Between 2020 and 2021, after a quick tweet exchange, I had the honor and the pleasure to be in contact with Karel Fialka, the author of one of the absolute pearls of the 80s, “Hey, Matthew“. This hit, released in August 1987, entered the top ten in a lot of countries, and was probably the moment of greatest popularity for Karel, who released his first album in 1980.
As we know, the single “Hey, Matthew” was very simple (but very peculiar) in its structure, but absolutely deep in its meaning. In the video, Karel and his son Matthew are watching TV, and Karel worries about the influence on Matthew of the messages he receives from the TV, and about how the understanding of real world issues can be different between adults and children, who of course are far weaker to the exposure to the messages.
I had the chance to ask Karel some questions, and he was so kind to answer and comment. Here is our conversation about “Hey, Matthew” and about the 80s
– Karel, you had a long music career before “Hey, Matthew”; why in your opinion this song had greater visibility and success than other hits of yours, did you add something special or felt particularly inspired while working at it? It’s a simple but very deep song, and it’s a fact that after more than thirty years, for example, I live in Italy, and when I speak about 80s music, many many people remember and love this hit and video after such a long time!
I enjoyed writing “Hey, Matthew”. I did seriously wonder how that young boy, my son, was processing all the info that was coming his way. It was a very personal lyric, just a conversation with a bit of speculation…
All my songs are personal, but I had never before written about my sense of responsibility in another person’s life (a person for whom I was responsible), and I did not want to make it too heavy.
I’m sure the song was made more attractive and interesting to listeners’ ears by the inclusion of a child’s voice and maybe the fact that I am asking my son very direct (and sometimes existential) questions was something that any person (not necessarily a parent) could understand.
– I totally understand, being a father of two, the sort of fathers’ obsession when we think that sons watch too much TV, or maybe today too much of “anything” on their smartphones, and have a partial or different understanding, of course, from a different perspective we can say. If you could ask today the same question “what do you see” to, say, Matthew’s son, what kind of answer would you like to receive, and what would scare you?
Everything is different these days. Everything is accessible, often unfiltered.
I would be scared if he/she watched pornography (both sexual pornography and also the pornography of violence put out by extremist groups) and thought this was the correct or only way to behave.
Sex is fun, but as you know, it functions on many emotional levels and most sexual pornography has little relevance to the establishing of normal relationships, and the process of understanding love is complex… And the pornography of blood put out by extremists is degrading to the human spirit.
I would be pleased if Matthew’s son or daughter, although they are still too young to know, could look at the people spreading lies and disinformation and call them “silly”.
– Finally, Karel, I’d like to ask you a question that is almost a trademark for our interviews: if you had a magic wand or a time machine and could get back to a specific moment or day in the 80s, which moment would you choose and why?
My life was going so many different directions in the ‘80s that choosing a specific is a bit hazy, but I would most probably say that the day the Berlin Wall came down felt like a new and hopeful day for Europe and the world… and 9th November is my birthday!
– One more question: we all would like to know what Matthew decided to become :): a soldier, a policeman, the captain of a boat…
Matthew’s life has quietened down a lot. He still like to go clubbing but is married and has two children, a boy and a girl, so there are restrictions. He has become an expert in restoring antique furniture.
It has really been a great pleasure to have the chance to write to Karel and read his answer, and I am very grateful to Karel Fialka about this. For more information about Karel’s recent projects, please visit www.karelfialka.com
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