Beatlephiles and Zappists: Rock Fandom in Communist Czechoslovakia in the Context of the Scene in Brno in the 1980s

The history of rock in Communist Europe has been viewed by a number of domestic and foreign authors as a series of events with a dominant political content, either in the form of a general youth revolt or directly in the spirit of anti-communist opposition. In this regard, the present study extends the current simplifying concept with an emphasis on the reception history, including relevant issues related to the typology of listeners and aesthetics. The primary subject of this paper is the reception of two of the most influential representatives of Anglo-American popular music in Communist Czechoslovakia, these being the Beatles and Frank Zappa. The reception of both artistic subjects is reflected in the specific space of the Brno scene of the 1980s, within the framework of the artist fan clubs which had no parallel anywhere else in the country. The study demonstrates the specifics of American and British rock fandom in the given time and space and challenges the long-held narrative about the supremacy of the political functions of rock behind the Iron Curtain.