Yo Yo Band is a Czech band from Prague formed in 1975 by Richard Tesaà ÂÃÂk, VladimÃÂr Tesaà ÂÃÂk, Ondà Âej Hejma, and Julius Novotný Kuzma. The group achieved the peak of its success in the 1990s, with such hits as "Karviná", "Jedem do Afriky", "RybitvÃÂ", and "Kladno".
In 1975, brothers Richard and VladimÃÂr Tesaà ÂÃÂk, together with Ondà Âej Hejma and Julius Novotný-Kuzma, formed Yo Yo Band as a vocal quartet in Prague, and began by playing soul and gospel songs. They remained in this formation until 1980, when Novotný-Kuzma was replaced by Jindà Âich MalÃÂk and LudÃÂk Walter took the place of Hejma. They had an accompanying band for a while, which included Miroslav Linhart on guitar, and they adopted a reggae style into their musical repertoire. Yo Yo Band's collaboration with their backing ensemble ended in 1983, though Linhart remained as a new member, making the group a quintet.
In 1984, Yo Yo Band became a trio consisting of the Tesaà ÂÃÂk brothers and Miroslav Linhart. They began to write more original songs, with reggae and Latin influences. They soon added trumpeter Roman BobÃÂk Kubát. In 1986, Iranian-born physician-cum-musician Imran Musa Zangi joined the band as percussionist. They recorded their debut album, Velbloud, ten se má..., and released it the following year. New members were added, in the form of Jan Mann (congas, percussion) and Jià ÂÃ à  ÃÂma (saxophone, keyboards, vocals).
Yo Yo Band released their second album, Do baÃÂkor ne..., in 1988, and opened for English reggae-pop band UB40 at their concert in Prague the same year. In 1989, they toured Czechoslovakia with Danish reggae band Bushbeater, and travelled with them to a music festival in Aalborg, Denmark, the following year. Also in 1990, they released their third album, titled Lehkou chà ¯zÃÂ, which spawned one of their most popular singles, "Kladno", a song with a distinctly Latin flavour. The band's fourth album, Karviná, released in 1993, became their most successful, and gained a large amount of airplay in the Czech Republic. Karviná was nominated in four categories at the 1994 AndÃÂl Awards and won three of them â Composition of the Year ("RybitvÃÂ"), Album of the Year, and Band of the Year. The album was also certified Platinum for the sale of 130,000 copies. At this point, Zangi and Mann left the band. In 1995, Yo Yo Band added drummer Pavel RazÃÂm and bass player Peter PavlÃÂk, and released their fifth album, Jenom kouà Â, which included another big hit, "Jedem do Afriky".
In 1997, Yo Yo Band released their next album, Gejza. Additionally, a book about the band, titled Yo Yo Band: národnàumÃÂlci s ÃÂernou muzikou, was published by author Kazi Jà ¯zová. In 1999, the Tesaà ÂÃÂk brothers took a break from Yo Yo Band to focus on other projects. They released an album as a duo, titled Plavu si, ani nevÃÂm jak, made guest appearances on a number of albums by other artists, including Laura a jejàtygà Âi, Sto zvÃÂà Âat, and Lucie, and performed as gravediggers in the Janek Ledecký opera Hamlet. A year later, as a trio with Jindà Âich MalÃÂk, they released the album Soul.
In 2001, Yo Yo Band released the record Souboj na kuchyà Âský noà ¾e, their latest album of original material to date. Two years later, founding member VladimÃÂr Tesaà ÂÃÂk died from injuries sustained after a bicycle accident, at the age of 55. Trombonist and percussionist Jan à  atra joined the band in 2004. Two years later, bassist Peter PavlÃÂk left and was replaced by Václav Venor Novotný. In 2018, trumpeter Roman BobÃÂk Kubát left to join the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and was replaced by Roman NÃÂmec.
Current
Past
Studio albums
Compilations
Other albums