plastic People of the Universe The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a Czech rock band from Prague. They are considered the foremost representatives of Prague's underground culture (1968–1989), which defied the Czechoslovakia's Communist regime. Members of the band ...

's ''Passion Play''. The concert was held at Hrádeček, the private farm of

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

. Topol played claviphone. When he was 14 years old, he played with Psí vojáci at another concert held in Hrádeček. The band and other Topol's activities, as well as his family background and ties with the illegal Charter 77, attracted the attention of StB, the Czechoslovak secret police. He was first interrogated when he was 14 years old, along with his mother. His band was banned by state authorities and was allowed to perform only in 1986. Before that, they performed illegally and released

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

recordings. After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1989, Psí vojáci became a professional band. In the mid-1990s, Topol suffered serious health problems, partly due to

alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-rela ...

. He underwent several surgeries and a part of his

pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an ...

had to be removed. His piano playing style was very expressive and wild during that period; sometimes he broke his knuckles during concerts and left his instrument dipped in blood. ''"Sometimes I feel that I tame the piano like a wild horse"'', he said.

Death

He died after a long illness on 19 June 2013, in his native Prague, aged 48. He played the last concert with Psí vojáci in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

on 25 May 2013.

Legacy

His song, "Žiletky (Razorblades)" inspired a 1994 Czech film of the same name. He appeared in the leading role.

Discography

Solo

* ''Filip Topol & Agon Orchestra'' (Indies Records, 2001) * ''Střepy'' (Indies Records, 1999) * ''Sakramiláčku'' (Indies Records, 1995)

With Psí vojáci

* ''Těžko říct'' (Indies Records, 2003; "Hard to Say") * ''Slečna Kristýna'' (Indies Records, 2002; "Miss Christine") * ''U sousedů vyje pes'' (Indies Records, 2001; "The Neighbors' Dog is Howling") * ''Psi a vojáci/Baroko v Čechách/Studio 1983-85'' (Black Point, 2001; "Dogs and Soldiers/Baroque in Bohemia/Studio 1983-85") * ''Myši v poli a jiné příběhy'' (Indies Records, 1999; "Fieldmice and Other Stories") * ''Mučivé vzpomínky'' (Black Point, 1997; "Torturous Memories") * ''Hořící holubi'' (Indies Records, 1997; "Flaming Pigeons") * ''Národ psích vojáků'' (Indies Records, 1996; "Nation of Dog Soldiers") (compilation) * ''Brutální lyrika'' (Indies Records, 1995; "Brutal Lyricism") * ''Jáchym Topol & Psí vojáci: Sestra'' (Indies Records, 1995) * ''Nechoď sama do tmy'' (Black Point, 1995; "Don't Go Out Alone After Dark") * ''Live I and II'' (Gang Records, 1993) * ''Baroko v Čechách'' (Black Point, 1993; "Baroque in Bohemia") * ''Nalej čistého vína, pokrytče'' (Globus International, 1991; "Come Clean, You Hypocrite") * ''Leitmotiv'' (Globus International, 1991)

Bibliography

* ''Národ Psích vojáků''. Prague: Maťa, 2004. * ''Tři novely'' (2004; "Three novels") ((''Mně 13'' (1995; "Me Thirteen"), ''Karla Klenotníka cesta na Korsiku'' (1999; "Karel Klenotník's journey to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, 1999; named best prose work of 1999 by the Nadace Český literární fond), and the novella ''Zápisky milencovy'' (2001; "Notes of a Lover")) * ''Střepy'' (1999; Slivers) * ''Filip Topol: Psí vojáci'' (1993; "Filip Topol: Dog soldiers") * ''Filip Topol (Psí vojáci): Texty 1985–1991'' (1991; "Filip Topol (Dog Soldiers): Lyrics 1985-1991")

Filmography

* ''Žiletky'' (1994; "Razorblades") * ''Praha mizerná'' (2000; "Lousy Prague") * ''Chvála bláznivosti'' (2001; "In praise of insanity") * ''A.B.C.D.T.O.P.O.L.'' (2002; a documentary about

)

References

External links

* Filip Topol profile at Allmusic.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Topol, Filip 1965 births 2013 deaths Czech male writers Musicians from Prague