I
Miroslav (Meky) Žbirka

About:

October 21, 1952

Miroslav Žbirka was born in Bratislava as third son of a Slovak father and an English mother. She was probably the one who gave him the nickname Meky. He began his musical career as a member of the group Modus in 1976. He stayed in Modus until 1980. The group had some hits in Czechoslavakia amongst their biggest was a song called ‘Girls’. In 1977 they won a golden Bratislavský lýru for the song ‘Smile’. Meky recorded three albums with Modus. In 1981 he recorded his solo debut ‘Dr. Sen’ which turned out to be a success and overshadowed the success of Modus. There was no other opportunity then to leave band. In the interbellum he started another band called Lacom Lučenič Limit which was shortlived and Miro began a true solo career. The second album ‘Sezónne lásky’ prolonged Miro’s success and since his second language was English an international English-sung album (‘Seasonal Love’) was released simultaneously. The same was done with the follow up but international success stayed out. At the time Žbirka became one of the most popular Czechoslovakian artists.

With the 1984 album ‘Nemoderný chalan’ Miro tried to broad his musical scope to more serious popmusic. Not only did he incorporate the use of electronics and synthesizers (together with musical partner Laco Lučenič), but also he developed a more comprehensive personality with more adult lyrics. He continued down this path in the next four albums but at the coming of Perestroika his success was waning. The new political climate opened more acces to popmusic from abroad which had its effect on the interest for local music. Recordings Miro made after the "Velvet Revolution" were ignored by the big public although his "child" Album ‘Songs For Children’ (1993) still did reasonable , perhaps due to its timelessness and universality.

With the loss of a sufficient recordcompany Žbirka promoted himself primarily with acoustic guitar. After the breakup of Czechoslovakia he moved to Prague, where he still lives today. In these years the Czech and Slovak artists stuck together and he recorded with Lenka Dusilová, Ivan Kral, Radim Hlad and Bradley Stratton (of Cirkus Praha). In 1999 he had a small hit with the duet ‘Oh Me Oh My’ with popular Slovak singer Jana Kirschner. This triggered him to start working on his twelfth album (if we are not compiling a "Best of") called ‘Modrý album‘ (Blue album). A tour followed after which he released another album in 2005.

On the web:

- Miro's website: http://www.zbirka.cz/disco.htm

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

Daniel Balavoine (France)

What do we think:

DB: I bumped into Žbirka when i was browing the web for records by Elán. He came across as a serious artist but i couldn't find much info about him. I bought four albums which were almost all very good. Adult synthipop but very well done. He looks like a complete nerd but musically he's not. Žbirka has a very light voice but somehow it fits perfectly with the music. Tastefull artist and well worth a listen to if you're into adult synthipop.

PR: ..

Recommendations:

- Doktor Sen (Doctor Dream) - 1980

♪♪ - Roky a dni (Years and Days) - 1983

♪♪♪♪ - Nemoderný chalan - 1984

♪♪♪ - Chlapec z ulice (Boy from the Street) - 1986

♪♪♪♪ - Zlomky poznania - 1988

Further listening: Modus - 1979; Sezónne lásky - 1982; 20 naj... - 1986; K.O. - 1990
Songs For Children - 1993; Samozrejmý svet - 1994; Meky - 1997; Modrý album (The Blue Album) - 2001; Live - 2004; Dúhy (Rainbows) - 2005

------------------------------------------------------------------------
♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided