Charlie Straight were a Czech

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in

Třinec Třinec (; ; ) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the least populated Statutory city (Czech Republic), statutory city in the country. The city ...

in 2006. They combined indie rock with melodic and often electronic musical elements, and all their lyrics were sung in English. They released two studio albums and won a number of awards, before breaking up in 2013. Lead singer Albert Černý went on to form the indie pop group

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

, who represented the Czech Republic at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

in Tel Aviv, Israel.

History

Charlie Straight was formed in 2006 by

Albert Černý Albert Černý (born 17 February 1989) is a Czech singer and guitarist. He is known as the former lead singer of Charlie Straight, currently with Lake Malawi. Personal life He graduated from a Polish elementary school and Czech high school in ...

(lead vocals), Jan Cienciala (bass), Michal Šupák (guitar, programming), and Pavel Pilch (drums). Pilch had been Černý's drum teacher, as well as playing in several jazz bands with Šupák, an AMU graduate. Cienciala had been a classmate of Černý's in grammar school and they had also played music together. The band released their debut album, ''She's a Good Swimmer'', in 2009. In addition to receiving positive reviews, the record was nominated for a

Český slavík Český slavík () is an award meant to recognize outstanding achievement and annual popularity in the Czech music industry. It was established in 1996 as the successor to the Zlatý slavík awards, which were established in 1962 in Czechoslova ...

award and won three prizes at that year's

Anděl Awards The Anděl Awards () is a Czech music award ceremony organized by the Czech Academy of Popular Music. History It is a successor to the Annual Czechoslovak Music Award (Czech: ''Výroční československé hudební ceny'') established in 1991 ...

, in the categories Discovery of the Year, Best Music Video ("Platonic Johny"), and Best Album. They played numerous concerts and festivals, and garnered a fan base not only locally but even abroad. In 2010, Charlie Straight won the first MTV Europe Music Award for Best Czech & Slovak Act. It was presented by crooner

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

. A year later, they received the same honour. In 2012, the band released their sophomore record, titled ''Someone with a Slow Heartbeat''. A year later, they toured the UK, released the single "I Sleep Alone", featuring vocals by

Markéta Irglová Markéta Irglová () (born 28 February 1988) is a Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter, musician and actress, who starred in the film '' Once'', which earned her a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for " Fal ...

, and won an Anděl Award for Song of the Year with "Coco". Later the same year, they announced that they were splitting up. Albert Černý formed the indie pop group

, guitarist Michal Šupák launched the band Noisy Pots, and bassist Johnny Cienciala started the project Big Destiny.

Band members

– vocals, guitar * Jan Cienciala – bass * Michal Šupák – guitar, programming * Pavel Pilch – drums

Discography

Albums * ''She's a Good Swimmer'' (2009) * ''Someone with a Slow Heartbeat'' (2012) Singles * "I Sleep Alone (feat. Markéta Irglová)" (2013)

Awards

* Nominated – 2009

– Discovery of the Year for ''She's a Good Swimmer'' * 2009

– Discovery of the Year, Best Music Video, and Best Album for ''She's a Good Swimmer'' * MTV Europe Music Award for Best Czech & Slovak Act 2010, 2011 * 2011 Český slavík – Music Video of the Year * 2012 Český slavík – Internet Star * 2013 Anděl Award – Song of the Year for "Coco"

References

External links

* {{Authority control Czech rock music groups Czech pop music groups Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Třinec English-language musical groups from the Czech Republic 2006 establishments in the Czech Republic Musical groups disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in the Czech Republic