"Berlin Zachodni" is a

Polish-language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

song by band

Big Cyc Big Cyc ("Cyc" is Polish language, Polish for "Breasts, Tit") is a Polish Rock music, rock musical band, band formed in March 1988. The band is well known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, ''Z partyjnym ...

. The song was released in 1990 and appeared on the album '' Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem'', released by

Polskie Nagrania Muza Polskie Nagrania "Muza" ("Polish Records 'Muse' ", official name since 2005: "Polskie Nagrania Sp. z o.o", i.e., Polskie Nagrania Ltd.) is a Polish record label based in Warsaw. It has produced records in many genres including pop, rock, jazz, f ...

record label. The song is about impoverished people from the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, who traveled to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

in the 1980s, with hopes of selling smuggled products for profit.

History

In 1989,

band performed in

during the Schwarze Tage festival. The band was inspired to write the song "Berlin Zachodni" after their visit to West Berlin, where they noted the high number of vendors and smugglers among people traveling there from

. In 1990, the band recorded "Berlin Zachodni", together with other new songs, in the Izabelin Studio. Soon after, the song was played in various radio stations, including the

Polskie Radio Program III Polskie Radio Program III (Polish Radio Three), known also as Radiowa Trójka or shortly Trójka is a radio channel broadcast by the Polish public broadcaster, Polskie Radio. It is a music station playing a wide variety of music from rock, alt ...

. It reached number four on the

Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego (''the Radio Three Chart'', LP3) is the oldest and the longest-running music chart in Poland. Aired by Polskie Radio Program III, a division of the Polskie Radio public broadcaster, the list has been broadcast ...

music record. Soon after, the band signed a contract with the

record label, with whom they released their 1990 album '' Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem'', which included "Berlin Zachodni". In 1991, the song was awarded the title of the best

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

of the year, in the poll of the magazine ''

Teraz Rock ''Teraz Rock'' is a monthly hobby magazine in Poland about all kinds of rock music (metal, progressive rock, punk rock etc.). History and profile ''Teraz Rock'' was founded in 2003 by Wiesław Królikowski, and Wiesław Weiss. In 2003 the magaz ...

''. The song was included on the band's 1994 album '' Nie zapomnisz nigdy'', released by BMG Ariola PL.

Personnel

* main vocals: Jacek Jędrzejak,

Jarosław Lis Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the territory of ...

* support vocals:

Krzysztof Skiba Krzysztof Skiba (born 7 July 1964 in Gdańsk) is a Polish musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, essayist and actor. He is best known as the vocalist of the rock band, Big Cyc. In 1983, he cofounded the anarchy organization '' Ruch Społeczeńs ...

Roman Lechowicz Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

* bass guitar: Jacek Jędrzejak * drums: Jarosław Lis * music production:

Jan Lizikowski Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

* sound production:

Andrzej Puczyński Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and m ...

* album cover design: Piotr Łopatka * music video cinematography: Paweł Zimnicki

Notes

References

{{reflist 1990 songs Songs in Polish Punk rock songs Songs about Berlin Songs about poverty