The share of Disco Polo cassettes in which the Mafia (especially the notorious Mafia from Pruszków near Warsaw) had its fingers in the pie may have been around 75%. The Mafia recognized Disco Polo as an opportunity and invested massively in smaller labels. However, the first major music labels such as Blue Star and Green Star emerged during the turnaround period and the music became more and more popular.ĭisco Polo music seemed fresh, modern and Western and accompanied Poland’s awakening into a new, democratic age. The major music labels viewed Disco Polo skeptically and wanted nothing to do with the often cheaply produced music. In 1995 alone, 80 million cassettes were officially sold it is impossible to say exactly how many millions more were traded on the black market. In the 90s, music became more and more popular and cassettes were sold not only in music stores, but often also on markets. Bayer Full is not a typical representative of the scene in that the songs are often relatively slow. The Pope, Lech Wałęsa and bodybuilders: Bayer Full with their biggest hit “Bo wszyscy Polacy to jedna rodzina” (“Because all Poles are one family”). Many later stars of the scene were also recruited from the wedding bands. But there were also influences from the Soviet Union, many Russian-language songs were performed by the bands in Polish. These were mostly played at weddings by bands that worked with synthesizers, giving it a modern touch in the 80s. However, Disco Polo has its roots not only in Italian disco music, but also in old Slavic folk songs. The name is derived from the style Italo Disco, which had many fans in Europe for a short time in the 80s and then also spilled over to Poland. Sounds a little trashy and it is for many, but above all Disco Polo music puts you in a good mood. The lyrics are mostly relatively shallow and the melodies are backed with rich bass. In any case, Disco Polo is fast and danceable. It’s hard to describe the style of Disco Polo exactly, you just have to listen to several songs. This is Disco Polo MusicĪccording to Wikipedia, Disco Polo is the Polish version of Euro Disco and moves somewhere between Eurodance, Rap and Modern Talking. But what exactly is Disco Polo music and how can it be that some songs reach click numbers on Youtube that are much higher than the population of Poland? Today we try to explain the phenomenon and show you what the Mafia has to do with it, why many Poles say they don’t know Disco Polo, but still know the lyrics by heart at weddings and why Disco Polo music has what it takes to hit the international scene. Because there, this style of music has developed into a mass phenomenon in recent decades, which many people view quite critically. Never heard of Disco Polo music? Then you’re probably not from Poland. So as Selfie break into their hit song "Moja okularnica", a track about a man’s love for a geeky girl with glasses, I can’t help but down my shot of obligatory vodka, push my specs up my nose and join in with the more information on disco polo events in the UK check out the Disco Polo Night Polskie Imprezy Koncerty w UK Facebook page. Unlike the knock-offs of western fast foods I gorged on, or the dubbed American programmes I watched on TV, disco polo is unapologetically Polish, and that is something to celebrate. "All Poles are one family, whether they’re young or old, boy or girl," sang Bayer Full on one of their best-loved hits, "Wszyscy Polacy" ("All Poles"), and disco polo really is music that unites across political, social and economic backgrounds.Īlthough, similarly to Puszczałkowski, I was never a massive fan of disco polo growing up, I too have begun to appreciate it. The music might have evolved, but disco polo’s essence remains the same. Still, the audience join hands to dance in a circle not dissimilar to the kind you’d encounter at a traditional Polish wedding. "We just come for a laugh, but we don’t have anything to say about disco polo," say one couple when pressed. Back at the front, revellers are shy to be interviewed, perhaps a hangover of disco polo’s former bad reputation.
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