Robert Gawliński and Wilki – a popular band with many hit songs

‘Son of the blue sky’, ‘Baśka’, ‘Urke’ and many more. Wilki is one of the most popular Polish music bands. Its first songs were released in 1992. How is Wilki doing now – 32 years after the premiere of its debut album?

Robert Gawliński – Begining

June 1992 was a good period for Polish music. It was then that Robert Gawliński founded the music band Wilki, which plays in Polish homes to this day. However, during the formation of the band unexpectedly the bassist of Wilki, Adam Żwirski, died. It was a blow to the entire band, but it was supported by the musical section of Surzyn and Ścierański. Finally, the band’s lineup was formed. Wilki were: Mikis Cupas on guitar, Marcin Szyszko on drums, Marek Chrzanowski on bass and Michał Rollinger on keyboards. Its first album called ‘Wilki’ was a great success – also on the international stage. ‘Son of the blue sky’, or rather the video for this song, was one of the first Polish songs to be aired on MTV worldwide. It was also a popular hit of the year in various radio stations. The lyrics of this song were about their friend who died, Żwirski, which was a beautiful tribute to him. One can only dream of such success in a debut, and yet Robert Gawliński and the band achieved it. However, this can’t be considered a coincidence. The first album was of good quality and number of sold copies only confirmed this.

The second album, called ‘Przedmieścia’ maintained that quality. Gawliński confirmed that he is able to repeat the success of a project. Although no song from the second album was as popular as ‘Son of the blue sky’, listeners warmly welcomed the album, which, unlike the first one, was a bit more sharp, rock sounding. The band went on a tour with ‘Przedmieścia’ and played 22 concerts.

Popularity peak

Their first album can be considered to be peak of band’s popularity. It is the its most frequently purchased album. It was its only album which achieved a double platinum status. It is estimated that if illegally sold copies were also counted, there could be over a million albums sold. However, it is worth mentioning band’s fourth album called ‘4’. It also achieved considerable success, and some of its songs have similar recognition to ‘Son of the blue sky’, perhaps even greater. This was the band’s first album to take first place on the OLiS chart. The band repeated this success the following year with the album ‘Warta’. The songs from these albums can be considered a huge success. They constitute a large part – if not the majority – of the songs that the band currently plays at their concerts.

Most popular songs

As mentioned before– ‘Son of the blue sky’ is popular. The song deserves its success because of its lyrics and story. However, when we look at the statistics on various music platforms, we will see that other songs are more popular. For example, on Spotify, the song ‘Urke’ is the most streamed. It is a song from the album ‘4’ and carries a positive message. On YouTube, however, the song ‘Baśka’ has the most views. It is about women that the artist meets on his path. Each one is unique in her own way. Another well-known song is ‘Bohema’. It is a memory of when the album ‘Wilki’ was being created, when the band partied like artistic bohemia. Another song worth mentioning is ‘Na zawsze i na wieczność’. It is a story of the lyrical subject meeting a woman and their developing relationship. Wilki has a lot of hits. It is not one-hit wonder – for years it has been creating music that has maintained its high standard and has been listened to by millions of Poles.

Currenlty

We can say that Wilki is doing quite well. It continues to perform, its members change from time to time, it releases music once in a while. Although it is treated more like an ‘old star’ and the audience sings older songs louder than newer ones at concerts, we must keep in mind that Robert Gawliński has not finished his career yet. The band will perform regularly throughout 2024, attending major music events. For example, fans could hear the band at the Varsonalia of the Warsaw University of Technology or the Juwenalia of the Bialystok University of Technology. In 2022, Wilki released a new album – ‘Wszyscy marzą o miłości’. The album was warmly welcomed. One of the songs – ‘Liczysz się tylko ty’, got to the first place on the radio RMF FM Poplista chart. However, listeners tend to think of ‘Baśka’ or ‘Bohema’ rather than any of the new songs when talking about the band.

Heritage

In 2014, Beniamin Gawliński joined the band, and in 2019, Emanuel Gawliński followed. They are twin brothers, Robert’s sons. They bring a younger perspective on music to the band. The brothers face a big challenge if they want to repeat their father’s success. They have his great support, but he released his biggest hits at a younger age than the twins are now. Robert wrote ‘Son of the Blue Sky’ at the age of 29, while Beniamin and Emanuel are already 32. Robert Gawliński cares for his legacy. At concerts, he promotes the work of his son, Beniamin. He leaves the stage to him so that he can play his songs. This undoubtedly boosts recognition of the young artist.

In 2022, a new Wilki’s song was released – ‘Podzielony świat’. This is a unique song because it was created by Beniamin. This is his first original song, which was signed by Wilki. The song was liked by listeners. They notice that Beniamin’s skills are different from what his father was like at his age, but they see great potential in him.

Robert Gawliński

Robert Gawliński owes his success not only to his good, electrifying voice. There is no denying that he is a very hard-working person. He began his music journey at the age of 16, joining the band Gniew. On New Year’s Eve 1982, he founded his first band, Madame. After the band broke up in 1986, he played in Made in Poland and in Złotousty i Anioły. He was also a musician in the Opera, and after its break up, he played in The Didet Bidet. In 1992, he founded Wilki. And that’s when it all began… With Wilki, Robert Gawliński recorded eight studio albums. However, he did not limit himself to bands. He is also the author of five solo albums: ‘Solo’, ‘Kwiaty jak relikwie’, ‘X’, ‘Gra’, ‘Kalejdoskop’. They are also rich in interesting songs. The most popular song is ‘Nie stało się nic’ from ‘Kwiaty jak relikwie’. Robert Gawliński and the band Wilki have created something great. Their music connects generations. At concerts, twenty-year-olds and fifty-year-olds have just as much fun with their songs. There is nothing else to do but count on Beniamin to develop and new generation of Wilki to release new hit songs.

Robert Gawliński and Wilki – TOP10 songs

1. Baśka
   2. Urke
   3. Na zawsze i na wieczność
   4. Bohema
   5. Son of the blue sky
   6. Na krawędzi życia
   7. Wolność jak marzenia
   8. Liczysz się tylko ty
   9. Moja Baby
   10. Eli Lama Sabachtani

Wilki – dyscography

• Wilki (1992)
• Przedmieścia (1993)
• 4 (2002)
• Watra (2004)
• Obrazki (2006)
• Światło i mrok (2012)
• Przez dziewczyny (2016)
• Wszyscy marzą o miłości (2022)

The article was written by Paweł Skarzyński
Translation: Natalia Walentyńska
Fot. Pawel Krupka via Wilki

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