He sang with Budka Suflera for only four years, but what years they were! When Krzysztof Cugowski decided to leave the band in 1978, he was first replaced by Stanisław Wenglorz, but was quickly replaced by Romuald Czystaw. He recorded three albums with the group.
Romuald Czystaw, or “Bąbelek” from Budka Suflera
The first was “On the Edge of Light”, which was not included by the musicians in their official discography, and was supposed to be part of the Olympic triptych for the games in Moscow. The next ones are “She came straight from the clouds”, which includes songs such as “Tyle z tym się” or “Planet of the dragon” and “For the last penny” with the title hit and the song “Memu pozna tu na goodbye”. Czystaw also wrote the music for the song “Nie tak Nasze Młodych” from this album.
“Good spirit of the band”, “privately, a great fan of The Beatles and a UFO enthusiast” – we read about him on the official website of Budka Suflera. Czystaw was born in 1950 and before he came to Budka, for two years he was the vocalist of the bands Dzikie Dzieci and Kwiaty Warszawy, in which Zbigniew Hołdys played, but his adventure with singing began in high school – in Secrets of the XXVII Warsaw Secondary School. Tadeusz Czacki. Some – as he said in one of the interviews – didn’t even know his name, they knew him as “Bąbelka”.
“For the Last Penny” was a huge hit. “I had to buy five pairs of goggles”
“Never believe a woman” is one of the greatest hits in the band’s history. The song “Za last grosz”, for which the first music video in the history of Budka Suflera was created, has also been very popular for over 40 years. The song was published just before martial law and the censors found something inappropriate in the lyrics of “Za last grosz”. Due to this, the song was placed on the list of banned works, but this did not prevent it from gaining popularity among listeners.
In turn, at concerts, the audience often threw money on the stage while Budka was performing this song. – One day I went to the store and had to buy five pairs of goggles. I gave it to the guys because the crowd was throwing coins. There were twenty-zloty coins and tens of them, and there were always a few people who took aim, said Czystaw on TVP in 2007. Marek Dutkiewicz, the creator of the lyrics to this song, told Polish Radio that the practice of throwing coins led to the drummer getting hit in the eyebrow during one of the concerts and covered in blood. He remembers that the musicians then put on motorcycle helmets with goggles.
“People remember”
Unfortunately, after a few years he left the band. Wikipedia says it was about problems with the vocal cords, but was that really the case? – There were a million different rumors, I even heard that I live permanently in Egypt and have three wives – said Czystaw in “Videotheque of an adult”, without giving a specific reason.
In 1983, he said goodbye to Budka as the vocalist and was replaced by Felicjan Andrzejczak, although he appeared on stage as a guest several times in 1984. Then Czystaw sang in Middle Eastern countries as Romek’s Band – apparently even Saddam Hussein came to his performances two or three times in Baghdad. In 1999, “Bąbelek” took part in a large tour of Budka Suflera on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. Then, with Cugowski and Andrzejczak, they recorded “Fifth Gear”.
In September 2010, he sang as a guest at concerts with Budka. He died on September 29, 2010. He was buried near Warsaw, in Marysin Wawerski. – His grave is constantly covered with coins, it is constantly covered with pennies. People remember – said Marek Dutkiewicz a few years ago.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
