Dezerter, founded as SS-20 in May 1981 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

, is one of the most popular punk bands from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. The band was founded by three students of Warsaw's vocational high school ( technikum) - Robert "Robal" Matera (guitar), Krzysztof Grabowski (drums), and Dariusz "Stepa" Stepnowski (bass). All three were born in 1963, and went to the same class. From the beginning Grabowski wrote lyrics, and Matera music. The three classmates originally planned to name their band Sektor A, but after some time changed their minds and named it SS-20. Soon afterwards, they were joined by another student of the same school, Dariusz "Skandal" Hajn (voc., born 1965), who, as Grabowski later stated, "looked like a real punkrocker". The band started regular rehearsals in the summer of 1981. With fast guitar riffs and intelligent lyrics written by Grabowski, Dezerter's concerts drew thousands of fans and its LPs were very popular, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The most famous Dezerter's live appearance took place during the 1984 Jarocin Festival in Jarocin, Poland and it was attended by some 20,000 people. The concert was recorded and later parts of it were released (together with four songs from the 7″ EP recorded in 1983) on the LP '' Underground Out of Poland''. The LP was produced by Joey Shithead, vocalist of a Canadian band D.O.A. Dezerter however is not widely known in other countries, perhaps because the band refrains from singing in the English language. Nevertheless, it played in several European countries, as well as Japan and the U.S. (in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, early November 2009, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall). In 2010, Grabowski's memoirs "Dezerter, poroniona generacja?" ("Dezerter, aborted generation?") were published in Warsaw.

1981 - 1990

SS-20 debuted during the '' Mokotów Autumn Music Festival'', in November 1981. In the spring of 1982 the band played at the ''Rail Worker House of Culture'' in Warsaw's district of

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

, but the show was ended halfway when management of the house disconnected electricity. Soon afterwards, SS-20 went for its first concert outside of Warsaw. It took place in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, at the ''Od Nowa Club''. In early summer 1982, SS-20 recorded a tape and sent it to the management of the Jarocin Festival. To the surprise of band's members, it was qualified to perform. The August 1982 Jarocin show was filmed by Polish TV (see YouTube video of Dezerter at Jarocin 1982:), and by film director Paweł Karpiński. SS-20 became famous, and the band appeared in such films, as "Być człowiekiem", "Film o pankach", and "To tylko rock" (see YouTube video of Dezerter from the 1983 "Film o pankach" ). In September 1982, the band had to change the name to Dezerter because of the reaction of the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

authorities ( SS-20 was a NATO reporting name of a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

ballistic missile, and this name was regarded too provocative by the government). To become less recognizable by the regime, they often changed the name in posters, sometimes spelled as "De-zerter", sometimes as "The Zerter" - it was a cheap and efficient trick to cheat the regime. At first, the band practiced at a Culture House in

Nieporęt Nieporęt is a village in Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Nieporęt. It lies approximately east of Legionowo and north of Warsaw Warsaw ...

, moving in the late summer of 1983 to the ''Dziekanka Student Club'' in Warsaw. First show under the name Dezerter took place on September 15, 1982 at Warsaw's ''Riviera Remont Student Club''. In mid-November 1982, already under the name Dezerter, and together with other Polish punk rock bands (

TZN Xenna TZN Xenna () was one of the early Polish punk rock bands. Members 1981 - 1983 *Krzysztof Chojnacki ''Zygzak'' ( vocals) *Marek Kucharski ''Marcus'' ( guitar) *Jacek Zientała ''Sidney'' (bass) *Tomasz Kożuchowski ''Gogo Szulc'' (drums) 198 ...

and Deuter), it went on a tour across southeastern corner of the country. The tour was named "Rock

Galicja Galicia ()"Galicia"
''

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...

Krosno Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Krosno) is a historical town and county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of 2 ...

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

, and

Mielec Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland ( Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 wa ...

. After coming back to Warsaw, band's members had problems at their high school, since they missed several school days. In the summer of 1983, with help of

Polish Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began makin ...

reporter Marek Wiernik, Dezerter recorded a four-song 7″ EP, ''Ku przyszłości'' (''Into the future'') also known as ''Spytaj milicjanta'' (''Ask a militiaman''). Before recording, which took place at the state company Tonpress in Warsaw's district of Wawrzyszew, the band provided a list of 12 songs, and Communist censorship office allowed four of them - ''Spytaj milicjanta'', ''Ku przyszłości'', ''Szara rzeczywistość'' (''Drab reality''), and ''Wojna głupców'' (''War of fools''). The record was issued by Tonpress, and was very warmly welcomed by fans, with 50,000 copies sold. Members of the band distributed it to several fanzines and activists in the West, including Maximumrocknroll, in which a positive review was published. As a result, Dezerter became a recognized punk rock band. In the first half of 1984 the band moved to ''

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Student Club Hybrydy'', where it prepared for the Jarocin Festival. The 1984 festival took place in early August, and Dezerter's show, recorded and later published as ''Jeszcze żywy człowiek'' (''Still living man''), turned out to be one of the main events of the festival. The band prepared all their best songs, and during the frequent breaks, Skandal and Stepa would read excerpts from popular Polish comic books, such as Hans Kloss. Furthermore, at one point the band requested firefighters, who were present at the stadium with their trucks, to water the dry grass, as there were clouds of dust in the air, caused by the pogo. The organizers refused to do so, and the show was interrupted several times, as the situation almost got out of control, with the threat of a riot. After the show, the band argued with the organizer of the festival, Walter Chełstowski, and as a result, Dezerter was not allowed to perform at the Jarocin Festival until 1987. In the fall of 1984, after a concert at Warsaw's ''Hybrydy'', the band met a man named Maciej Chmiel, who became Dezerter's manager. Soon afterwards, band's members, for the money received as royalties from Tonpress for its EP, purchased a tape recorder at a

Pewex Pewex () (short for ''Przedsiębiorstwo Eksportu Wewnętrznego'' – Internal Export Company) was a chain of hard-currency shops founded in 1972, during the Communist era in Poland that accepted payment only in United States dollars and other ...

store, opening its own illegal publishing company, ''Tank Records''. First release was Dezerter's Jarocin 1984 show, issued as ''Jeszcze żywy człowiek'' (''Still living man''), which years later came out as a CD. In early 1985 Dezerter attempted to perform in

Jugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, but Communist government of Poland refused to grant passports to the members of the band. In December 1985, Canadian punk rock band D.O.A. performed at Warsaw's ''Riviera Remont''. After the show, the Canadians met with Dezerter, and Joey Shithead offered to take band's recordings to North America, to try to publish them. The Underground Out of Poland, based on material handed over to Shithead, was released in 1987 by Maximumrocknroll. Originally, as Grabowski claims, the album was planned to be released by

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

, but it didn't happen due to Biafra's legal problems with the poster in the record sleeve of his Frankenchrist album. According to Grabowski, Dezerter sent its own cover design for the ''Underground Out of Poland'' album, but Maximumrockandroll chose their design. Furthermore, the Americans changed the name of the album, as Grabowski wanted to name it ''Greatest sHits''. In the fall of 1985 Dezerter's bassist Dariusz "Stepa" Stepnowski was drafted into the People's Army of Poland, and the last show with band's original lineup took place at Warsaw's ''Róbrege Festival'' in late summer 1985. Soon afterwards, Stepnowski was replaced by Paweł Piotrowski. With Stepa's disappearance, the ''Tank Records'' was closed. Last tape published by the company was ''Izolacja'' (''Isolation''), Dezerter Live 1985 at the Hybrydy. It came out in early 1986, and at the same time, Dezerter's charismatic lead singer, Dariusz "Skandal" Hajn began to skip practices, due to his budding Polish heroin addiction. Finally, in mid-1986 Skandal did not go to a show at

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, without explaining the reason for it. From then on, Dezerter turned into a trio, with Robal both playing the guitar and singing. Before that happened, Dezerter's songs appeared on two compilation albums, '' Fala'' (''Wave'') (1985), and ''

Jak punk to punk Jak punk to punk ( Polish language: If it is punk, then it is punk) is a Polish compilation album, published by the record label Tonpress in 1988. The album features songs of various Polish punk rock bands of the 1980s, including Armia, Dezert ...

'' (''If it is punk, then it is punk'') (1986). In late 1986, Dezerter suspended its concert activities, due to several reasons, one of which was the emergence of

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its nor ...

s. Furthermore, the band had to travel to its concerts by train, which was dangerous and time-consuming, especially at locations far away from Warsaw. At that time, Dezerter again turned into a four-member band, with Rafał Kwaśniewski as second guitarist. Kwaśniewski, however, did not play with the band for long, quitting in late 1987. On June 1, 1987, Dezerter began recording its first

Longplay The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

, at a studio located in Warsaw's district of Wawrzyszew. Even though Skandal and Stepa were no longer with the band, both were invited to record a song. The circulation of the LP was originally limited to only 5,000 copies. The band wanted to name it ''Kolaboracja'' (''Collaboration''), but the censorship office did not give permission for it. The album was finally issued in the spring of 1988, under the name ''Dezerter'' (in the subsequent issues, the name ''Kolaboracja'' was used). In August 1987, Dezerter performed at the Jarocin Festival, due to the fact that festival's manager Walter Chełstowski had been replaced by Marcin Jacobson. Soon after Jarocin, the ''Róbrege Festival'' was organized in Warsaw (late summer 1987). Dezerter prepared a special show, inviting artists from the ''Totart Group'' from

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. On December 10, 1987 Dezerter for the first time in its history left Poland, and went by ferry to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, on invitation of Anarchist Collective ''Vox Populi'' from

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. A few months later, in the spring of 1988, the band went to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, which at that time belonged to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The concert, which took place at an amphitheater in Kyiv, was cancelled after a few songs, because, as the organizers explained, "it already was 10 p.m.". In May 1988, the band went to a

studio in

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city lo ...

, where it recorded its second Polish album, ''Kolaboracja II''. Once again, the censorship changed the title of the LP to ''Dezerter''. In December 1988, Dezerter, which due to the ''Underground Out of Poland'' album already was a band well-recognized in the West, went by train on a tour of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and in May 1989, again to West Germany, as well as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and Switzerland. Finally, after a 16-month break, Dezerter once again performed in Poland (December 14, 1989 at Warsaw's ''Hybrydy Student Club'').

1990 - 2000

In mid-1989, Dezerter began working on material for a new album. In January 1990, at a studio in Wawrzyszew, recording of the LP ''Wszyscy przeciwko wszystkim'' (''Everyone Against Everything'') started. Most of the songs were new, except for ''Pałac'' (''Palace'') and ''Jutro'' (''Tomorrow''), which had been written in the mid-1980s, but were not allowed to be officially published. Furthermore, the LP included a song ''Panie Ty nasz'' (''Our Lord''), which is a cover of De Press (with the permission of

Andrzej Dziubek Andrzej Paweł Dziubek ( no, Andrej Nebb) (born 14 June 1954 Jabłonka, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Orawa, Poland) is a Polish musician and vocalist, founder and only constant member of the Polish-Norwegian rock group De Press. He had been invo ...

, in exchange for a glass of wine, as Dziubek wrote on February 8, 1990). After recording, in April 1990, Dezerter went on a two-month tour of Switzerland, France, Germany and Holland (30 concerts, mostly at clubs and squats). Among bands that played with the Poles were Carcass (at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Melkweg Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided in ...

), The Ex,

Dog Faced Hermans Dog Faced Hermans were a post-punk band that formed in Scotland in the mid 1980s and remained active through the mid 1990s. They emerged from the UK anarcho-punk scene with a guitar/bass/drums line-up, but also incorporated trumpet and othe ...

, and

Citizen Fish Citizen Fish is an English punk rock band that has been active since 1990 and shares members with Subhumans. Citizen Fish does not emphasize the raw political statements and nihilistic viewpoint of the former, instead focusing on issues of ...

(in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

; after the show both bands played a football game). A few days after returning to Poland (June 1990), Dezerter went to

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centre ...

, from where it flew to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, on invitation of Michiro Endo of

The Stalin were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo. After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made vi ...

, a renowned Japanese punk rock band. Together with The Stalin, Polish rockers performed at

Kawasaki Kawasaki ( ja, 川崎, Kawasaki, river peninsula, links=no) may refer to: Places *Kawasaki, Kanagawa, a Japanese city **Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, a ward in Kawasaki, Kanagawa **Kawasaki City Todoroki Arena **Kawasaki Stadium, a multi-sport stadium *K ...

(two shows),

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. Both Kawasaki shows were recorded and five songs were later included in the CD ''Wszyscy przeciwko wszystkim'', published in 1991. In exchange, Dezerter's manager Maciej Chmiel invited The Stalin for the 1990 Jarocin Festival, which took place in August of that year. Chmiel himself resigned from his post of band's manager in late 1990. In February 1991 Dezerter went on a concert to

Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previou ...

. On the way back, a car accident took place on icy road near

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship sin ...

, after which both Matera and Grabowski ended up in hospital, with broken

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

s. As a result, the band ceased to perform for a few months. In late 1991 the band began working on a new album, ''Blasfemia'' (''Blasphemy''), which was recorded in 1992 at the Izabelin Studio. Together with the LP, Dezerter's first ever videoclip was made, for the ''Pierwszy raz'' (''First time'') song (see the clip at YouTube ). With new manager, Piotr "Pietia" Wierzbicki", Dezerter frequently performed across Poland in the first half of the 1990s. In spring 1992, the band once again left for Western Europe, performing in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, together with

Disorder Disorder may refer to randomness, non-order, or no intelligible pattern. Disorder may also refer to: Healthcare * Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance * Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern ...

. One show took place at the Blitz in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, together with Jingo de Lunch. In 1993, together with Kasia Nosowska, Dezerter recorded new versions of its old songs ''Ku Przyszłości'', ''Yugoslavia'', ''Dla zysku'' (''For profit'') and ''Niewolnik'' (''Slave''). Together with other old songs, and the 1980s live recordings, they were published in the CD ''Jak powstrzymałem III wojnę światową, czyli nieznana historia Dezertera'' (''How I Stopped World War Three, or Unknown History of Dezerter''). In August 1993, Dezerter performed at the ''Energia Sztuki'' Festival, which took place near the site of the Żarnowiec Nuclear Power Plant (see YouTube video of Dezerter at the festival ), and in the autumn of that year, the band went on a tour of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, which was cancelled after the musicians were not allowed entry into the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and returned from

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

back to the Continent. After that failure, Paweł Piotrowski left the band, which turned into a duet of Grabowski and Matera. In the spring 1994 at the studio in Wawrzyszew, Grabowski and Matera recorded another album, ''Ile procent duszy?'' (''What is the Percentage of the Soul?''), with one song ''Facet'' (''Guy'', based on Big Man, Big M.a.n. by

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk sub ...

) sung by Matera together with Dominika Domczyk of

Post Regiment Post Regiment were a Polish punk rock or hardcore punk band. They formed in Warsaw in 1986. In the early days, Post Regiment had a much slower pace and more conventional singing style with vocalist Darek "Tolek" Gracki. By 1987, he left and ...

. After the release of the album, Dezerter was joined by a new bassist, Tomasz "Tony von Kinsky" Lewandowski. In 1994, a film documentary ''Dezerter, nie ma zagrożenia'' (''Dezerter, There is No Threat'') was released. It was directed by Paweł "Konjo" Konnak, and presents the history of the band, together with interviews with the musicians (see the film at YouTube ). Furthermore, two videoclips for the songs ''Ostatnia chwila'' (''Last Moment'', see ) and ''Nie ma zagrożenia'' (see ) were made together with the film. On May 8, 1995, Dariusz "Skandal" Hajn, Dezerter's legendary singer died at the age of 30, and as Grabowski wrote in his book: "We found out about it probably during a rehearsal, when someone told us (...) He had been hurting himself for years, and it happened. Apparently it was the liver or the heart problem. Until now we do not know exactly what happened. All we know is that he had been reaching for different poisons. His organism was unable to stand it any longer". In the same year, at a studio in Sulejówek, Dezerter recorded another album, ''Deuter''. The band was joined by Paweł "Kelner" Rozwadowski, and the album is a tribute to Deuter, a Warsaw punk rock band, popular in Poland in the early 1980s, of which Rozwadowski was the lead singer. All songs featured on the album were based on early Deuter recordings, and in the late 1995/early 1996 Dezerter played some 30 shows across Poland. In late August 1996, Dezerter again entered the studio at Sulejówek, to record yet another album, ''Mam kły mam pazury'' (''I Have Fangs, I Have Claws''; the title was taken from an animal rights fanzine published in

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its pro ...

). It was released by Warner Music Poland, which had purchased Dezerter's publisher, Polton. Next album, ''Ziemia jest płaska'' (''The Earth is Flat''), was recorded in December 1997 - January 1998, and released in early spring 1998. Contrary to previous albums, it did not sell well. Furthermore, the number of shows was reduced, which was connected with a crisis of Poland's independent music. As a result, members of the band had to find jobs to make both ends meet, with Lewandowski leaving Poland for England. For the next two years, Dezerter remained in limbo.

Since 2000

In November 2000 at Warsaw's ''Proxima'' Club, Dezerter for the first time performed with a new bassist, Jacek Chrzanowski, who also plays for Hey. Furthermore, Hey's manager Krzysztof Dominik became Dezerter's manager. In early 2001, the band took part in a ''Holiday in the Snow'' tour, together with

and Apatia. On June 5, 2001, Dezerter's new record ''Decydujące starcie'' (''Decisive Clash'') came out, published by

Metal Mind Productions Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy metal. MMP is also publisher of ''Metal Hammer'', the largest and the oldest heavy metal magazine. As a concert agency, it organises Met ...

. In April 2002, together with Kasia Nosowska, the band went on a tour of Holland, England, Belgium and Germany (altogether 6 shows). The three shows in England took place in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Bradford and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, together with a French band ''La Fraction''. Furthermore, at

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further developm ...

Dezerter performed with Conflict, and other bands. After coming back to Poland, Dezerter began working on a new album, ''Nielegalny zabójca czasu'' (''Illegal Killer of Time''), which was recorded at a studio in Piaseczno, and released in 2004, again by Metal Mind Productions. In the summer of that year, Dezerter performed at the Przystanek Woodstock. The show was recorded and released on DVD in 2005. In August 2005, the Jarocin Festival was brought back, after a few years' break. Dezerter performed there, and again in 2007. In the spring of 2006, the band went on a tour of Germany (Berlin, Bremen,

). In 2006, due to the anniversary of Dezerter's 25th years of existence, a double album ''Punk's Not Jazz'' was released, with band's most popular songs. In the late 2000s, Dezerter's songs were presented in three Polish films, ''Dom zły'', ''Wszystko, co kocham'', and ''Beats of Freedom''. In June 2010, Mystic Production released band's another album, ''Prawo do bycia idiotą'' (''The right to be an Idiot'').

Members

* Robert "Robal" Matera – guitar, vocals (1981– ) * Krzysztof Grabowski – drums (1981– ) * Jacek Chrzanowski – bass (2000– )

Previous members

* Dariusz "Stepa" Stepnowski – bass, vocals (1981–1985) * Dariusz "Skandal" Hajn – vocals (1981–1986, died of drug overdose in 1995) * Paweł Piotrowski – bass, vocals (1985–1993) * Tomasz "Tony von Kinsky" Lewandowski – bass, vocals (1994–1999)

Discography

Studio albums

Video albums

EP

References

External links

*
History of Dezerter
{{Authority control Polish hardcore punk groups Polish musical trios Metal Mind Productions artists

1981 - 1990

1990 - 2000

Since 2000

Members

Previous members

Discography

Studio albums

Video albums

EP

References

Further reading

External links