Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:28:54 +0200Underground under Communism: It wasn’t only rock ’n’ roll – and Czechs liked ithttps://english.radio.cz/underground-under-communism-it-wasnt-only-rock-n-roll-and-czechs-liked-it-8118630© 2026 Radio Prague International The former political regime in Czechoslovakia deemed much of Western culture “damaging” and “ideologically subversive”, but authorities struggled in particular to control the flood of foreign rock ’n’ roll and pop music. State cultural agencies and censors rarely allowed Western bands to perform here or even play their music on the airwaves. But unofficial channels filled the demand – through illegal imports, home-copying networks and ‘magnetizdat’ – do-it-yourself music. At the same time, state authorities sanctioned Western music when sung by Czech artists, and with totally new lyrics. encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/import_export_rocknroll.jpg?timestamp=1590366066 Underground under Communism: It wasn’t only rock ’n’ roll – and Czechs liked it https://english.radio.cz/underground-under-communism-it-wasnt-only-rock-n-roll-and-czechs-liked-it-8118630 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9