Nalepa Tadeusz, *26 August 1943 Zgłobień (near Rzeszów), †4 March 2007 Warsaw, Polish guitarist, vocalist, composer, songwriter. He took piano and violin lessons as a child. He made his debut, performing in duet with Mira Kubasińska, at the Festival of Young Talents in Szczecin in 1963. He then collaborated with the Porfirion cabaret in Rzeszów. In 1965, he formed the band Blackout, with Stan Borys as vocalist. The group was mainly known for its expressive protest songs, the most popular of which were Te bomby lecą na nasz dom, Anna (1966) and Studnia bez wody (1967). In 1968, Nalepa formed the rock band Breakout. The band represented an original heavy sound based on the tradition of blues, psychedelic, and hard rock music. The main core of the Blackout and Breakout bands’ repertoire consisted of compositions by the artistic tandem Tadeusz Nalepa and Bogdan Loebel. In 1969, the band Breakout received a special award at the 7th National Festival of Polish Song in Opole. Albums which Nalepa recorded with Breakout are, e.g., Na drugim brzegu tęczy (with W. Nahorny and J. Skrzek, in 1969), 70a (1970), Blues (1971), Karate (1972) and Kamienie (1974). In 1982, at the Rawa Blues Festival in Zabrze, Nalepa performed for the first time as a soloist, then toured extensively, recorded albums, and collaborated with bands, such as, Dżem, Kciuk-Surzyn Band and After Blues. At the XXIX Sopot Festival in 1992, he received the Bursztynowy Słowik Award for lifetime achievement. Nalepa’s most popular compositions are: Gdybyś kochał, hej! (1969), Kiedy byłem małym chłopcem (1971), Rzeka dzieciństwa (1972), Modlitwa (1974), To mój blues (1990), Nie można kochać na rozkaz (1992). He was the creator of the music for the film Śmierć dziecioroba (directed by W. Nowak, 1992). The extended interview, conducted by W. Królikowski, was published under the title Breakout. Absolutnie (Warsaw 1993). Nalepa’s latest albums: Flamenco i Blues (1996), Zerwany film (1999).
