Petr Oravec

"Before my military service, I remember, there were supposed to happen Žabčice. And I know that they banned it, we came to Brno and somehow we got to Střelák - a pub where there was a great event, people were lying on the meadow, peace, guitars, beer, fun, but not for long. After some time the cops arrived and dispersed us. I think someone was even filming it."

“We had a music there and went out at the dam. Through the sluice we went up to the dam. In a moment a boat was behind us and a police was calling us using megaphone to turn back. We had to turn back and in fact stop it all. But we kept playing, they didn’t enter the boat. There was a great captain with a huge beard. We came back and there were cars ready for us, maybe twenty with many policemen waiting for us. As we were getting off the boat, they were arresting one after another. Back then there were several people, who were wanted so they arrested them. Dexi was too, as of course he didn’t work. So it ended and as it was a failure, we decided to do it the next day in Chaloupky. In the morning the boys took equipment there and in the afternoon we were already meeting up to hang out. In a moment another intervention and they prohibited our event. So we had no luck there neither.”

“Some people came to Ke Štice holding a paper to sign for me. I said why I would not sign it. What a nonsense, Several Sentences, what could they do. So I signed it. I know that there was a time I wished to sign the Chart 77, but then I didn’t and don’t even remember why. I signed it, came back home and my father told me: ´Imagine, they accused me at work I signed something.‘ He didn’t have a clue, what was happening at all.´Now the fucking communists bother me - what do they really think?´ He didn’t like them at all, but didn’t show it either. They though my father signed it. The morons didn’t even look at the birth date and the communist party member from agricultural cooperative said my father signed it. And now all the villagers were attacking him. Mum was laughing at it, as she knew what was going on. Well I told him then.”

“We were all “máničky”, had long hair and beard. We were dressed as hippies and just when we got spotted by a policeman, immediately he checked our IDs. Asking us nonsense about work and such, they like that. They wanted to see the work stamp. That is how it all started, prohibited music and some meetings. I remember somewhere near Valašské Meziříčí in the forest, I don’t even know where I was back then. There were strings lined up with clothespins and photo exhibition. A big fire lit up with a huge kettle and a goulash boiling in it. People were playing guitars singing out loud. Out of the more famous ones there was Koubek (Václav Koubek – author´s note). I used to participate in such events. Then in Prague, Chmelnice such bands used to play. At that time punk´s only just beginning. My friends had their hair made up and we had ours really long. But sure we made friends as all of us were against the regime and represented it only just with our looks.”

“They rushed in a pub and some were guarding it from outside. They took a table after table and anyone they didn’t like or was a bit naughty, they took him to Bartolomějská and got a beating. They gave them beating several times and then let them go. That was a regular thing every day. I never got there and got lucky and also I had a working stamp. For example our steamer event. We wanted to have a music party in Chaloupky, but that was dangerous, as it was easy for them to arrest us and prohibit it. So we rented a steamer for about three hundred people. I had a half of the tickets and my friend from Olomouc, Jarda Chromek, had another half. I arranged the band Good Old Manual Job and he did the Three Sisters that no one really knew back then. My friend was dating Valdy and she knew the son of Jimi Čert and he said he was not going to perform as the police would surely intervene again.”