The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a rock band from Prague, Czech Republic. It was the foremost representative of Prague's underground culture (1968–1989). This avant-garde group went against the grain of the Communist regime and due to its non-conformism often suffered serious problems such as arrests. The group continues to perform even after the death of the founder, main composer and bass player, Milan "Mejla" Hlavsa.
Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned is an album by Czech underground band The Plastic People of the Universe. It was recorded in 1974/75, mainly at Houska Castle, enabled by the castle's then warden Svatopluk Karásek, with some songs being recorded in Prague. The album could not be officially released and distributed under the former Communist regime in Czechoslovakia; instead fans duplicated tapes with one another, often resulting in poor technical quality. It was released in 1978 in France by SCOPA Invisible Production. In the Czech Republic a remastered version was published in 2001 by Globus Music. The album title is a parody of the The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Most of the songs on the record are settings of poems by Egon Bondy.
Personnel Milan Hlavsa – bass guitar, vocals Josef Janíček – claviphone, guitar, vibraphone, vocals Jiří Kabeš – violin, vocals Vratislav Brabenec – alt saxophone Jiří Šula – drums Jaroslav Vožniak – drums Vasil Šnajdr – flute Zdeněk Fišer – theremin
