Prúdy is a Slovakrock band formed in the former Czechoslovakia in 1962. The group is currently a loose association of musicians centred around its leader, singer Pavol Hammel.
Prúdy live in concert, 2018
The original lineup of the band consisted of Marián Varga on organ and piano, Pavol Hammel on guitar and vocals, Vlado Mallý on drums, Peter Saller on guitar and Fedor Frešo on bass guitar. A significant milestone in the history of the Prúdy group was the release of the album Zvoňte, zvonky in 1969. The album is considered to be one of the greatest slovak albums of all time and is regularly titled the slovak Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the summer of the same year, Hammel, Mallý, Varga and Frešo recorded the album Pokoj vám , which was officially released only after the Velvet Revolution in 1998. Songs from the albums Zvonky zvoňte and Pokoj vám became part of their joint concert program called Pokoj vašim dušiam in 1969. In 1969, Marián Varga, together with Dušan Hájek and Fedor Frešo, founded the progressive rock group Collegium Musicum (band), and at the end of the year, Saller and Mallý also left Prúdy. Leaving the band as a vehicle for Pavol Hammel's projects, with significant lineup changes throughout the years.
