New wave years (1980–1983) The melodic
hard rock band Hipnotisano Pile (
Hypnotized Chicken), formed in 1979, which got the name by the line from the
Iggy Pop song "
Lust For Life", consisted of Srđan Gojković "Gile" (drums), Ljubomir Jovanović "Jovec" (guitar), Bojan Banović (vocals), Vladan Stepanović (guitar), "Džo" Otašević (keyboards). The band performed their own material, mainly written by Banović, on Guitar festivals in
Belgrade. In mid-January 1980, at the Mornar
bistro, after a
Leb i Sol concert held at the Belgrade
Dom Sindikata, Hipnotisano Pile members, drummer Gojković and guitarist Jovanović, were sitting with organ player Ljubomir Đukić "Ljuba", and planning to form an ad hoc
punk rock group, in which Gojković was to play guitar and sing lead vocals, and Jovanović to switch to playing drums. The band was to play as an opening act for Hipnotisano Pile. The idea for the band name came from Gojković, and, while they were waiting for the waiter, Đukić wrote the lyrics for the song "
Konobar" ("The Waiter"). Soon after, Gojković wrote a few more songs, "Krokodili dolaze" ("Crocodiles Are Coming"), "Zlatni papagaj" ("Golden Parrotbill"), and "Vi" ("You"). The band was officially formed on 13 January 1980 and was completed with guitarist Goran Sinadinović and bassist Marina Vulić. The band members then went to
Momčilo Rajin and
Nebojša Pajkić, both of them in charge of the
SKC program, asking for the rehearsal room and booking their first live appearance. In June 1980, the band played as an opening act for Hipnotisano Pile in front of the crowd of about 300 people. Dissatisfied with the Hipnotisano Pile performance, more than half of the audience left the hall. After the performance, Hipnotisano Pile disbanded. Sinadinović also left Električni Orgazam, and with Bojan Banović formed the band
Petar i Zli Vuci. Jovanović returned to playing guitar, and the drummer became former Butik drummer Goran Čavajda "Čavke", whom Gojković asked on several occasions to join the band. The lineup had their first live appearance at a local party, and, soon after, at the
Palilula Culture Olympics, where they stopped the performance due to the unsatisfactory
amplification. In autumn the same year, the band performed at the
Festival Omladina, which was arranged by
Riblja Čorba leader
Bora Đorđević. Before the performance, the band was warned not to move too much on the stage which had several levels and was unstable. The reaction of the band was quite the opposite, breaking microphones, cymbals, and kitschy stage decorations, eventually getting disqualified. The festival was the place where new wave bands from Belgrade and
Zagreb had met for the first time, and the Zagreb band
Film won the festival. The following year, the band had their first recordings, the songs "Krokodili dolaze", "Zlatni papagaj" and "Vi", released by
Jugoton on the
Paket aranžman (
Package deal), three way
split album, with the recordings of
Idoli and
Šarlo Akrobata. The compilation was to feature two more bands,
Tunel, and the embryonic
Bajaga i Instruktori called Fleke, but were eventually turned down. The success of
Paket aranžman provided the band an opportunity to record and release their debut album under the same label. The band was previously turned down by
RTV Ljubljana, stating that the album lacked originality, and
PGP-RTB, which had problems with the song lyrics for "Krokodili dolaze" and "Nebo" ("The
Sky").
Električni orgazam, produced by
Ivan Stančić "Piko", featured the band's authentic sound, found in the songs "Nebo", "
Konobar", "
I've Got a Feeling", both released on the band first single, and new versions of "Krokodili dolaze" and "Vi". The album did not feature the band drummer Čavajda, who was at the time serving the
Yugoslav People's Army, being temporarily replaced by
Grupa I member Branko Kuštrin "Mango". The album, for which the album cover and design was done by Gojković, had positive reactions by both the audience and the critics, including a review of the album by the
NME journalist Kris Bohn, who stated that the band was one of the most exciting non-British acts. Since Gojković was spending time in London, he provided the New Musical Express with a few copies of the album, resulting in the band signing with
Rough Trade Records for distributing the copies of the album to England. After the album release, in autumn 1981, Marina Vulić left the band, being replaced by Jovan Jovanović "Grof", and Čavajda returned to the group. In the meantime, the band met a student from
Poland, Grzegorz Brzozowicz, who had contacts with the people from the
Warsaw club Rivijera Remont, gathering the fans of new wave and punk rock. Bzozovič arranged the three bands from
Paket aranžman to perform in Poland, and after Šarlo Akrobata, in November, the band went on a tour of Poland, playing six dates, four
Warsaw, one at
Kraków, and one at
Kalisz. The performance of 8 November, at Rivijera Remont, was recorded on a simple
tape recorder, later released on the six-song ''
Warszawa '81''
EP, limited to 2000 copies, being the first official
bootleg in former
Yugoslavia. The rough recordings were post-produced by Slobodan Konjović, presenting a valid document of the band sound, as well as the audience reaction, not accustomed to visiting punk rock concerts. During the performance of the song "Konobar", there was a half-minute sound equipment failure, during which a member of the audience dropped
tear gas. The disturbance was documented on the record, which featured two new songs, "Leptir" ("The Butterfly") and "Razgovori" ("Conversations"). The album
Lišće prekriva Lisabon (
Leaves Fall Over Lisbon) was recorded at the
Ljubljana Tivoli Studio, produced by the band themselves with the help of Toni Jurij. The album, which got the name by the title of the Serbian translation of the
Barbara Cartland novel
Lovers in Lisbon, featured seventeen songs, presenting a new aspect of the band's work, gradually influenced by
psychedelic rock, with all the tracks having one-word song titles. Gojković later stated that the during the writing process the band was experimenting with
LSD, which influenced the outbreak of the album. The songs "
Afrika" ("Africa") and "
Alabama", a cover version of
The Doors interpretation of the
Bertolt Brecht poem, featured Gojković and Đukić sharing vocals duties. The song "
Dokolica" ("Idleness"), also released on single with the
dub version of the song on
B-side, featured the lyrics Gojković found in a sociology book, and the songs "Leptir", "Odelo" ("Suit") and "Podstanar" ("Sub-tenant"), deal with the problems of urban
alienation. The album featured guest appearance by the trumpet player Petar Ugrin on the songs "Alabama" and "Leptir". In autumn 1983, Gojković and Ivan Stančić "Piko", influenced by the New York City underground scene, formed the band Hijene (
Hyenas), and recorded the album
WooDoo za početnike (
Voodoo For Beginners). However, dissatisfied with the record label treatment, the album was never released, but it did inspire the recording of the band fifth album
Distorzija (
Distortion). The next discography release was the unexpected
cover album Les Chansones Populaires (French for
Popular songs), produced by Gojković, Đukić, Toni Jurij and Piko Stančić, who also played drums due to Čavajda being in prison, featuring eight cover versions, including the
David Bowie "
The Man Who Sold The World",
T.Rex "
Metal Guru", The Doors "
When the Music's Over", and
Little Eva "
Locomotion", the latter also released on single. The tour following the album release featured Mango Kuštrin on drums.
Personnel crisis, mainstream success, disbandment (1984–1989) In 1984, when they were about to enter the studio in order to record the fourth studio album, the band lineup changed, as the drummer Čavajda returned to the band and guitarist Jovanović left the band. With guest appearances by Ivan Pajević (guitar), Piko Stančić (drums), Goran Pojatić (piano), Kire Mitrev (trombone), Ivan Švager (saxophone), and Goce Dimitrovski (trumpet), the band recorded the album
Kako bubanj kaže (
As The Drum Decides), musically influenced by the early 1970s work of the
Rolling Stones, also suggested by the album artwork. Like on all of the previous releases, vocal duties were shared between Gojković and Đukić. The track "Fras u šupi" ("
Seizure In The
Shed"), which appeared on the album, was a part of the trilogy, beside the story collection, written by
David Albahari, and the poem of the same name, written by Miloš Komadina in his poetry book
Etika trave (
Grass Ethics). The song music and lyrics were written by Gojković, except for "Pričam o tebi" ("I Am Talking About You"), for which the music was written by Čavajda. The album did not repeat the success of the previous releases, leading Đukić to leaving the band and moving to New York. The band, being in the personnel crisis, firstly featured Ivan Pajević on guitar, then former
Siluete member
Nikola Čuturilo, until the full-time member became Branislav Petrović "Banana", a former
Bezobrazno Zeleno and
Pasta ZZ member. In 1986, when the band was about to record the album
Distorzija, bassist Jovanović left the band and stopped his musical career. His replacement was the former
Katarina II and
Du-Du-A member Zoran Radomirović "Švaba". The comeback album,
Distorzija, with simple rock songs, featured the hit songs "Debela devojka" ("Fat Girl"), "Ja sam težak kao konj" ("I Am Heavy As A Horse"), "Ne postojim" ("I Do Not Exist"), "Vudu bluz" ("Voodoo Blues"), "Kapetan Esid" ("Captain
Acid"), "Ša la la" ("Sha La La"), and "Lui Lui" ("
Louie Louie"), a cover of
Richard Berry song. The album was produced by Gojković and Stančić, and the cover for the album was done by the painter Radovan Hiršl. The next release was the live album
Braćo i sestre (
Brothers And Sisters), recorded in October 1986 at the
Zagreb club
Kulušić. The album, featuring the guest introduction by Dražen Vrdoljak and guest vocals by Ljubomir Đukić on the song "Locomotion", included the new track "Bejbe, ti nisi tu" ("Baby, You Are Not Here"), a cover version of the Rolling Stones song "
Out of Time". Two years later, in 1988, the band, with the same musical style, released the album
Letim, sanjam, dišem (
Flying, Dreaming, Breathing), and the songs "Igra rock 'n' roll cela Jugoslavija" ("The Whole
Yugoslavia Is Dancing To
Rock And Roll"), "Ti" ("You"), "Poljubi me i priznaj mi" ("Kiss Me And Confess"), and "Sve ste vi naš devojke" ("All of You Are Our Girlfriends") became immediate hits. The album was produced by Gojković, Stančić and Theodore Yanni, and featured guest appearance by
Partibrejkers guitarist Nebojša Antonijević "Anton" and
Bajaga i Instruktori keyboard player
Saša Lokner. On Summer of the same year, the band promoted the album with a concert at
Tašmajdan Stadium. During the same year, they released the greatest hits compilation album
Najbolje pesme 1980-1988 (
The Best Songs 1980–1988), and disbanded. Radomirović and Petrović joined the band Trans. Gojković pursued a solo career, releasing his first solo album
Evo sada vidiš da može (
Now You See It Is Possible), released in 1989, and worked on the
Kako je propao rokenrol (''The Fall of Rock 'N' Roll
) and Crni bombarder (Black Bomber
) movie soundtracks. With Vlada Divljan, he released two music albums for children Rokenrol za decu
(Rock 'N' Roll For Children
), and Rokenrol bukvar
(Rock 'N' Roll Alphabet
), and the two, with Stančić and Radomirović, released the album Lutka koja kaže ne
(A Doll That Says No
). Čavajda went to Australia in 1988, and returned in 1991, joining Gojković and Radomirović on the Lutka koja kaže ne'' tour.
Reformation, Čavajda's departure (1991–1994) in 1992 The reformed Električni Orgazam released the compilation album
Seks, droga, nasilje i strah / Balkan Horror Rock (
Sex, Drugs, Violence and Fear / Blakan Horror Rock), featuring new studio material on the A-side, including "Mala lopta metalna" ("Little Metal Ball") composed by Čavajda and Gojković, and live recordings, made at the Novi Sad concert performance. The followup, the live album
Balkan Horror Rock II, released on
compact cassette only, featured the rest of Novi Sad concert recordings and "Svečane bele košulje" ("Ceremony White Shirts") and "Mjau, mjau" ("
Meow, Meow"), made at the
B92 birthday concert. The album covers for both releases were designed by Linda Čavajda, Čavajda's wife. In 1992, Čavajda, Gojković and Radomirović, with Ljubomir Jovanović,
Ekatarina Velika frontman
Milan Mladenović, and
Partibrejkers members
Zoran Kostić "Cane" and Nebojša Antonijević "Anton" formed the
anti-war group
Rimtutituki, recording the single "Slušaj 'vamo" ("Listen Up"), released by Radio B92. The following year, in September, the band, with Ekatarina Velika, Partibrejkers, and the
Zagreb band
Vještice, performed in
Prague and
Berlin on the concerts entitled
Ko to tamo pjeva (''
Who's That Singing Over There''). Električni Orgazam was also one of the first Serbian bands to perform in
Ljubljana after the independence of Slovenia on early 1991, with the band
Majke from
Vinkovci, also playing in
Maribor,
Koper and Hum. At the time, the band often performed in the
Republic of Macedonia. The double album
Zašto da ne! (
Why Not!), featuring a stylistic combination of
Lišće prekriva Lisabon and
Distorzija combined with the 1990s musical trends, was recorded with guitarist Dejan Radisavljević "Role", a former
Revolveri member, keyboard player Zoran Zagorčić, a former Du-Du-A member, and
Srđan Todorović as the second drummer. As guests on the album appeared Zoran Kostić "Cane" (vocals), politician
Nenad Čanak (flute), Nenad Racković (backing vocals), and Neša Petrović (saxophone). The acoustically oriented song sections for the album were composed by Petrović, who co-written the song "Dajem ljubav" ("I Give Love") with Zagorčić. By Gojković's idea, the album cover was designed by
Džukele guitarist Leonid Pilipović, expanding it with a short comic-book. After the album release, Čavajda left the band, completely devoting himself to the band
Babe, formed in 1992, and was replaced by the former Pasta ZZ and Partibrejkers member Vlada Funtek.
Lineup changes, comeback releases (1995–2003) In early 1995, the band celebrated their fifteenth anniversary at the Belgrade club Prostor, and, in July, performed at the London club The Bottom Line. The recordings from the performance were used by Marina Vulić, who lived in London since 1985, working as
video producer, for the release of a promotional video. On 17 April 1996 the band performed an
unplugged concert at the Novi Sad Studio M, featuring the band introduction by
Zdenko Kolar, and guest appearances by
Margita Stefanović (piano,
Farfisa organ), Boris Bunjac (percussion), and Deže Molnar (saxophone). The album, recorded with the new drummer Miloš Velimir "Buca", featured a cover version of the
Korni Grupa song "Magična ruka" ("Magic Hand"). Beside working with Električni Orgazam, Gojković played in the
Vlada Divljan Old Stars Band, producing their live album
Odbrana i zaštita (
Defence And Protection), and performed on their studio album
Sve laži sveta (
All The Lies of the World), released by Automatik Records in 2000. Founding the Yellow Dog records, Gojković re-released most of the Električni Orgazam releases on compact disc, featuring bonus material. The debut album featured the three songs from
Paket aranžman,
Lišće prekriva Lisabon featured the "
Dokolica" dub version,
Kako bubanj kaže featured "
Tetovirane devojke" ("Tattooed Girls"), the title track single B-side, and the previously unreleased "Slatka mala devojčica" ("Sweet Little Girl"),
Seks, droga, nasilje i strah / Balkan Horror Rock and
Balkan Horror Rock II were released as a single CD, featuring the bonus track "Hodam sad kao zombi", a cover of the
Roky Erickson "I Walked with a Zombie" with Gojković on lead vocals, and the live EP ''Warszava '81'' was expanded with ten live recordings from the Polish tour. On 10 July 1998 the band, in the lineup Gojković, Petrović, bassist
Zdenko Kolar, and drummer Ivan Ranković "Raka", a former
Tvrdo Srce i Velike Uši and Ekatarina Velika member, guest starred the concert featuring bands from former Yugoslav republics. The following year, the band recorded the comeback CD
A um bum (''A 'oom Boom''), featuring guest appearances by numerous rock veterans,
Kornelije Kovač,
Branko Marušić "Čutura", Bata Kostić, and the younger musicians, keyboard player Slobodan Misailović and drummers Ivan Ranković and
Srđan Todorović. The cataclysmic drawings on the album cover were done by Gojković, and the album featured the
Dylanesque acoustic rock sound. Lead vocals for the tracks "Gde da nađem takvu devojku" ("Where Would I Find Such A Girl"), and "Ja nisam znao neke stvari" ("I Did Not Know Some Things") were done by Petrović. In May 2000, the band performed at the Zagreb club Tvornica, and the KSET performance was canceled due to the arrest of Gojković by the police which found 0,22 grams of heroin in his possession. The media gave much attention to the affair, and Gojković was released after a night in prison, where the police officers asked for autographs and taking pictures with him, with a fee of 250
Deutsche Marks. The compilation album
Najbolje pesme vol. 2 1992-1999 (
The Best Songs Volume 2 1992–1999), featuring the selection of the tracks recorded in the 1990s. The following album,
Harmonajzer, produced by
Dušan Kojić "Koja", Gojković and Petrović, featured the new drummer Blagoje Nedeljković "Pače", and guest appearances by
Vlada Divljan (wah guitar), Zoran Erkan "Zerkman" (trumpet),
Nemanja Kojić "Kojot" (trombome), Dušan Petrović (saxophone), Zdenko Kolar and Boris Bunjac (backing vocals). Ljuba Đukić did the lead vocals for the track "Zato stojim sam" ("That Is Why I Stand Alone"), and Petrović sang lead vocals for "Promene" ("Changes") and "Tome neće doći kraj" ("It Would Not End"). Radomirović and Kojić co-wrote two instrumental tracks, "Đankarlo Gingva ponovo jaše" ("Giancarlo Gingva Rides Again") and "PECTOPAH 3 OPA" (
false friend pun for "RESTAURANT DAWN").
Reunion with Đukić (2004–present) In September 2004, Ljuba Đukić officially returned to the group, and, in 2006, the band released the compilation album
Breskve u teškom sirupu vol. 1 (
Peaches in Heavy Syrup Volume 1), using the unused album title of the album
Lišće prekriva Lisabon, featuring the rehearsal recordings made at the Belgrade
SKC and the performance at Tašmajdan Stadium, both recorded in 1980. The band then went on a nine-dates mini tour, performing the songs from the new wave period in a modern and rearranged manner, including the last concert at the
Belgrade Dom Omladine, featuring guest appearance by the founding band member Ljubomir Jovanović "Jovec". The whole concert was recorded and the recordings were released on the live album
ElOrgNewWave, by Mascom in 2007. During the same year, on 14 July, the band performed as an opening act for the
Rolling Stones, on their concert in Belgrade's
Ušće park. In September the same year, the band went on their first United States tour. On 28 September 2008, the band performed at the 30th anniversary of
new wave music in Yugoslavia at the concert held in the
Zagreb Tvornica kulture, along with the most notable participants of the
Yugoslav new wave, including
Darko Rundek of
Haustor,
Pero Lovšin of
Pankrti, Jasenko Houra and Davorin Bogović of
Prljavo Kazalište and
Vlada Divljan of
Idoli. The songs "
Konobar", "Krokodili dolaze", "Leptir", "Nebo", and "Zlatni papagaj" performed at the concert were released on the live album
Sedmorica veličanstvenih – 30 godina kasnije (
The Magnificent Seven – 30 Years Later). In December 2009,
Croatia records, the heir of
Jugoton, released the double compilation album
The Ultimate Collection, the only one so far to feature the selected material from all the studio releases, and the song selection for the album was provided by Miloš Ivanović "Kepa", the music editor of
Radio B92. Eight years since the release of the previous studio album, the album
To što vidiš to i jeste (
What You See Is What You Get), was released in early September 2010, under the Belgrade Dom Omladine label, with
Telekom Srbija as the main distributor for the first two months. Produced by Vojislav Aralica, who also recorded percussion sections, the album featured seven songs, including "Pokaži mi" ("Show me") and "Nikad ne znam" ("I never Know") on which as guest guitarist appeared the former
Katarina II member
Dragomir Mihajlović "Gagi". In a month's period during which the promotion had lasted, the album was sold in 50,000 copies. On 1 November of the same year, the single "Nemaš nikome ništa da daš" appeared on the first place of the Jelen Top Ten list, remaining on the first place for two weeks. The following month, the Croatian record label
Dallas Records released an expanded edition of the album for the former Yugoslav territory, featuring three new studio tracks, "Mister Ministar" ("Mister Minister"), "Gde god odem" ("Wherever I Go") and "Da, da, da, da" ("Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes"), and the band went on a tour across
Slovenia and Croatia. and No. 9 according to the Popboks critics. The following month, on 2 February, the band got the Oskar popularnosti award for the Best Serbian Rock Act in 2010. In May 2010, a deluxe edition of the album was released, containing a new song entitled "Sedam dana (je nekad dovoljno)" ("Seven Days (Is Enough Sometimes)"), live versions of the songs "Mentalno" ("Mentally"), "Ja želim promene (baby, baby, baby)" ("I Want Changes (Baby, Baby, Baby)") and "Kako bubanj kaže" ("As the Lot Says"), a cover of the
Ekatarina Velika song "Krug" and edited versions of the songs "Nemaš nikom ništa da daš", "Mister Ministar", "Ti to možeš" and "Bliži suncu" with music videos for the same songs. In 2013, the band released the double live album ''Warszawa '81/Warszawa '13
for the Polish market only. The first disc of the album represents the reissue of Warszawa '81'' live album, and the second the recording of the band's 2013 concert in Warszawa. In November 2015, the band released the single "Bio sam loš" ("I Was Bad"), in order to mark their 35th anniversary, at the same time announcing their new studio album,
Gde smo sad? (
Where Are We Now?). The band celebrated 35 years of activity with a Serbian tour, starting on 26 December with a concert in Belgrade Youth Center. On April 22, 2016, the band performed, alongside
Riblja Čorba,
Van Gogh,
Piloti and
Galija, on the opening of renovated
Tašmajdan Stadium. At the end of 2016, Električni Orgazam released the live album
Puštaj muziku! (
Play the Music!), featuring the recordings from their 35th anniversary concert in Belgrade Youth Center. The album was released on vinyl only, in a limited number of copies. At the same time the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of
Distorzija with a number of concerts in Serbia. At the beginning of June 2018, the band released their twelfth studio album, entitled
Gde smo sad? (
Where Are We Now?, through Mascom. The album was previously announced by singles "Bio sam loš", "Kamerom snimam sve" ("I'm Recording Everything with My Camera"), released in May 2016, "Istok, zapad, sever, jug" ("East, West, North, South"), released in October 2016, "Bila si kao san" ("You Were Like a Dream"), released in May 2017 and "Duga, topla noć", described by Gojković as "the first real
blues track Električni Orgazam recorded", released in June 2017. ==Legacy==