First Engagements
Born Gustav Frkal, his and the band's first professional engagement was in June 1940 in the Radhošť Hotel in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. Shortly after World War II, Brom's band performed in Brno and Bratislava and also for several months in 1947 in Switzerland. The other top big band leaders in Prague at this time were Karel Vlach, Prof. Ladislav Habart, and Kamil Běhounek.
Brom triumphed in 1955 at the Leipzig Fair, in the former East Germany, winning accolades for his outstanding arrangements and the band for their wonderful playing and swinging feel. A typical Brom band lineup from this period was G. Brom, J.Hnilička, L.Hulan, S.Veselý, J.Kulíšek, J.Audes, O.Bláha, Z.Novák, A.Šmíd, B.Horák, J.Pelc, J.Bláha, M.Bártek, G.Brom ml., Karel Krautgartner, Milan Rezabek (bass) and J.Formánek.
The 1950s also saw Brom signed with Supraphon in Prague, recording and arranging prolifically with many guest artists including British singer Gery Scott, German pianist Igo Fischer, Czech singers Karel Gott, Helena Vondráčková and Hana and Petr Ulrych (aka Ulrychovi) and Greek sisters Tena and Martha Elefteriadu.
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