TSA

TSA (which stands for “Tajne Stowarzyszenie Abstynentów”, Polish for “Teetotalers Secret Association”) was formed in 1979 in Opole by guitarist Andrzej Nowak. In the fall of 1980 the first incarnation of the band was completed with the addition of Stefan Machel, Janusz Niekrasz and Marek Kapłon, reaching 2nd place on the XI Muzyczna Jesień Grodkowska festival contest, rewarded with the opportunity to enter the Rozgłośnia Opolska Polskiego Radia studio.
The band kept doing shows in their home country, appearing on more festivals like Jarocin. The incorporation of Marek Piekarczyk shortly afterwards marked the beginning of an era of commercial and musical success for the group, playing hundreds of concerts and selling thousands of copies of their first 3 singles in Poland. The band even recorded a song for the Krzysztof Gradowski movie Akademia Pana Kleksa entitled “Marsz Wilków”.
After appearing at the Rockowisko ’83 festival in Łódź, line-up changes followed with the departure of both Nowak and Kapłon, who were replaced by Antoni "Tosiek" Degutis and Zbigniew Kraszewski, respectively. In 1984, this new formation would open for Nazareth during their Polish tour and recorded the successful album Spunk! completely in English, which was positively-received by the British music press. TSA courted the Western market with the re-recording of new versions of songs from the albums Heavy Metal World and Live with English lyrics, playing concerts in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.