Rock music played a role in subverting the political order of the Soviet Union and its satellites. The attraction of the unique form of music weakened Soviet authority by humanizing the West, helped alienate a generation from the political system, and sparked a youth revolution. This contribution was achieved not only through the use of words or images, but through the structure of the music itself. Furthermore, the music was spread as part of a broad public diplomacy effort, commercial ventures, and through the efforts of the populace in the Eastern Bloc.
In the 1960s, The Beatles sparked the love of rock in the Soviet youth and its popularity spread. Being exposed to foreign music helped to undermine Soviet propaganda during the Cold War. In August 1976, Cliff Richard became the first Western rock act to play behind the Iron Curtain, playing twenty concerts in the Soviet Union; twelve dates in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and eight in Moscow. Throughout the 1980s, a number of Western acts performed behind the Iron Curtain, including Elton John (who is often incorrectly cited as the first Western artist), Queen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Iron Maiden, and Ozzy Osbourne.
History and background
1950s
The stilyagi, the first youth counterculture movement in the Soviet Union, emerged in the 1950s. The stilyagi, meaning stylish in Russian, listened to the music and copied the western fashion trends. Unlike later youth movements, the regime made no attempt to infiltrate and channel the movement toward their own ends, opting instead for public oppression. The stilyagi virtually disappeared by the early 1960s because many restrictions on the flow of information were relaxed, showing that the styles the stilyagi drew inspiration from were outdated.
The 6th World Festival of Youth and Students took place in Moscow in 1957, permitting jazz and western forms of dance for one of the first times in the Soviet Union. Although there was some hope that this was an indication of relaxation of restrictions, by the end of the 1950s, Eastern Bloc countries began arresting stilyagi and rock fans.Ryback, p. 18. In 1958, partially in response to these events, NATO published a report speculating on the intentional use of rock music for subversive purposes.Ryback, p. 26.
Rock music began to enter Yugoslavia in the 1950s, with chess players and sportsmen playing a critical role in bringing the music back with them after traveling abroad for competition. Other sources were Radio Luxembourg, and Serbian poet Vladimir Janković stated that Italian run traveling carnivals that operated in Yugoslavia would often play rock songs like Tutti Frutti. Yugoslavia had their first ever public rock performance in Belgrade, Serbia in 1957 by a local band. Early rock music in Yugoslavia was heavily associated with the common Western style dancing that musicians and audience members would do, and the dancing played a very large part in attracting young Yugoslav people. This style of dancing became very popular for young people at clubs and dances. Young people also started to adopt Western style clothes and hairstyles more as well. The government tried to promote classical composers and other traditional music in order to try to stop the spread of rock and jazz music, but it had little effect on the youth. Yugoslav newspapers often talked about how this new kind of music played with electric guitars was a unique kind of music in the world, and were rarely negative towards rock music.
1960s The Beatles sparked the love of rock in the Soviet youth, and its popularity spread in the early 1960s.Troitsky, p. 23. Their impact on fashion was one of the more obvious external signs of their popularity. Jackets, known as 'Bitlovka', were assembled from cast-offs and army boots were "refashioned in the Beatles style" by youth. In addition to their influence in fashion, they also helped drive the expansion of music in the black market. Illicit music albums were created by recording copies onto discarded X-ray emulsion plates.Troitsky, p. 19. The music itself was acquired either by smuggling copies from the west, or recording it from western radio. The latter became easier and more common after United States president Lyndon Johnson made international broadcasting a priority in the mid-1960s.Ryback, p. 85.
Hippie culture emerged in the late 60s and early 70s. Although very similar in terms of aesthetic to their western cousins, Soviet hippies were more passive. The Soviet hippie movement did not develop the same radical social and political sensibilities as did the New Left in the United States.Troitsky, p. 30–36. Elsewhere in the eastern bloc, however, rockers and hippies were quite politically active and in the Prague Spring of 1968 numerous concerts were held in support of greater liberalization.Ryback, p. 76-78.
Many pop musicians in Yugoslavia became rock musicians in the 1960s after the government became less restrictive on Western style music that was not strictly approved pop music, and they are credited with spearheading the early rock scene. This decision to be less restrictive was a result of Josip Broz Tito choosing to encourage Western culture, rather than Soviet culture. Tito believed it was the lesser of two evils. As a result, rock music started to get widespread attention. The Yugoslav band Atomi did the first ever Yugoslav rock recordings with Radio Zagreb in 1961, and in October 1962, they were the first Yugoslav rock band to ever appear on television when they appeared on a children's show called Slavica i Mendo. A Yugoslav rock band played at a major venue for the first time in 1963, and in 1966, the Serbian rock festival Gitarijada(Guitar Fest) was created by Momčilo Radenković, the guitarist and vocalist for the band Zlatni Prsti. Also in 1966, the Yugoslav rock magazine Džuboks(Jukebox) was created, and was the first of its kind in the communist world. The magazine had an explicit pro-Western bias, was presented in a Western style, and it was frequently advertised by Western European radio stations that played rock music. Although the government was worried that Western culture would make people want to rebel in various ways, rock music in the 1960s was often used by young people to show a sense of pride in Yugoslavia being independent from the Soviet sphere of influence.
1970s
The major development for rock behind the Iron Curtain in the 1970s was original songs written in the authors' native language. Bands like Illés in Hungary, the Plastic People of the Universe in Czechoslovakia, and Time Machine in the Soviet Union adapted their native languages to rock. They managed to enjoy a steady following, unlike similar attempts by other bands in the 1960s, although they were mostly underground.Ryback, p. 129.Troitsky, p. 39–41. The mainstream was dominated by VIAs (vocal instrument ensembles) which were officially sanctioned rock and pop groups whose lyrics were vetted and whose music was considerably tamer than the underground groups.Troitsky, p. 27. The East German government even established a bureau for rock, indicating their desire to gain control of the movement.Ryback, p. 135.
Although the Seventies were mainly a doldrums for Soviet rock fans, resistance to official policy would still erupt from time to time elsewhere in the bloc, particularly East Germany.Troitsky, p. 38.Ryback, p. 190-191. Even in places where rock's suppression did not produce violent reactions, like Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union itself, the underground continued to flourish, creating a "second culture", which would have dramatic effects in the future.Ryback, p. 142–148.
1980s
In 1980, the Tbilisi Rock Festival was held. The festival was significant because the bands that generated the most "buzz" were not official VIA groups but underground acts like Aquarium.Troitsky, p. 57-60. As the 80s progressed, more authentic and "street" oriented groups would gain popularity. Mike Naumenko upset the status quo of even the underground with frank lyrics about life in the Soviet Union; he even addressed taboo subjects such as sex in songs like "Outskirts Blues" and "Ode to the Bathroom".Troitsky, p. 63–67. A result of this greater enthusiasm for a genuine native rock scene was a burgeoning homemade album movement. Bands would simply make their own albums; many artists would record copies by using personal reel to reel machines. The finished products were often complete with album art and liner notes, bringing a greater level of quality and sophistication to amateur recordings.Troitsky, p. 90-91. By the mid-eighties, under pressure from the Composers' Union and out of concern for the negative effects of rock, the underground and rock music were effectively outlawed. Clubs were closed, rock journalists were censored, popular underground bands were criticized in the press, and official bands were forced to play songs written by the Composers' Union.Troitsky, p. 95-101. Elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc, punk was beginning to take hold due to dissatisfaction with the political and economic situation for the youth in Czechoslovakia and East Germany.Ryback, p. 199-205.
In 1985, with the election of Gorbachev and the inauguration of glasnost and perestroika, official attitudes toward rock music became much more permissive. At the 12th International Festival of Youth and Students, foreign bands were allowed to play. They ranged from English rock bands, to Finnish punks, to a reggae group that ritually smoked ganja in red square.Troitsky, p. 113-115. All these changes inspired the new slang word of the day tusovka - "meaning something's happening, some kind of mess, some activity."Troitsky, p. 117. When the Rock Lab Festival took place in 1986, the tusovka spirit was on display with Zvuki Mu frontman Peter Mamonov singing lyrics like:
After the Chernobyl disaster, a benefit concert was organized. When government bureaucrats attempted to enforce compliance with a series of regulations and paperwork, the artists and planners simply ignored their requests. There was no official reprimand, confiscation of instruments, or violence from the police in response, something unthinkable even a few years prior.Troitsky, p. 124–125. More signs of dissent occurred; at a festival in Petersburg shortly after, the band Televisor stirred the crowd with a song entitled 'Get Out Of Control':
Collapse of the Berlin Wall
All over the Eastern Bloc, resistance to rock was being worn down. In 1987, David Bowie, Genesis, and the Eurythmics played in West Berlin. Radio in the American Sector announced the lineup and time well beforehand and the concert planners pointed the speakers over the wall so that East Berliners would be ready and could enjoy the concert. When East German security forces tried to disband the crowd of fans assembled by the wall, the fans promptly rioted, chanting "tear down the wall!" In 1988, a similar situation erupted when Michael Jackson performed in West Berlin, and the security forces, while trying to disperse the fans, even attacked western camera crews that were filming the scene.
In an attempt to improve its image, the East German government invited Bruce Springsteen to perform in East Berlin in July 1988. No violence erupted during this concert. The crowd joined in enthusiastically while Springsteen was singing "Born in the USA", with many clutching small, hand-painted American flags (something the official East German press neglected to mention).