King of rock’n’roll Miki Volek: The extravagant blond in glasses who met a tragic end
The biggest star of his time, a wild performer who had girls falling at his feet, a Czech rock’n’roll king with a tragic fate. All of this is associated with the name Miki Volek, the once-famous singer who died alone and forgotten on August 14, 1996. To mark the 30th anniversary of the passing of this king of Czech rock’n’roll, we decided to dedicate today's Sunday Music Show to his life and music.
The life of legendary Czech rock’n’roll singer Miki Volek could be summed up as a journey from hell to rock’n’roll heaven. However, he was able to enjoy the sweet taste of fame only to a very limited extent. His relatively short life was instead marked by dark periods, alcohol and poor health.
Michal Vítězslav Volek was born on May 21, 1943, in Uherské Hradiště. His father came from the Tábor region and was a professional soldier. At the age of 15, he moved with his parents to Prague.
He had played the piano since childhood and gradually took up the guitar and drums. From 1961, he was able to put his raspy voice to use and express his passion for the rawer form of American rock’n’roll pioneered by artists such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry with the band Crazy Boys. Blond hair, black glasses, a brightly coloured shirt, tight black trousers, pointed handmade shoes, a leather jacket, gloves, rings and chains gave him the image of someone from another planet. Before long, with his trademark style and an uninhibited stage presence that was highly unusual for the time, he became an idol to part of Prague's youth.
Miki Volek's wider popularity was boosted by his involvement, alongside the band Olympic, in the Semafor theatre production Ondráš podotýká. It was there that Volek began singing in Czech as well, resulting in songs such as Fůra chyb, his first recording released as a Supraphon single in 1965, written by Karel Mareš and Jiří Štaidl.
Rock’n’roll and nothing else
Volek remained devoted to orthodox rock’n’roll, performing with various line-ups. These included Old Stars, alongside Pavel Bobek, Míla Růžek and Rudolf Rokl, as well as Mickey and Rock’n’roll All Stars, with whom he performed at the first Czechoslovak Beat Festival in 1967. In the late 1960s, he also performed in West Berlin with the band Samuels.
Volek struggled to adapt to the very different musical and social atmosphere of the following two decades. One of the few happier events during this period was the recording of a solo rock’n’roll album in the mid-1980s.
From the 1980s onwards, the life of Miki Volek, one of the most important figures in Czech rock’n’roll, slowly but inexorably headed towards a tragic and undignified end, largely as a result of excessive alcohol consumption and the abuse of various sleeping pills. He died in August 1996.
