Ivan Mládek

singer and musician

Radio Luxembourg is at the origin of my continuous appearances on Czech and Slovak stages.

When someone says “Luxembourg”, I immediately visualize my ear glued to a constantly interrupted radio and remember the feeling of bliss from catching even the smallest little fragments of jazz music. I am not sure if the low audio quality was caused by communist jammers or by our old Tesla radio. Anyhow, in the ´50, you could not find dixieland anywhere. There were some standard records with the Australian Graeme Bell, but they were outrageously expensive. They were recorded in Prague in 1947, before the “Victorious February”, at a youth festival that was attended by Bell´s Dixieland. In the end, I managed to acquire one record. It was cracked and had a melted gramophone needle in it so that it produced permanent periodic crackling while spooling out. Anyway, it was an exquisite pleasure. There were songs like My sister Kate on it and, I think, Ballin the Jack. At that time, it was the only inspiration for us jazz beginners, beside Radio Luxembourg and Willis Cannover shows on Voice of America. Although I did not know English, I did not mind the language in these shows, on the contrary it added a bigger element of “forbidden fruit” to the exciting jazz music. And so Radio Luxembourg is at the origin of my continuous appearances on Czech and Slovak stages. Despite of all my efforts I did not become a jazzman, but without any passion for jazz I would not have written any songs, I would not have sung nor written anything joyful. I wouldn’t have had any reason to start writing to diversify our music shows. So thanks, dear Radio Luxembourg!