Czerwone Gitary was one of the most popular and enduring Polish bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Formed in Gdańsk in January 1965, the original members included Krzysztof Klenczon (vocals, guitar), Jerzy Kossela (vocals, guitar), Jerzy Skrzypczyk (drums), Bernard Dornowski (vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and Henryk Zomerski (bass guitar, vocals, electric organs). Their first concerts took place in the Sopot Club "Non-Stop", and they released their first single "Bo Ty się boisz myszy" (Because Your Afraid of Mice) shortly after.
In 1965, after making their debut on Polish Radio, Czerwone Gitary went on a highly successful Autumn tour claiming, "We play and sing the loudest in Poland!". In December 1965, Seweryn Krajewski replaced Henryk Zomerski. For their first months Krajewski and Skrzypczyk performed under the stage aliases "Robert Marczak" and "Jerzy Geret" - as music students they were at risk of being expelled for playing in a "bigbit" band. Their first album "To właśnie my" (Its Us) was recorded at the end of 1966 in only two days. The record sold 160,000 copies, but soon after its release Jerzy Kossela left the group. His duties as a frontman were taken over by Krzysztof Klenczon.
The latter part of the 1960's saw the group reach the apex of their popularity. Their next records ("2" from June 1967 and "3" from 1968) both reached the top of the Polish charts. In 1969, Czerwone Gitary received a "Marble Record" at the MIDEM music fair in Cannes for the most popular band in the country. In June of the same year, the group also won first prize at the Opole Festival with their piece "Biały krzyż" (White Cross). In 1970 Krzysztof Klenczon left the band, and formed his own group, Trzy Korony. After the release of his one and only album in 1973, Klenczon emigrated to the United States. He died in a car accident in 1981.
In 1970, the group began performing as a quartet. Seweryn Krajewski became the principal composer, with Dornowski and Skrzypczyk continuing in their earlier roles joined by the guitar player and singer Dominik Konrad. However, Dominik Konrad would only stay with the band to record "Na fujarce", considered by many to be their finest album. After the departure of Konrad the band continued as a trio and in 1971 recorded two more albums: "Spokój serca" and "Consuela" (in German, released in East Germany). Later the band would collaborate with the all-vocal band Alibabki, including drummer Jerzy Bartz and bassists Ryszard Kaczmarek and Jan Pospieszalski. This led to three albums - "Rytm Ziemi" (1974), "Port piratów", the Christmas issue "Dzień jeden w roku" (1976) and a final album in German - "Rote Gitarren" (1978). The band also performed and toured extensively in the USSR and many Eastern Block countries effectively disappearing from the Polish scene.
Czerwone Gitary returned to Poland in the Summer of 1991 where they were reunited with Jerzy Kossela. They went on to perform in over 500 concerts. In 1997, personal conflicts with the band led Seweryn Krajewski to leave the group. Two years later they released their first album in over a quarter of a century "...jeszcze gra muzyka". They followed this release with another record, the double album "O.K." in 2005. In August of that year the band organised a concert in Sopot celebrating their 40th anniversary.
The last years have seen Czerwone Gitary continue to perform in many concerts with a lineup of Jerzy Skrzypczyk (drums, vocals), Jerzy Kossela (guitar, vocal), Henryk Zomerski (keyboards, bass guitar, vocal), Marek Kisieliński (guitar, vocal) and Mieczysław Wądołowski (vocal, guitar).
Discography:
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"To właśnie my", 1966, Pronit
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"Czerwone Gitary (2)", 1967, Muza
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"Czerwone Gitary (3)", 1968, Muza
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"Na fujarce", 1970, Muza
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"Spokój serca", 1971, Muza
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"Consuela", 1971, Amiga
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"Rytm Ziemi", 1974, Muza
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"Dzień jeden w roku", 1976, Muza
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"Port piratów", 1976, Muza
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"Rote Gitarren", 1978, Amiga
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"...jeszcze gra muzyka", 1999, Rubicon
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"O.K.", 2005, Czerwone Gitary Group
Written by Maciej Sienkiewicz, December 2010.
