Kami Tull

"Stereo Tull" is a strange name but is familiar for Iranian music lovers after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. For almost a decade, "Stereo Tull" was one of the most famous underground names to distribute music under a government that led a cultural purge similar to Mao Tse Tung in China.

Islamic radicals eliminated any cultural product that was affiliated with their enemy, "the West." Their most hated art form was music – especially rock music.

Iranian music lovers – both of rock music from the West and of their own bands that were banned – took matters into their own hands, creating an active underground music scene. This included bootlegging new music on cassette tapes, reproducing and distributing it in secret. One of the best known underground music distributors was "Kamran Tull," named after his love for the legendary band Jethro Tull. His underground operation had the best and biggest music, known as "Stereo Tull."

Ultimately, Stereo Tull was discovered by authorities. The government burned the entire archive of cassettes and put Kamran in jail.

Today, Kamran Mellat (Kami Tull) lives in Germany.