Mietek Ostapko sings POSK 1970s

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Created on Friday, 23 March 2012 14:41

Written by George Matlock

If you visited POSK in Hammersmith, London, in the 1970s, you will know that one of the singers of that era in the largest Polish cultural centre in the UK was Mieczyslaw Ostapko. What you may not know is that he was my uncle. Mietek, whose professional life was very fulfilled as a senior financial official at London Transport after starting out as a Central Line tube conductor in the 1950s, also had a successful singing career in Polonia circles.

Mietek passed away in February 2010, and I promised to pay tribute to him. A chance discovery of 1970s cassettes spawned the perfect tribute. After restoring the poor tapes, we are now able to share some of their content with the general public exclusively on ORLA.fm.

In the following players you will hear live performance from Sala Malinowa, Sala Teatralna, and Warsowia Restaurant, the predecessor to Lowiczanka on the first floor of POSK.

Among those with whom Mietek performed were Irena Delmar, Jerzy Grupa, Danuta Darska, and Barbara Dulembina, who was also related to my family. In the following performance you will also hear compere Kazimierz Grocholski from Radio Free Europe and whom I briefly met at a POSK New Year party in 1989-90.

Despite endeavours, the audio quality cannot do justice to the performances you hear but we hope you still enjoy this rare archive material as much as I did.

-- George Matlock, Director, ORLA.fm

POSK Konkurs Piosenek c. 1977. ft. Grocholski, Ostapkos, Delmar, Darska

Szkarlatny Poemat, Cyganskie drzewo, Serce wloczegi, Una chiquitta, Mambo, Jerzy Grupa

Danuta Darska

Wspomni Mnie by Mietel Ostapko

Krapacka Brygada, Rozkaz Andersa, Idziemy w Boj

Czerwone Maki pod Monte Cassino

Wilno Lwow. pianist Barbara Dulembina

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