Life story
Dežo Ursiny was born in Bratislava. While still a student at an industrial school, he became the leader of the band The Beatmen at the end of 1964, which was among the finest that emerged in Czechoslovak rock music at that time. In spring 1966, the band performed in Munich and opened for Manfred Mann in the Bratislava sports hall; that same year it disbanded when most members emigrated.
Then came The Soulmen, and from 1970 onwards a collaboration with pianist Jaroslav Filip that lasted until the end. In 1974 he met poet Ivan Štrpka, and from the album Pevnina detstva one of the most enduring songwriting partnerships in Slovak music was born — Ursiny's music and Štrpka's lyrics.
Besides music, he worked for nearly twenty years as a dramaturg for short films at the studio on Koliba and also directed documentaries himself. In 1989 he was diagnosed with cancer; two years later he made the film O rakovine a nádeji. His last studio album Príbeh was released in 1994.
He died on May 2, 1995 in his apartment in Bratislava-Dúbravka. In 2021 he was posthumously awarded the Pribina Cross.
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.