Biography

Pavel Zajíček (born 15 April 1951, in Prague) is a Czech poet and musician. In 1973, he founded the experimental band DG 307 (named after the code for the psychiatric diagnosis that would exempt young men from compulsory military service) together with bassist Milan Hlavsa. The band was persecuted by the communist regime at the time, turning Zajíček (or "Pavel Z.") into one of the prominent figures in the Czech underground scene during the 1970s. In 1980, he emigrated from Czechoslovakia and lived in Sweden, and later in the United States. After the Velvet Revolution he returned to Czechoslovakia, where he played with the restored DG 307.

His lyrics were also used in recordings by the Plastic People of the Universe (for example "Apokalyptickej pták" from Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned). In 2014 he received the Revolver Revue award. He also starred in the Czech comedy film Buttoners. In 2007 he released a solo album, Kakofonie cesty. His theater piece Pustina (The Waste Land) premiered in 2014, in which he also played a major role.

In recent years a series of strokes has left him incapacitated; since he hasn't sufficiently

contributed to his health insurance, neither in exile, nor in the Czech Republic he doesn't qualify for standard health insurance coverage - a charity foundation (Charon) has been founded to solicit donations to support him.