Odyssea rock

Odyssea is a rock band from Plzeň, founded in 1972 under the name Koule, Vozembouch. The band performs mainly at dance events and has given over 6,000 concerts. In the early 1980s, it was among the most popular Czech entertainment bands, but unlike most similar groups, it also succeeded on concert stages thanks to a repertoire composed entirely of original songs - around 130 compositions by 1983.

The authorial style was recognizable in each composition: Andrejs wrote mainly "hits", Běhavý created "harder" songs, and Nový wrote more melodic pieces suited to his voice. In addition to Nový and Andrejs, Pavel Půta, known from the folk duo Půta-Staněk, also contributed to the lyrics. Musically, it was classic hard rock with distinctive choruses, performed with energy and considerable technical skill - the band consisted of talented instrumentalists and vocalists. Vocal duties were shared between Běhavý, whose raspy voice with surprising range suited the harder compositions, and Nový-Cimbura, who handled high notes and took the lead in more lyrical songs. The lyrical themes ranged from serious (Apartheid) through lyrical (Madonna) and small life stories (Florenc 16:30) to humorous compositions (Travolto běž, Uzenáč).

Odyssea recorded several compositions for the Hradec Králové and České Budějovice branches of Czech Radio and from the first half of the 1980s regularly released singles on Panton and later Supraphon labels. The band appeared on television in the final of a music competition in the TKM programme and also in the programmes Videodisco, Amatéři uvádějí, and Hudební aréna.

Line-up: Václav Běhavý - guitar, vocals; Radko Andrejs - guitars; Jan Nový "Cimbura" - bass guitar, vocals; Antonín Zimmel - drums.