Columbia DV 1223
This is an old thief ballad, recorded by the famous Ukrainian-Romanian "king of tango" Petr Leshchenko at Vienna in 1933. Taking the lead with his voice and rhythm guitar, he is accompanied by the excellent Frank Fox Orchester, at that time one of the best orchestras in Vienna who served, amongst other things, as resident orchestra at the huge, modern Apollo Cinema located at Gumpendorfer Straße where they regularly attracted big crowds. The ease with which the orchestra perfectly follows him through all of his sudden, dramatic tempo changes is just incredible.
Chubchik is the name of a specific hairstyle connected with the Eastern European hooligan subculture of the time (today sometimes still seen on the heads of gopniks): the head is completely shaved except one single long lock, preferably curled, directly above the forehead. In the song, a thug mourns his chubchik and how it once curled in the wind when he boldly wore his hat far on the back of the head. Now he knows he will be put in shackles and sent to the prison camps, but why should he be afraid: even Siberia is nothing but just another part of Russia...
