Icons of the early 2000s Holki celebrate 25 years on stage
The era of the rise of hip hop, the growing popularity of music videos, and the influx of boy bands and girl groups – all of this describes the early 2000s perfectly. While the world was ruled by Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync or Spice Girls, Czechia was dominated by Lunetic and Holki.
The year was 1999 and four girls emerged as winners from an audition organised by Petr Fider. Two blondes, a redhead, and a black-haired girl are a perfect match vocally with a powerful presence on stage. Klára, Kateřina, Radana, and Nikola took off to almost instant success and rocked the Czech charts and discos.
With their first song, Už mi nevolej (Don’t call me again), they rocketed off to their most famous years. With this hit, they got into the consciousness of the listeners, and clearly defined their target group. Holki have always been oriented towards teenagers, especially girls. In 1999, they released their first album S láskou (With love), and burst onto the Czech music scene with an album full of catchy dance tunes. Apart from Už mi nevolej, the song Můj kluk (My boy) became an instant hit.
Just a year later, Holki released another successful album called Pro tebe (For you) with hits such as Někdy příště (Some other time), Letní ráno (Summer morning), or the iconic song Mám ráda (I love).
In 2001, the third album from Holki, the album Spolu (Together), saw the light of day. Holki again relied on the already proven easy catchy dance tunes, and did not deviate from their usual themes – mainly young love and relationships. From this album, it is definitely worth mentioning the song Jsi senzační (You’re sensational), or Když mě líbáš (When you kiss me).
A year later, in 2002, Holki were still at the peak of their career, and released their fourth album, Vzpomínky zůstanou (Memories will remain), with a hit single of the same name. At the time, however, the band members had no idea that this hit foreshadowed the end of their time together. This album is the last one on which all the original four girls can be heard.
In 2003, the black-haired singer Nikola Šobichová decided to branch off on her own as an artist. By the end of the year, the group continued with only three members – Radana Labajová, Kateřina Brzobohatá, and Klára Kolomazníková together managed to release an album called Ať to neskončí (Let it not end), with the emotional hit Pro mámu (For mum). Then Holki announced they were breaking up.
However, Holki’s days were definitely not over. The glory of the original line-up was not surpassed by any of their solo attempts, and maybe that’s why they got back together in 2008. But only as a trio, without the blonde Klára. The Czech Spice Girls, as they are called, then released two more compilation albums and one studio album called Zkus zapomenout (Try to forget). This is dominated, for example, by the hit Dej nám čas (Give us time).
At the time, Holki were the female counterpart to Lunetic, which was the domestic answer to foreign boy bands like Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync. However, unlike Lunetic, Holki are still active even today. They continue to create new singles and perform at countless concerts and festivals.
This July, they’ll be performing with the aforementioned Lunetic, who sadly haven’t released anything since 2011, at the Retro Party na Lodičkách, which you definitely shouldn’t miss. If you don’t have plans for 27 July, arrive to Karviná to get a taste of Holki’s newest singles such as Kolotoč (Carousel) or Hvězdy (Stars) as well as their iconic hits.
A standard ticket will cost you 200 CZK.
