Framus Five is a Czech rock band founded in Prague in 1963 and led by singer and guitarist

Michal Prokop Michal Prokop (born 1 April 1981 in Prague) is a Czech professional BMX and Mountain Bike Four-cross rider. Started his sporting career at the age of five, Prokop has claimed two World Cup circuit gold medals, and three World Championship jersey ...

. The band also includes guitarist

Luboš Andršt Luboš Andršt (26 July 1948 – 20 December 2021) was a Czech jazz fusion, rock, and blues guitarist, composer, producer, and guitar teacher. Known primarily for his electric rock-influenced guitar playing, he frequently played acoustic guitar ...

and violinist

Jan Hrubý Jan Hrubý (born 3 December 1948) is a Czech rock violinist known primarily for playing with the bands Etc..., Framus Five, and Kukulín. Life and career Hrubý was born in Prague in 1948. Between 1964 and 1968, he studied violin at the Pragu ...

. The group disbanded in 1971 but reunited in 1978 under the slightly altered name Framus 5. They again ceased activity in 1990, due to Prokop's involvement in politics. They regrouped once more in 2000 and continue to play to this day.

History

Framus Five's debut album, ''Michal Prokop + Framus Five'', released in 1968, was strongly influenced by American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

music. In 1970, the band was joined by guitarist Luboš Andršt and drummer Karel Káša Jahn. In 1971, they not only released a second album, titled ''Město ER'', but also published an export edition of their debut, under the title ''Blues in Soul''. With the advent of

Normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

in Czechoslovakia after the 1968

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

, which effectively banned all English-language songs or names, ''Město ER'' was pulled from print, and the band disintegrated the year of its release. According to Prokop, the band name was derived from

Framus Framus is a German string instrument manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG, in Markneukirchen, Germany. The company has offices located in M ...

, a popular German guitar brand. Prokop subsequently sang in the band Šest strýců as well as with

Eva Pilarová Eva Pilarová, née Bojanovská (9 August 1939 – 14 March 2020) was a Czech (people), Czech jazz and pop music singer. Biography Pilarová was born in Brno. She started singing during her childhood, including classical music. She studied si ...

, among other projects. In 1978, he reformed his old band under the name Framus 5. The group's lineup changed frequently during this time, with the only stable members being Prokop and Trnka. In 1984, violinist

joined the ensemble, and they collaborated with poet

Pavel Šrut Pavel Šrut (3 April 1940, in Prague – 20 April 2018) was a Czech poet and writer. Career After graduating in 1967 from the Charles University in Prague where he studied English and Spanish, Šrut worked as an editor in a publishing house. S ...

and composer

Petr Skoumal Petr Skoumal (7 March 1938 – 28 September 2014) was a Czechs, Czech musician and composer. He is best known as a composer of music for films and theatre performances. Biography Petr Skoumal was born on 7 March 1938 in Prague to Aloys Skoumal a ...

on their fourth studio album, ''Kolej Yesterday''. In 1990, Prokop put Framus 5 on hiatus as he got involved in Czechoslovak politics. He renewed the group once more in 2000 as Michal Prokop & Friends, and in 2006, a reformed Framus 5 emerged, with a mix of new and old musicians.

Band members

Current *

– vocals, guitar *

– guitar *

– violin * Jan Kolář – keyboards, oboe * Zdeněk Tichota * Pavel Razím * Jiří Šíma * Roman Němec Former * Ivan Trnka – keyboards * Karel Káša Jahn – drums * Ladislav Eliáš – bass * Milan Vitoch – drums * Rudolf Chundela – guitar * Martin Koubek – guitar * Tomáš Suchomel – drums * Lubor Šonka – keyboards * Miki Bláha – bass * Michal Vrbovec – drums * Jaroslav Petrásek * Aleš Charvát – bass * Jiří Burda – wind instruments * Josef Šimon Kučera – wind instruments * Vítězslav Müller – wind instruments * Ivan Umáčený – wind instruments * Petr Klarfeld – drums

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Framus Five + Michal Prokop'' (1968) (export version was released in 1971 as ''Blues in Soul'') * ''Město ER'' (1972) * ''Holubí dante'' (1980) * ''Kolej Yesterday'' (1984) * ''Nic ve zlým, nic v dobrým'' (1987) * ''Snad nám naše děti…'' (1989) * ''Sto roků na cestě'' (2012) * ''Mohlo by to bejt nebe…'' (2021)

Compilations

* ''Až si pro mě přijdou'' (1990) * ''Pořád to platí 1968 – 1989'' (6-disc box set – 2008) * ''Už je to napořád 2000 – 2012'' (2016)

Live albums

* ''Live 60'' (as Michal Prokop, Framus Five & Hosté – 2006)

References

External links

Michal Prokop's official website
* {{Authority control Czech rock music groups Musical groups established in 1963 1963 establishments in Czechoslovakia Musical groups from Prague Musical groups reestablished in 1987 Musical groups reestablished in 2000