Jan Rubeš: On the revolution, the Stones, Zappa – and Dallas

Czechoslovakia’s new-found freedom was underlined in August 1990 by a
concert at Prague’s Strahov Stadium by the Rolling Stones, who became the
first major Western band to perform in the country. In a now famous video
message broadcast before the gig, Mick Jagger told fans – in Czech –
“the Stones are rolling to Prague”. The man who taught the rock star
the phrase was Jan Rubeš. A Czechoslovak TV employee in those years, he
later brought shows such as Dallas and The Simpsons to the country’s TV
screens. When I spoke to Rubeš, who now works in film and TV distribution,
I asked what he had been doing this time 30 years ago.