The Beatmen were formed in 1964 by Peter Petro (drums), Miroslav Bedrik (guitar), and Marián Bednár (bass). They took on lead guitarist Stano Herko, who left after only a brief stint with the band. His replacement was
Dežo Ursiny. In 1965, they released two singles, containing two songs each, which proved popular in Czechoslovakia. In 1966, they were the first Eastern European band to play outside the
Eastern Bloc, when they performed in
Munich,
West Germany. The same year, they opened for the English rock band
Manfred Mann in Bratislava. Apart from their official singles, the Beatmen recorded at least five other songs. These remained unreleased until 1997 and 2000, when they were included on Dežo Ursiny's compilation albums
Pevniny a vrchy and
Pevniny a vrchy 2. They are "Walkin' Home", "Hey Mr. Jones", "Schôdzka" (Slovak name, English lyrics), "Mám ju rád" (cover of
the Beatles' "
She Loves You" with Slovak lyrics), and "Keby som bol Nór" (Slovak lyrics). ==Band members==