Maanam (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

for respect or dignity) was a Polish rock band.

History

Maanam was formed by

Marek Jackowski Marek Norbert Jackowski (December 11, 1946 – May 18, 2013) was a Polish rock musician, best known as a member of the rock band Maanam Maanam (Tamil for respect or dignity) was a Polish rock band. History Maanam was formed by Marek Jackowski ...

and Milo Kurtis in 1975 as guitar band M-a-M. In 1976 the band was joined by guitar player John Porter and by Kora (

Olga Jackowska Olga Aleksandra Sipowicz (née Ostrowska; 8 June 1951 – 28 July 2018), also known by the mononym of Kora, was a Polish rock vocalist and songwriter. She was the lead singer of the rock band Maanam from 1976 to 2008. Jackowska also provided ...

) - Jackowski's wife. When Kurtis left, the band changed its name to Maanam Elektryczny Prysznic (Maanam Electric Shower). Originally an acoustic outfit, the band went electric in 1980, and since then has recorded some of Poland's best-selling

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and albums over the past 25 years. During the first half of the 1980s, Maanam featured an energetic, guitar-driven

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

sound. Kora's vocal gymnastics were typical of the iconoclastic international female pop vocalists of the time, and showcased the consonant-laden

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 ...

as one perfectly suited to rock sounds. In 1988, Maanam's "Sie ściemnia" became the first Polish music video to air on the international

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. Maanam's sound in the 1980s could be considered a cross between

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Blondie. In the 1990s, Maanam acquired a more melodic, but equally catchy, sound. In 2007, Marek and Olga (Kora) announced the suspension of the band for an indefinite time. The two later performed with other musicians. Guitarist

Janusz Iwański Janusz Henryk Iwański, best known as Yanina, (April 22, 1956 in Częstochowa) is a Polish jazz and rock guitarist, composer, songwriter and vocalist. He has performed with the groups Tie Break, Soyka Yanina, and Maanam. Since 2007 he has been pl ...

played with the group for a time. Their former lead singer,

, died from cancer on 28 July 2018 at the age of 67.

Discography

References

External links

Maanam
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Official home page
1976 establishments in Poland 2007 disestablishments in Poland Polish rock music groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 {{Poland-band-stub