Elán is a Slovak pop-rock

Pop rock

Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...

 band, founded in 1969 by Jožo Ráž

Jozef Ráž

Jozef or Jožo Ráž is a Slovak singer.Ráž is co-founder of the Slovak rock music band Elán. He was born in Bratislava...

, Juraj Farkaš, Vašo Patejdl

Václav Patejdl

Vašo Patejdl born Václav Patejdl is a Slovak musician, singer, and composer.He is a founding member of the legendary band Elán.- Selected works :Musicals...

 and Zdeno Baláž. It became one of the most popular Czechoslovak

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 bands during the 1980s. In 1993, the group represented Slovakia in the preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 but having finished in fourth place, failed to qualify for the finals in Ireland. Elán's status in the 2000s is that of Slovakia's most successful pop group of all time; it may be the only Slovak music act consistently capable of selling out stadiums for their live performances. The biggest such concert took place in Prague, Czech Republic, in September 2003, in front of an audience of 70 thousand fans. They performed at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec

Liberec

Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 as part of the championships' entertainment festivities.

Band members

1969 - 1980

Various line-ups around Jožo Ráž, Juraj Farkaš and Vašo Patejdl

1980 - 1985

Jožo Ráž - bass, vocals

Ján Baláž - guitars, vocals

Vašo Patejdl - keyboards, vocals

Juraj Farkaš - solo guitar, vocals

Zdeno Baláž - drums

1985 - 1989

Jožo Ráž - bass, vocals

Jano Baláž - solo guitar, vocals

Martin Karvaš - keyboards

Gabo Szabó - drums

Vašo Patejdl - keyboards, vocals

1991 - 2001

Jožo Ráž - bass, vocals

Jano Baláž - solo guitar, vocals

Peter Farnbauer - guitar, keyboards, vocals

Ľubo Horňák - keyboards

Vašo Patejdl - keyboards, vocals

Juraj Kuchárek - drums

Discography

• Ôsmy svetadiel (1981) (The Eighth Continent)
• Nie sme zlí (1982) (We aren't Bad)
• Kamikadze lover (1982)
• Elán 3 (1983)
• Nightshift (1984)
• Hodina slovenčiny (1985) (Lesson of Slovak)
• Schoolparty (1985)
• Detektívka (1986) (Whodunit)
• Missing (1987)
• Neviem byť sám (1987) (I don't know how to be alone)
• Nebezpečný náklad (1988) (The Dangerous Burden)
• Rabaka (1989)
• Midnight in the city (1989)
• Netvor z čiernej hviezdy Q7A (1991) (The Beast from Black Star Q7A)
• Legenda 1 (1992) (Legend 1)
• Legenda 2 (1992) (Legend 2)
• Hodina angličtiny (1994) (Lesson of English)
• Hodina nehy (1995) (Lesson of tenderness)
• Classic (1997)
• Hodina pravdy (1997) (Lesson of truth)
• Legenda 3 (1997) (Legend 3)
• Legenda 4 (1998) (Legend 4)
• Elán Unplugged (1998; 2 CD)
• Jožo… (1999; 2 CD) (Joseph)
• Láska je stvorená (2000) (Love is created)
• Legenda 5 - Posledná… (2000) (Legend 5 - The Last...)
• Neviem byť sám 2001: roky a rock (2001) (I don't know how to be alone)
• Otázniky/Všetko čo máš (2001) (Questions/All You Have)
• Elán 3000 (2002)
• Tretie oko (2003) (Third Eye)
• Elán: Megakoncert (2004)
• Unplugged Carnegie Hall NY (2007)
• Anjelská daň (2010) (Angel's tax)