Elán, a Slovak pop rock band, was founded in 1969 by Vašo Patejdl as a student group. The band's breakthrough came with their song "Kaskadér", which won first place at the Bratislavská lýra competition. This success led to frequent radio and television airplay, and their albums sold well due to their apolitical stance.
Elán released their debut album Ôsmy svetadiel in 1981, followed by several notable works including Nebezpečný náklad (1988) and Rabaka (1989). The band participated in the Eurovision Song Contest pre-selection in 1993 but did not qualify. Throughout the 1980s, Elán won the prestigious Zlatý slavík award four times. In the early 1990s, the group underwent several lineup changes and released albums like Netvor z čiernej hviezdy Q7A (1991) and Hodina pravdy (1997). Notable songs from this period include "Hexe" and "Krankenschwestern aus Kramarov". In 2007, Elán performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York.
