Biography

Written in an engaging and accessible manner, this book by a music journalist is not a typical biography of a Czech pop star. The author places Karel Gott within the wider context of the political and cultural history of his era, as well as within the transformations to pop music. He traces the genesis of this star, how he managed to remain in circulation, and how he helped create the image of his own false self-mythification. In the narrative the author manages to group together several key phases in Gott’s life (the era of the Semafor theatre, a brief exile in Germany, and the Anti-Charter). Klusák shows how Gott increasingly became the creator and victim of an image which he himself to a large extent created – i.e. how he gradually became a prisoner of his own success and was practically addicted to recognition from the public and his fans. However, Klusák’s book is not primarily about myth-busting; it is more about searching and uncovering. It is also a mirror on the several generations for whom the Czech pop star was a presence in their lives – inevitably, given how strong his influence was.