At the beginning of March, the Elán group published in which Jožo Ráž (71) announced that the definitive end had come, although in recent years it might have looked like they were planning a tour. “The thing with those shows is that I often go on stage half-dead, but once I’m in front of 10,000 fans, I suddenly have the energy to do everything. I give my best and I get what I want,” he said.
A lyricist also inevitably belongs to the group Boris Filan (76), who for revealed his thoughts on the full stop behind this spectacular chapter. “As for the end, as I said before, knowing when to stop is an art. Jožo would probably want to, but the band always somehow convinces him, which I completely disagree with, but on the other hand, if there is interest in it and money is pouring in, it is legitimate,” thinks Filan.
Jož Ráž, who can seem arrogant to many people, did not miss this one, but the well-known writer and lyricist refuted this impression. “Jožo is completely different in private – extremely sensitive, perceptive and self-sacrificing, and always thinks of everyone at every moment,” explained Filan, adding that there is a lot of pressure on Ráž as a leader. “In addition, he has a very difficult time. To climb on stage in front of the animal called an audience of 10 thousand and not give him the ‘meat’ he wants, he will be eaten. He leaves his soul on the stage and the others ride by him and get the money.” he finished.
Boris Filan was born on June 30, 1949 in Bratislava. His father, Ľudovít Filan, was one of the leading Slovak directors and screenwriters of the 1960s and 1970s. He studied film and television dramaturgy and screenwriting at the University of Performing Arts in Bratislava. In the years 1973 – 1987, he worked as a dramaturg in the literary and entertainment editorial offices of Czechoslovak Television in Bratislava. He is the author of the scripts for the television comedies Briefcases directed by Karol Strážnický and Singers directed by Ľubomír Fifík.
He authored and presented the television talk show Gala by Boris Filan, the shows Ligapasáž and Cesta oko seba. He had his Three Monkeys talk show every Sunday at noon on Radio Okey. He regularly presents the show Pálenica on Slovak Radio. He belongs to the founders of modern songwriting. He wrote lyrics for the group Prúda, Pavel Hammel and especially for Elán. Many songs created thanks to Filan’s collaboration with Elán are among the hits – Even without money, Stužková, Slovak Lesson, I can’t be alone, Dancers from Lúčnice, Smrtka na Prague Astronomical Clock or Sister from Kramárov.
He is also the author of the script for the musical film Rabaka with the group Elán in the title role, which was filmed in 1989 by director Dušan Rapoš. He also collaborated with Elán on the release of the album Elán – Tretie oko, which was released on the occasion of the Elán group’s megaconcert in Prague in September 2003. From the repertoire of Pavel Hammel, the songs Čas malín or ZRPŠ, also with Filan’s texts, became popular. He wrote the lyrics to the song Dvaja for Rob Grigorov, contributed to the repertoire of the group Modus and Janko Lehotský with the lyrics to the song Veľký sen mora. He also published song lyrics in books in the collections Stray Dog, 69 Texts and Kamalásky.
He made his book debut as a novelist in 1991 with the collection of short stories Paternoster. In the same year, he published the fairy tale book Puki with artist Alan Lesyk. The short stories, features and occasional narrations, which were mostly heard in the Pálenica radio show by Boris Filan, were published by the bookshop under the title Ľubošova finta. In 2006, he presented himself with the novel Wewerka, which is the story of a girl looking for her father. Among Filan’s prose works is also the book Bratislava Cruelties.
He is also the author of the romance novel Klimt’s Kiss. The book PrešpoRock is a free continuation of Bratislava Cruelties. The third book of Bratislava stories is called Raba Suli. Bratislava III. He summarized unusual travel reports in many books such as Tam Tam, Tam Tam 2, Tam Tam 3, Night Tam Tam, Last Tam Tam or Tam Tam Plus. Among his travel books are the publications Down Under, The Secret of the Buddha’s Smile, As the Eye Went on a Tramp, The Art of Getting Lost, Conversation with a Tiger, Coffee by Fellini and ŠirokoĎaleko.
Collections of diverse texts are represented by the books After the Birds, Zábíjačka and other delights, or Hour of Humanity. He focused on his long-time friendship and shared experiences with the singer Jož Ráž in the book Cigars go to heaven.
Boris Filan is the recipient of many awards. In 1994, he received the Egon Erwin Kisch award for journalistic activity. In 2009, he won the Zlaté pero 2009 award for the most valuable original work with the book Dole vodou. The romance novel Klimt’s Kiss became the Book of the Year 2009. In January 2011, he became the laureate of the Crystal Wing for 2010 in the journalism and literature category for the book PrešpoRock. He received the SOZA Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2014. He is married to actress Ingrid Žirková and is the father of two sons.
