Bydgoszcz has always been a strong music center on the country’s map. The flourishing of rock and alternative sound scenes took place in the 80s. Bands like Fatum, Variété, Abaddon, Abraxas, or Żuki played (and still play) here. Today, the first part of a subjective overview of the music scene in Bydgoszcz.
Variété is called by some the Bydgoszcz band not only of the 80s but also of all time. They manifested their connection with the city through their first album. They named it “Bydgoszcz”. The original was never released, but more on that in a moment.
New wave in Jarocin
It all started in 1983, when the band ZyZyZy was formed, which soon changed its name to Variété Est Morte. The people from Bydgoszcz made their debut in 1984 in Jarocin as one of the few representatives of the so-called “cold wave” at that time, also known as the new wave, which was actually closest to the style now referred to as, among others, post-punk, gothic, or dark wave. In Jarocin, Variété performed with Grzegorz Kaźmierczak (voc., leader), Sławomir (sax. Alt.), Jacek Buhl (dr.), Radosław Urbański (guit.), Wojciech Woźniak (bass). The band was noticed by the jury in Jarocin and awarded.
The first release of the band was the cassette “Nothing”, recorded in 1984. A year later, Tonpress released the band’s first vinyl single.
How the “Bydgoszcz” album was stolen
1986 marked the recording of the first full-length album “Bydgoszcz” by Variété for the needs of the Record Club Razem.
The first single from Variété “I znowu ktoś przestawił kamienie” (Someone Moved the Stones Again), via the “Music is the best!” profile on Youtube
– One of our colleagues parked his car in front of the swimming pool on Inflancka Street. Unfortunately, he had the “mother” tape with all the material in the car. When he came back, it turned out that the car had been stolen. The tape with “Bydgoszcz” also disappeared. Despite appeals in the media, including “Teleexpress”, the thief never returned it – says Grzegorz Kaźmierczak.
Some time later, a copy of the original studio material was found, which was eventually released by Akademickie Radio Pomorze in 1992, also under the title “Bydgoszcz”.
Variété still active
In the 80s, Variété also recorded for the radio station “Trójka”. The band lineup also changed. Abramowicz, Urbański, and Buhl left. The new members of Variété were Marek Maciejewski (guitar), Tadeusz Kolecki (guitar), and Tomasz Dorn (drums). The band successfully performed in the country as well as in the Netherlands and Lithuania.
The story of Variété continues. The band from Bydgoszcz has released 9 albums so far. Their latest album, “Dziki książę” (Wild Prince), is now hitting store shelves. The musicians have collaborated with such Polish scene celebrities as the trumpet player Andrzej Przybielski, the vibraphonist Karol Szymanowski, or the saxophonist Mikołaj Trzaska. Grzegorz Kaźmierczak, the band’s leader, has been recognized for years as one of the best lyricists in the history of Polish music.
Żuki – one of the first cover bands
When describing the history of the music scene in Bydgoszcz, one cannot forget about one of the pioneering cover bands in Poland, that is, bands playing songs composed and performed by other artists. I am referring, of course, to Żuki, a quartet from Bydgoszcz formed in 1985 by students from the Mechanical School Complex, who had previously played together at the “Medyk” club since 1981. They started operating as Żuki in the “Beanus’70” Student Creative Work Center, where they were joined by Mirosław Balbuza, who has been the band’s manager and producer ever since.
Together from the beginning
Żuki have focused mainly on performing songs by The Beatles from the very beginning, which is also reflected in the Polish transposition of the name of the Liverpool foursome. It is worth emphasizing that the Bydgoszcz quartet sometimes plays songs by others like Czerwone Gitary, Krzysztof Klenczon, American blues-rock musicians from Free, or even Led Zeppelin during their concerts. They made their professional debut in 1987. Soon the band’s career gained momentum. It happened that they played about 200 concerts per year. However, the phenomenon of Żuki is that they have been playing together in an unchanged lineup since the band’s inception: Piotr Andrzejewski (vocals, guitar), Adam Staniszewski (guitar, vocals), Marek Posieczek (bass, vocals), Jerzy Bołka (drums).
“Oh!Darling” performed by Żuki. The video was directed by the late Yach Paszkiewicz and the cinematographer was Błażej Pyrka
Soon, another episode of the history of rock music in Bydgoszcz.
