Written by: Monika Mudranincová

Photo: Petr Poliak

Once a rock musician renowned for the hit “Kolej Yesterday”, he couldn’t resist the lure of politics during the early nineties. No longer a state official, he has finally become satisfied as the host of his own talk show.

“THESE DAYS, I perform concerts about 12 to 15 times a year purely for the fun of it,” says Michal Prokop (56), former front man for the rock group Framus Five, who lived through the golden sixties, and the period of normalization, in a swirl of soul and rhythm & blues.
A graduate of the Institute of Economics and of the Philosophy Department, he flung himself into politics in 1989, after 23 years of being a musician. He stayed in politics for a full eight years – twice in the function of chairman of Parliamentary committees, then as the Deputy Minister of Culture (1992-1995) and finally as Director of the publicly beneficial event Prague-European City of Culture 2000. “Sonny Bono – Cher’s husband, was a senator too,” he says, rejecting any notion that the work of an official is boring. “I had a feeling that I had done everything in music already, and although I was no dissident, I perceived the post-revolution political engagement as an opportunity to try something I had been dreaming and singing about,” explains the former member of ODA.
Presently, Prokop is not involved in politics, although he has had offers, such as a seat in the Senate. He has turned down these offers, saying he is quite satisfied with what he is doing. As host of the television talk show “Krásný ztráty” (Beautiful Losses), every week he invites two notable public figures to “a bar called Beautiful Losses”, to discuss their professions and society in general. “This program is a great pleasure for me, and I highly value the opportunity to speak with interesting people. In America, people consider it an honor to be a guest on Larry King, and one day I hope every interesting personality would wish to be a guest on my show,” Prokop says.
An officer of the French Republic Order of Art and Literature, he was recently named a member of the Czech Radio Council, though he admits that he has not written a single note for the past twelve years. Still, those who have seen him playing live recently can confirm that his years as an official haven’t diminished his vigor and that he is still able to dazzle on stage. odpovídá.