A famous singer and at the same time … The iconic Gombit was not accepted to the conservatory! – Topky.sk

Marika Gombitová was born on September 12, 1956 in the village of Turany nad Ondavou. She has been in touch with music since childhood. Her father played the piano and the violin, and she herself attended the Folk Art School. At the age of twelve, she became a member of her brothers’ band.

Since she was not accepted to study at the conservatory, she studied mechanical engineering in Košice. Already in this period she began to accompany a group called Profiles (1971 – 1973).

However, the turning point for the singer was a meeting with Ján Lehotský at the ball of athletes, where he approached her to join the group Modus, where she joined in 1976. Initially, she worked as a vocalist and bong player. In 1977, Modus won with the song Smile on the Bratislava Lyre. A year later, the young singer won first place at this festival with the song Student Love.

She won the silver medal in 1979 with the legendary ballad Vyznanie, which was textured by Kamil Peteraj and composed by Ján Lehotský. In the same year she recorded her debut studio album Girl in the Rain. With Lehotský, Gombitová won the bronze Bratislava Lyre (1980) for the duet The Secret of Games.

At the beginning of the eighties, Gombitová starred in the television musical Don’t Take Our Princess (1981) by Alta Vášová (the music was composed by Dežo Ursina, the lyrics were written by Ján Štrasser). Singer Miroslav Žbirka, Czech singer Marie Rottrová and actor Luděk Sobota also played in the musical.

Marika Gombit’s life was forever marked by a car accident on November 30, 1980. After a serious injury, the singer remained confined to a wheelchair. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, she presented herself as a guest singer at the Bratislava Lyre (1981) half a year after the accident.

In the 1980s, she released the albums My Little Story (1981) and The Sun Calendar (1982). The singer was determined to continue performing. The double album Coins at the Bottom of the Fountains (1983) brought her the Golden Coat of Arms of Opus for the best recording of the year.

At the same time, the musician left Modus and went on a solo career. A year later, she pleased the fans with a record No.5. This was followed by the albums Free Space in the Heart (1986) and Atelier of the Soul (1987). It also features the song Unknown Couple, which she recorded with Karl Gott.

Gombit’s most famous hits from this period of the century include In Dead Ends (with Miroslav Žbirk), The Land of Miracles, Man Zero, Earth Named Love, Address Me, You Address, Boys in a Trap, Right Girls, In the Rainy Season and the Colosseum.

In May 1989, singer and composer Stevie Wonder gave a concert in Bratislava. Gombit sang at the party, where the acclaimed musician held a jam session. Song Where do people go? from the album of the same name, which was created together with Andrej Šeban (1990), she dedicated it to this famous American musician.

The album Zostaň was released in 1994. Two years later, it won the Grand Prix of the Association of Authors and Performers for its lifelong contribution and development of Slovak popular music. The 1990s are represented by songs such as Babylonia, Two, Fragments of Memories (a tribute to Chinese poetry), Paradiso, Stay, Mom, where are you?

In 2000, she composed and lyrics the song Prosba. The duets with Miroslav Žbirk Let’s Don’t Sleep Beautifully in Us (2001) and Tajnosľubná (2005) were also a great success. In 2007, she sang the song So I Wanted to Love Everyone (the original name Blow My Breath) from the musical Adam Šangala.

She recorded the title track That Story Behind Our Dream for the fairy tale Seven Sick Brothers (2015). She also appeared on Mira Žbirka’s Road to Abbey Road tour (2016) and on the occasion of her 60th birthday she performed at a gala concert, which was attended by other performers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In January 2018, Marika Gombitová received the Pribin’s Cross of the 1st Class award and also received the Grand Prize of SOZA (Slovak Copyright Protection Association) for her life’s work. Marika Gombitová and producer and DJ Robert Burian delighted fans this year with a remix of the song In the Rain Season. In May next year, the singer will perform at concerts called Confessions of Marika Gombitová.

1 thought on “A famous singer and at the same time … The iconic Gombit was not accepted to the conservatory! – Topky.sk”