František Horáček, a prominent figure in the Czech underground music scene known as Jim Čert, has died at the age of 69, according to announcements made Wednesday on social media by historian Petr Blažek and priest Ladislav Heryán.
Čert rose to prominence in the 1980s Czech unofficial music scene, performing both stark songs and gentler ballads influenced by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the poetry of Bohuslav Reynek. His death comes just weeks before his 70th birthday, on February 25th, as noted by Heryán in his Facebook post. “Today we lost Jim Čert. We loved each other, and so we can look forward to seeing each other again,” Heryán wrote.
Although, Horáček’s reputation was significantly tarnished after the Velvet Revolution with the revelation that he had been an informant for the communist-era State Security (StB) for a number of years. Details of his collaborative relationship with the secret police were publicly debated for years, leading Horáček to issue a letter of apology to Czech media in 2007, according to reporting by CNN Prima News, and Blesk.cz.
Historian Blažek, also announcing the news on Facebook, described Horáček as a “great musician” who was deeply troubled by his past collaboration with the StB. “May the Lord watch over his soul. My sincere condolences to his family,” Blažek stated.
The extent and duration of Horáček’s involvement with the StB remained a contentious issue, with questions surrounding the completeness of archived records. The opening of StB files in the years following the fall of communism revealed the names of numerous individuals who had collaborated with the secret police, including figures from the arts and religious communities, as reported by INFO.cz.
In his 2007 apology, Horáček acknowledged his failings, stating, “What happened cannot be undone. I can never make up for what I have done. Nevertheless, believe that I am trying to make amends every day,” as recalled by Blažek.
