Plastic People Of The Universe
Egon Bondey's Happy Hearts Club Banned
Formed in 1968, The Plastic People Of The Universe - named after a Mothers of Invention song and heavily influenced by Frank Zappa and The Velvet Underground - were iconic artists of the Prague Underground, a loose collective of Czech poets, philosophers and artists considered a threat by the Communist government. Banned and jailed under Czech communism The Plastic People Of The Universe are a true story of artistic perseverance, and the authorities claimed their music would have a "negative social impact", and so they were banned from playing for the public, having to play secret shows in remote locations. The raw DIY sound of their recordings escaped to Europe on tape and was released without the band's knowledge, their first album being a document of artistic defiance against the control of a stringent political environment they lived under. 'Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned', their debut LP, was recorded in 1973-74, but not released until 1978 (and even then, only in France). A beguiling album of lo-fi experimental rock that falls somewhere between Can, The Fall and Canterbury psych-folk with Ayler-esque sax solos. First-time vinyl reissue, comes with booklet, poster and postcard.