Filip Topol

Filip Topol (12 June 1965 – 19 June 2013) was a Czech singer, songwriter, pianist and writer. He was best known as leader of the alternative rock band Psí vojáci (Dog Soldiers), but he also performed as a solo artist. Topol was the younger brother of the writer Jáchym Topol, son of the playwright and dissident Josef Topol and grandchild of the writer Karel Schulz.

Biography Topol (on left) performing with Psí vojáci (Dog Soldiers) at a concert in Prague in 2010. Topol was born in Prague. He started playing piano as a child and was introduced to the Czech intellectual and artistic underground movement while he was still very young. He has co-founded Psí vojáci in 1979, along with the drummer David Skála and bassist Jan Hazuka. The band was named after the warriors from Thomas Berger's novel Little Big Man.

When he was 14 years old, he played with Psí vojáci at another concert held in Hrádeček. The band and other Topol's activities, as well as his family background and ties with the illegal Charter 77, attracted the attention of StB, the Czechoslovak secret police. He was first interrogated when he was 14 years old, along with his mother. His band was banned by state authorities and was allowed to perform only in 1986. Before that, they performed illegally and released samizdat recordings. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Psí vojáci became a professional band. inspired a 1994 Czech film of the same name. He appeared in the leading role.

Discography Solo Filip Topol & Agon Orchestra (Indies Records, 2001) Střepy (Indies Records, 1999) Sakramiláčku (Indies Records, 1995)

With Psí vojáci Těžko říct (Indies Records, 2003; "Hard to Say") Slečna Kristýna (Indies Records, 2002; "Miss Christine") U sousedů vyje pes (Indies Records, 2001; "The Neighbors' Dog is Howling") Psi a vojáci/Baroko v Čechách/Studio 1983-85 (Black Point, 2001; "Dogs and Soldiers/Baroque in Bohemia/Studio 1983-85") Myši v poli a jiné příběhy (Indies Records, 1999; "Fieldmice and Other Stories") Mučivé vzpomínky (Black Point, 1997; "Torturous Memories") Hořící holubi (Indies Records, 1997; "Flaming Pigeons") Národ psích vojáků (Indies Records, 1996; "Nation of Dog Soldiers") (compilation) Brutální lyrika (Indies Records, 1995; "Brutal Lyricism") Jáchym Topol & Psí vojáci: Sestra (Indies Records, 1995) Nechoď sama do tmy (Black Point, 1995; "Don't Go Out Alone After Dark") Live I and II (Gang Records, 1993) Baroko v Čechách (Black Point, 1993; "Baroque in Bohemia") Nalej čistého vína, pokrytče (Globus International, 1991; "Come Clean, You Hypocrite") Leitmotiv (Globus International, 1991)