Bayer Full is one of the most popular
disco polo
Disco polo is a genre of popular dance music, created in Poland in the 1980s, it was initially known as "sidewalk music" ()Anna KowalczyKrótka historia disco polo"Wiedza i Życie". Nr 9/1997. ( Polish) or "backyard music" ('). This genre, bei ...
bands from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. It was founded in 1984 by . As of 2013, they have sold 16.5 million records since their inception.
Meaning of the name
The name of the group is slang expression and could be translated as "tommyrot" or "poppycock".
Discography
* 'Blondyneczka' – 'Little Blonde' – 1992
* 'Wakacyjna Dziewczyna' – 'Holiday Girl' – 1993
* 'Kolorowe Oczy' – 'Colourful Eyes – 1994
* 'Legenda Bayer Full' – The collection of 5
radio cassettes – 1998
* 'Od Biesiady do Wesela – Wiatr Miłości' – "From Feast to Wedding – The Wind of Love' – 1998
* 'Biesiada Turystyczna – Gdzie ta Keja' – "Tourist Feast – Where's The
Quayside
The Quayside is an area along the banks ( quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne (the north bank) and Gateshead (south bank) in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom.
History
The area was once an industrial area and busy co ...
' 1999
* 'Bayer Full – czyste melodyjne brzmienie 1984 – 1999' – "Bayer Full – Pure Melodious Sound 1984 – 1999' – 2000
* 'Album Weselny' – 'The Wedding Album' – 2000
* 'Album Świąteczny' – 'The Christmas Album' – 2000
* 'Przeboje dancingowe – pierwsza godzina zabawy' – 'Dancing-party Hits – The First Hour of Fun' – 2001
* 'Ty Polsko wiesz' – 'You, Poland, Know" – 2002
* 'Złote przeboje 1994 – 2005 – 20 lat biesiady Bayer Full' – 'Goldies 1994–2005 – 20 Years of Bayer Full's Feast' – 2005
* 'Baw się razem z nami' – 'Play With Us' – 2006
Singles
* 'Majteczki w kropeczki' – 'Polka Dot Panties'
* 'Blondyneczka' – 'Little Blonde Girl' - based on the melody of
Soleado
* 'Moja muzyka' – 'My Music'
Controversy
In 2010, a Polish news correspondent living in
China named Krzysztof Darewicz intended promoting Polish music at the
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...
held in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, China.
Darewicz was approached by Bayer Full's frontman , who convinced him to partner with Bayer Full.
Darewicz was originally against the idea, stating that since the
disco polo
Disco polo is a genre of popular dance music, created in Poland in the 1980s, it was initially known as "sidewalk music" ()Anna KowalczyKrótka historia disco polo"Wiedza i Życie". Nr 9/1997. ( Polish) or "backyard music" ('). This genre, bei ...
genre had been considered dated in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
by the time of this engagement, he wanted to contract a young
boy band instead.
Nevertheless, Darewicz agreed to write
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
versions of some of Bayer Full's songs, and adapt them to the Chinese market.
These songs were used as promotional materials for Chinese television networks, and for Bayer Full's concerts, but were never released as an album.
Before even departing to China, Świerzyński began speaking about the band's ventures to the Polish media, claiming that the band had received an order for 67 million records,
which was proven to be false.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ybQiA9e1A Dokumentalny - Miliard szczęśliwych ludzi (Bayer Full)
] Shortly after the band's trip to China, they performed a concert in
Wólka Kosowska for a delegation from the Chinese embassy in Poland, but were found to be
lip-syncing
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...
their songs' Chinese lyrics.
The following year, Bayer Full released their Chinese language recordings as an album to be sold in Poland, and did not credit Darewicz in any way.
Świerzyński denied that an album was released, instead suggesting the band simply partnered with a Polish website to released the songs as
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
files, which the involved website denied.
In 2013, another eight Chinese language songs were released as MP3 files by the Polish firm
Empik
Empik (stylised as empi̓k) is a Polish commercial chain selling books, international press and media products (including film, music, and software). The chain also owns a photo company, Empik Foto, as well as a foreign language school, Empik Sch ...
, again without crediting Darewicz.
Świerzyński denied that the band signed a contract with Empik, which Empik disputed.
In a January 2013 interview with the Polish newspaper , Świerzyński disputed Darewicz's account of events, claiming instead that after he left a couple of
CDs at a hotel in Hong Kong, a Chinese radio producer found the CDs and requested the band come to China perform in Chinese.
Świerzyński claims that after a failed attempt to write and perform
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
versions of various Chinese songs, he personally worked on translating the band's songs into Chinese for an entire year.
He reported that he was treated like "the Tsar's child" in China.
He also claimed that the reason why Bayer Full had not been invited to the
National Festival of Polish Song in Opole
The National Festival of Polish Song in Opole ( pl, Krajowy Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Opolu, KFPP) is an annual music festival in Opole, Poland. Together with the Sopot Festival it is one of the two most important music festivals in Poland. The ...
and the
Sopot International Song Festival
The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...
was due to the organizers were "afraid" that the band would overshadow others.
In March 2021, Krzysztof Darewicz vowed to sue the band, claiming authorship over their Chinese language songs.
Świerzyński disputes this, stating that Darewicz merely translated the songs, and cannot claim authorship.
However, Darewicz claims that the songs were not merely translated, but further adapted to suit Chinese audiences, enabling him to claim authorship of the songs.
References
External links
bayerfull.pl– band's homepage – (Polish)
Polish musical groups
{{Poland-band-stub