Půlnoc

underground

Půlnoc were an alternative rock band founded in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic) in 1988. The group was led by Milan Hlavsa as a successor to The Plastic People Of The Universe. The band was the first Czechoslovakian musical group ever signed to an American major label, and released their second album City of Hysteria on Arista Records in 1991. The group disbanded in June 1993 when Hlvasa re-activated the Plastic People. In June 1986, Czechoslovakia hosted its first national rock festival, Rockfest 86. Many previously banned groups were allowed to perform and it appeared that the rock scene was beginning to show signs of liberalization. Late in 1987, hints were being dropped by Czech officials that if the group changed their name from the Plastic People, they would be granted a license. In April 1988, the Plastic People of the Universe broke up over disagreements on the issue of changing the name. Jan Brabec, the drummer, maintained that he would play as the Plastic People or not at all, and quit. Hlavsa then formed a new band, Pulnoc, meaning midnight. Hlavsa chose Pulnoc as the name for the band because it reflected not an end but a transformation of the Plastic People. Midnight is a very special time, Hlavsa explained. It is when one day dies and another is born. And yet there is continuity. That is how it is with this band. Along with the core of the Plastic People (Hlavsa, Kabes, Janicek), the new band featured a younger generation of musicians, inc...