Exuberant Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello are only here because of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

And, there is more than a hint of meltdown in their manic mix of musical madness.

Ukrainian refugee Eugene Hutz, whose Roma family escaped the nuclear disaster in 1986, is a dynamo of a man, who leads, what is surely the most original - and exhausting - band in the world.

Blasting out a rousing storm of Gypsy stomp, reggae, flamenco rhythm and blistering punk rock, the last time they came to Oxford they were hailed by many as the best band ever to play here.

Their exhilarating set ended with a bass drum - with percussionist, Elizabeth Sun still atop - being passed over the heads of the ecstatic Zodiac crowd.

So their show at the Carling Academy on Wednesday, is unlikely to be a restrained affair.

If you've seen them before, you'll know what to expect. but be warned; there is nothing predictable about Gogol Bordello.

"Our philosophy is 'constant evolution,' Eugene tells the Guide, moments after arriving in the UK.

"Our Gypsy-punk movement is a culture of its own. It would be a sign of idiocy for someone to describe it as a fad or trend.

"People that don't know us think we fell from the sky two years ago. I guess we see ourselves as part of a long gypsy tradition."

While he comes across on stage as cartoon character with a hint of Borat, Eugene is the real deal.

Fleeing their home in 1986, his family endured a seven year trek through Eastern European refugee camps.

The experience put him in touch with his gypsy roots.

But his years in Ukraine also exposed him to something far more profound than radiation - rock music. And a gig by Sonic Youth, he says, changed his life.

By the time the family arrived in the United States, the seeds were sown. With his family settling in Vermont, Hutz soon left for New York where he teamed up with other refugees who shared his vision of an international punk rock sound.

They included gypsy fiddler, Sergey Rjabtzev, a theatre director from Moscow; Yuri Lemeshev, a 53-year-old accordion player from the Russian far east; guitarist Oren Kaplin from Israel; and American drummer Eliot Ferguson, described by Hutz as "the only sane person in the band!"

Tickets for Wednesday's gig have sold out. But we've teamed up with purveyors of chilled beer Carling to give you and four mates the chance to see the band at the Carling Academy. For a chance to win, simply answer the following question: the Gypsy Flag is emblazoned with what emblem: (a) horse; (b) wagon; (c) wheel. Email your answers to tim.hughes@nqo.com, by the end of Sunday. Usual rules apply. The editor's decision is final.

DJ gigs followed, where he gathered a reputation for mixing up Gypsy, rai, flamenco and global underground sounds for crowds of artists, scene makers and local Ukrainians, Russians, Gypsies, and Bulgarians.

And, with the addition of bassist Tommy Gobena, and drumming, cymbol-clashing, washboard-scraping dancers Pamela Jintana Racine and the aforementioned Elizabeth, Gogol Bordello was born.

To the delight of Roma campaigners, the band adorn their stage with the Gypsy flag.

"I never get involved with patriotic issues and I never wear soccer shirts," says Eugene, sounding uncharacteristically reflective.

"But Gypsies are beyond recognition. And it is worth waving a flag.

"The notion of Roma is so undervalued in society," he adds. "Many people don't even know we have a flag, but we do - along with a language and thousands of years of culture.

"I have a basic humanitarian world outlook," he goes on, warming to his theme.

"It's about having a basic respect for human dignity. One baffling thing about the West is they have no respect for a lot of things - like age.

"There are whole communities to shut old relatives away from sight. There is a culture of youth and beauty here, but that would be disrespectful in the East.

"I have two members in the band who are 60 years old. And they are the most active dudes you'll see in your life!"

Not one to sit still himself, Eugene has been on the road, leaving behind New York for Brazil, where he spent carnival with fellow cross-cultural innovator, French/Spanish artist Manu Chao.

He adds: "Eastern European culture is melancholy. We have a way of wailing and sobbing for enjoyment. We sit around enjoying our collective sadness. But Brazil is the opposite - and it became a joke for me, because whenever I burst into a Russian ballad, people would ask me to stop!

"They didn't want to feel the emotions. There it's all about going up, up, up! It's a denial of existentialism."

And he ends with a message for his fans in Oxford.

"Keep the fires burning of your own creativity," he urges.

"As soon as creativity gets corrupted, the soul dies!"

4:07pm Thursday 17th April 2008

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