Filipinki were the first Polish all-girl vocal group and also Poland's leading female band of the 1960s.[1][2][3]

Filipinki
Filipinki in the Polish movie The Navy is a Men's Adventure (1966)
Filipinki in the Polish movie
The Navy is a Men's Adventure (1966)
Background information
OriginSzczecin, Poland
GenresPop, jazz, doo-wop, beat, rock, psychedelic pop
Years active1959–1974
Labels
Past members

Career

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Filipinki were founded in October 1959 at an economic college in Szczecin and became popular in Poland through exposure at music festivals and other events during the years that followed. They named themselves after popular teen girl magazine Filipinka.[4]

By 1963, they were well-established but the big breakthrough came with their Wala Twist,[5] a playful song celebrating female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who became the first woman into space aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. Wala Twist quickly became a hit in Poland and the Soviet Union. In the same year Filipinki released their first EP vinyl record in the Soviet Union and two more EPs in Poland. Just in 1964 their Polish EPs sold over 704,740 copies (N-0298: 353,240 copies and N-0299: 351,500 copies).[6] The group became extremely popular both domestically and in all countries of the Eastern Bloc,[7][8] becoming one of the first teen musicians acts to appear regularly on Polish, Soviet Union and GDR television programs. In the mid-1960s they were called The Beatles Girls by Polish media.[9]

In 1965, Filipinki became first Eastern Bloc young musicians to tour overseas, in Canada and the United States.[10] They performed concerts, among others, in the cities: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore. They returned to America in 1966 for the next three-month tour. Filipinki also released three vinyl records in Canada and the US; two LPs and one EP.[11]

In 1968, Filipinki reduced the group from seven to five vocalists, changed their image and revamped as a rock band.[12]

The group disbanded in November 1974 after a 15-year run. Their success[13] made it possible for future Polish teenage musicians and girl bands to find mainstream success.

Discography

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Format Year Country Title Record Label
LP 1965 Poland Rozśpiewani rówieśnicy
(Teenagers Songs)
Polskie Nagrania Muza L0454
USA Piosenka nie zna granic
(Music Has No Bounds)
Melodia Record Co. LPM1025
1966 Poland Filipinki - to my
(We Are Filipinki Girls)
Polskie Nagrania Muza XL0323
USA Filipinki with orchestra under J. Janikowski
in their Top 16 Hits. A Polish A GO-GO
Bruno Records BR10214L
EP 1963 USSR Filipinki Melodiya PD 33GD 00881
1964 Poland Wala Twist Polskie Nagrania Muza N0298
Filipinki to my
(We Are Filipinki Girls)
Polskie Nagrania Muza N0299
1965 Poland Tarap tarap Pronit N0361
USA Filipinki Radio Request Records M-40
1968 Poland Nie ma go
(He Isn't Here)
Polskie Nagrania Muza N0529
Kolędy śpiewają Filipinki
(Christmas Carol by Filipinki)
Veriton V350
1969 Poland Wiosna majem wróci
(Spring Will Return in May)
Pronit N0572
1971 Poland Ja się w tobie nie zakocham
(I Will Not Fall in Love With You)
Polskie Nagrania Muza N0653
SP 1966 Poland Serwus, panie chief
(Hello Mr. Chief)
Polskie Nagrania Muza SP251
1965 USSR Батуми (Batumi)
Мы Филипинки (orig. Filipinki - to my = We Are Filipinki Girls)
Melodiya 0044573/0044574
Валентина (orig. Wala Twist = Valentina Twist)
Пити-пити (Pity, pity)
Melodiya 0044575/0044576
1967 USSR Tylko raz
(Just Once)
Melodiya 0045419
1971 Poland Królewski Zamek
(King's Castle)
Polskie Nagrania Muza SP357
Cardboard
record

(official)
1966 Poland Filipinki i Chochoły: Znajdź sobie dziewczynę
(Find Yourself a Girlfriend)
Ruch R0030
Serwus, panie Chief
(Hello Mr. Chief)
Ruch R0036
1969 Poland Wiosna majem wróci
(Spring Will Return in May)
Polskie Nagrania Muza KP137
1971 Poland Królewski zamek
(King's Castle)
Ruch R0315
Greatest Hits 1993 Poland Filipinki - największe przeboje Polskie Nagrania Edition Ltd. ECD 018
2003 Poland Filipinki - to my Polskie Nagrania Muza PNCD 540
2004 Poland Platynowa kolekcja. Filipinki. Złote przeboje GM Records 222 005-2
2005 Poland Platynowa kolekcja. Filipinki - nasze złote przeboje Media Way Sp. z o.o. 2-0020
2008 Poland Z archiwum Polskiego Radia vol. 4. Filipinki. Nagrania radiowe z lat 1963-1972 Polskie Radio SA PRCD 1078-79
2010 Poland Filipinki Polskie Nagrania Muza PNCD 1339
2012 Poland Złote lata polskiej piosenki. Filipinki Gazeta Wyborcza, Agora SA
2013 Poland Filipinki - to my! niepublikowane nagrania z lat 1962-1971 Latarnik/AS AS01
2014 Poland Złota kolekcja. Filipinki. Batumi. Własny świat Warner Music Poland 08256 4 61914 8 2

[14]

Bibliography

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Promotional poster for Filipinki Boys Are Liars Tour (from January till June 1970)

In November 2013, a biography of the band by Marcin Szczygielski entitled We are Filipinki! Illustrated History of First Polish Girlsband (ISBN 978-83-2681277-4) was released in Poland.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Pierwszy girlsband w Europie ma 50 lat!" (in Polish). TVP Info. 25 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Filipinki – pierwszy polski, a może i europejski girlsband w historii" (in Polish). Dziennik.pl. 18 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Filipinki i rockowa rewolta" (in Polish). Newsweek Polska. 4 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Filipinki" (in Polish). Polish Radio Three. 6 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Filipinki: Wala-Twist". Eastern Bloc Songs. 17 May 2011.
  6. ^ "The Strange Case of the Chart Records That Don't Sell!". Billboard. 20 April 1974.
  7. ^ "7 girls from Szczecin", The Moscow News, No 12 (847), 25 March 1967
  8. ^ Ivanov, V. (March 1967), "Filipinki", Krugozor, No 3, p. 17
  9. ^ "Filipinki" (in Polish). Warner Music Poland. November 2014.
  10. ^ "Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. 23 October 1965.
  11. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 7 May 1966.
  12. ^ "Filipinki: Nie Ma Go". Eastern Bloc Songs. 25 July 2012.
  13. ^ "From The Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. 14 November 1970.
  14. ^ "Filipinki". Discogs.com.
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