Although sometimes considered as an
Eastern Bloc country, the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a founding member of the
Non-Aligned Movement and as such, it was far more open to western influences compared to the other
socialist states. Yugoslavs enjoyed freedom of travel greater than that of other socialist states and had an easy access to Western popular culture. The western-influenced pop and rock music was socially accepted, the Yugoslav pop and rock music scene was well developed and covered in the media, which included numerous magazines, radio and TV shows. Numerous artists even played for president
Josip Broz Tito himself, notably
Bijelo Dugme,
Zdravko Čolić and
Rani Mraz. SFR Yugoslavia was the only
communist country which was taking part in the
Eurovision Song Contest. It joined in
the 1961 contest even before some
Western and
NATO nations such as
Portugal,
Ireland,
Greece and
Turkey, which joined in
1964,
1965,
1974 and
1975 respectively.
1940s One of the first stars in the former Socialist Yugoslavia and one of its first internationally acclaimed artists, was the
traditional pop singer
Ivo Robić from Croatia, who emerged in the Yugoslav music scene in the late 1940s. Later, he went abroad, where he made a successful international career. He's claimed to have been the original performer of the
Strangers in the Night song by
Bert Kaempfert, predating
Frank Sinatra who recorded his version later in 1966.
1950s The
rock and roll scene in Yugoslavia started to emerge in the 1950s influenced by the classic rock and roll and
rockabilly acts such as
Elvis Presley,
Chuck Berry,
Bill Haley,
Carl Perkins,
Buddy Holly and others. Many young people started to play this new "
electric music", as they called it, naming themselves "električari", but one of the first who rose to prominence was the guitarist
Mile Lojpur from Belgrade (born in
Zrenjanin in 1930). He was tributed by many musicians later, notably by
Nikola Čuturilo. Other eminent act that started in the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene was
Karlo Metikoš from
Zagreb, who after moving to Paris started an international career under the pseudonym Matt Collins. He recorded for
Philips Records and had an opportunity to meet legends such as
Jerry Lee Lewis and
Paul Anka. A notable singer who emerged in the late 1950s was
Đorđe Marjanović, who became the first Yugoslav
megastar.
1960s The beginning of the 1960s saw the emergence of numerous bands, many of them initially inspired by the then-popular
Cliff Richard and
The Shadows: in 1960 Uragani were formed in
Rijeka,
Bijele Strijele and
Siluete, formed in 1961; the Zagreb-based
Crveni Koralji and Belgrade's
Zlatni Dečaci in 1962; in 1963 two other important Belgrade bands were formed,
Samonikli and
Crni Biseri, the latter featuring
Vlada Janković-Džet, a prominent Yugoslav musician, who got his nickname after
Jet Harris. The Zagreb-based
Delfini were also formed the same year. After the
British invasion, many of these bands later moved on to
British rhythm and blues. In
Skopje, a popular 1960s rock 'n' roll group was formed named
Bisbez who were considered "The Macedonian Beatles". They were formed by merging two already existing bands Biseri and Bezimeni. The 1960s also saw the expansion of
Beatlemania. Many new bands formed influenced by
The Beatles or by the
Rolling Stones, both of whom had large fanbases in SFR Yugoslavia. There were frequent arguments between the fans of both groups, though not necessarily violent. One of the important source of information for the youths to stay up-to-date with the rock music developments around the world was
Radio Luxembourg. Certain British artists held concerts in Yugoslavia (e.g.
The Searchers,
The Hollies) and also Yugoslav artists performed around Europe, especially neighbouring Italy and Austria. On the border with Italy, several Yugoslav-Italian
beat music festivals took place. In the mid-1960s many bands such as
Džentlmeni,
Roboti and the reformed Siluete were influenced by the rhythm and blues artists, while others were more pop oriented.
Mod oriented bands also emerged. The most popular foreign bands were
The Animals,
The Byrds,
The Monkees,
The Kinks,
The Who,
Manfred Mann and others. The
garage rock sound (also labeled as "1960s Punk") was also popular. The charismatic frontman of Siluete,
Zoran Miščević, became an idol of the new generation and a
sex symbol. The band had a bad reputation for causing scandals and riots at their concerts. Their main rivals were the group Elipse, which, after getting a new vocalist, the African student from
Congo Edi Dekeng, went on to play
soul music. The prominent Croatian singer
Tereza Kesovija represented
Monaco at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1966. One of the most eminent and influential former Yugoslav group formed in the 1960s was
Indexi. They were formed in
Sarajevo in 1962. In their early beginnings they were notably influenced by The Shadows and later by The Beatles. Along with the numerous evergreen songs they wrote featuring
Davorin Popović's trademark nasal voice, they also covered the Beatles song "
Nowhere Man". In some of their songs they also experimented with the sound in a similar way to ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Indexi gradually moved to a more
psychedelic sound, with more complex guitar and keyboard solos adding occasional folk and even classical music elements. One of the band's notable members
Kornelije Kovač, left Indeksi to form another legendary band,
Korni Grupa, in Belgrade in 1968. As the end of the 1960s was approaching, the
hippie movement expanded around the world as well as in SFR Yugoslavia. Notable group was the Croatian-based Grupa 220, which during a certain period featured
Piko Stančić. Later he rose to one of the most important musicians, producers and arrangers in the whole former Yugoslav scene. Under influences such as
Bob Dylan and
Joan Baez, many young people embraced the acoustic sound and thus were called "
akustičari" contrary to
električari" (
transl. electricians). Prominent acoustic artist was Ivica Percl, formerly of Roboti. He was an acoustic musician and
peace activist playing guitar and
harmonica influenced by
Bob Dylan and
Donovan. The year of
1968 was marked by youth protests around the world including massive student demonstrations in many cities all over SFR Yugoslavia. Another popular act at the time was the group
Ambasadori. One of the members of both Ambasadori and Korni Grupa was
Zdravko Čolić, who went solo later and was acclaimed as the biggest pop star in the former Yugoslavia. The most notable female vocalist was
Josipa Lisac who still enjoys huge popularity across the former SFR Yugoslavia.
Boba Stefanović was one of the most prominent Yugoslav male solo vocalists. The Hippie era was marked by the musical
Hair. Numerous subsequent productions were staged around the world since its American debut in 1967, for example in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland,
Brazil,
Argentina,
Israel and Japan. The Yugoslav production was the first staged in a
Socialist state, and it was highly praised by the
Hair's original authors
Gerome Ragni and
James Rado, who were travelling from one country to another to watch each of the performances. As Ragni said, they found the Belgrade show "so beautiful, so spontaneous that we had to go right on the stage to share their enthusiasm". While being in Belgrade he also added "There exist no middle-class prejudices here".
Festivals Many pop music festivals existed across SFR Yugoslavia including the
Split Festival,
Opatija Festival,
Beogradsko proleće in
Belgrade,
Skopje Fest,
Vaš šlager sezone in
Sarajevo, and later also
Makfest in
Štip was established. The family-friendly pop music played at those festivals was comparable to older
Eurovision Song Contests, the German
schlager genre, the Italian
Sanremo Music Festival or the
adult oriented pop music category. The specific
Dalmatian pop sound featuring local folk elements performed at festivals held along the touristy
Adriatic coast was very popular and some of its most notable exponents were
Oliver Dragojević and
Mišo Kovač. Dragojević's first performance was at the "Split Children's Festival" in 1961 with the song "Baloni". In a competition of amateur singers, his cult band from
Split, "Batali" won first place for their rendition of "
Yesterday", a Beatles classic. In 1972, Oliver went abroad to further develop his craft. He played in clubs across Germany, Sweden and Mexico. His solo singing career began in 1974 at the
Split Festival, where he won with the song "Ča će mi Copacabana". , a Croatian pop star] A year later, composer
Zdenko Runjić and Dragojević, released the song "Galeb i ja". It proved to be a big hit across the former
SFR Yugoslavia and made Dragojević a household name. This was followed by hits "Romanca", "Oprosti mi, pape", "Stari morski vuk". Between 1975 and 1980, the Dragojević/Runjić duo dominated the music scene of the former SFR Yugoslavia. Part of the secret of their success was a third contributor,
Jakša Fiamengo, who wrote the lyrics to some of Dragojević's most iconic songs, namely: "Nadalina", "Piva klapa ispod volta", "Karoca", "Ništa nova", "Infiša san u te", and "Ostavljam te samu". His style blended traditional
klapa melodies of
Dalmatia with jazz motifs wrapped up in a modern production. For his influential musical career, he reached critical and commercial acclaim in Yugoslavia and later Croatia, and his music continues to be popular today in the ex-Yugoslavian countries. Dragojević achieved numerous accolades, including numerous
Porin and
Indexi awards. He is one of the few Croatian musicians who performed at major international venues such as
Carnegie Hall,
Royal Albert Hall,
L'Olympia and
Sydney Opera House.
1970s The 1970s were marked by rock genres such as
hard rock,
progressive rock,
jazz rock,
art rock,
glam rock,
folk rock,
symphonic rock,
blues rock and
boogie rock. In that period, some of the greatest Yugoslav
stadium rock bands emerged:
YU grupa,
Time,
Smak,
Parni valjak,
Atomsko Sklonište,
Leb i Sol,
Teška industrija and
Galija. In 1974 one of the most renowned rock groups ever formed in SFR Yugoslavia came to prominence, the
Sarajevo based
Bijelo Dugme, with
Željko Bebek as its first singer. Many foreign pop and rock stars visited Yugoslavia. In July 1970, the American rock band
Blood, Sweat & Tears played five concerts across Yugoslavia, received in a subdued or indifferent fashion by the audiences. The 2023 documentary film
What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? shows footage from the Zagreb and Belgrade dates. Significant appearances include the
Deep Purple concerts in Zagreb and Belgrade in 1975 with the local support acts Hobo and Smak in each of the cities respectively, and the
Rolling Stones concert in Zagreb in 1976. Several rock music festivals existed of which
BOOM was one of the most popular. A rock music event that marked the decade, but also the Yugoslav rock history in general, was the Bijelo Dugme's concert at Hajdučka česma in Košutnjak Park in Belgrade on August 22, 1977, which was attended by around 80,000 people. (Parts of) the recorded material were released on the live album
Koncert kod Hajdučke česme. 1975 saw the emergence of a very influential act,
Buldožer from Slovenia, noted for its
experimental rock, which was a reaction pointed against the musical scene of the time.
Singer-songwriters The Yugoslav scene also featured several notable singer-songwriters, who emphasized their poetry over music, and usually performed accompanying themselves by an
acoustic guitar or
piano. Some of them were inspired by the French
chanson or
folk rock. One of the first critically acclaimed singer-songwriters was the Croatian artist
Arsen Dedić who started his career in the 1960s and is still popular in his homeland and around the former Yugoslav countries, especially among the older generation. Another important author was also
Đorđe Balašević from
Novi Sad. He started his music career in the 1970s as a member of Žetva and
Rani Mraz, before beginning a very successful solo career that continued up to his death in 2021. Despite being into
acoustic rock initially, later he often used various elements of pop and rock often spiced up either with typical Vojvodinian humour or a
ballad type of melancholy. A notable female artist in this category was
Jadranka Stojaković from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was an author of the main music theme for the
1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo. Since 1988, she resides in Japan. An artist notable for socially engaged lyrics was
Marko Brecelj, formerly a member of
Buldožer.
Disco , a former Yugoslav pop star The
disco craze spread around the world in the 1970s, conquering Yugoslavia as well. Similarly to the disco movie
Saturday Night Fever,
Zdravko Čolić became a sort of "Yugoslav
John Travolta" dancing in stadiums across the country, dressed in a tight white suit and the then-fashionable
bell-bottoms. At the legendary concert at the
Belgrade stadium
Marakana on September 5, 1978, about 70,000 people gathered to see him. The concert was also attended by representatives of a West German
record label. Impressed by Čolić's popularity they offered him a record contract. He released the songs "Jedina" and "Zagrli me" for the Western German market and also an
English language single featuring the songs "I'm not a Robot Man" and "Light Me". Čolić was offered to move to West Germany and start a career there, but he refused favouring the popularity he had at home. His song about a relationship with a
posh girl "Pusti, Pusti modu" became a nationwide disco megahit in 1980. Despite that the disco fashion soon faded, Čolić continued his successful career as a pop music singer occasionally using folk music elements and remained popular in the former Yugoslav countries up to this day. This era also brought in a
one-hit wonder called Mirzino Jato, labeled by the media as
kitschy
euro disco band obviously influenced by
Boney M., who were quite popular in Yugoslavia, especially after their only male member
Bobby Farrell married a girl from
Skopje's predominantly
Romani inhabited municipality
Šuto Orizari. Mirzino Jato's style encompassed the deep, subwoofer shaking voice of
Sarajevo opera and classical choir singer Mirza Alijagić and the three sexy
back vocalists called "Jato" (trans.
Flock). Music was written and produced by
Divlje Jagode guitarist
Sead Lipovača, while the author of most lyrics was
Marina Tucaković, who later wrote lyrics for other musical styles. Despite their huge popularity at the time, Mirzino Jato never got past the first album. Its only considerable hit was "Apsolutno tvoj". One of the best known dance songs in this period was also the
Dado Topić's opening track of the 1979 film
Nacionalna klasa starring
Dragan Nikolić as Floyd, the fanatic car racer.
Hard rock and heavy metal in 2008.
Gordi were one of the first Yugoslav
heavy metal bands and are considered one of the pioneers of classic heavy metal in Yugoslavia.
Hard rock group
Riblja Čorba, known for their provocative social-related lyrics and controversial political attitudes of the band's frontman
Bora Đorđević was one of the most important groups of the Yugoslav and
Serbian rock in general. Riblja Čorba drummer
Vicko Milatović formed heavy metal band
Warriors, which later moved to Canada and recorded an album for the foreign market. The eminent heavy metal group
Divlje Jagode from Bihać, led by guitarist
Sead "Zele" Lipovača started a short-lasting international career in 1987 under the name Wild Strawberries. Another notable Bosnian hard rock group was
Vatreni Poljubac led by charismatic
Milić Vukašinović, formerly a member of
Bijelo Dugme. Other notable hard rock and heavy metal bands include
Generacija 5,
Rok Mašina,
Kerber and
Griva from Serbia;
Atomsko sklonište,
Osmi Putnik (whose frontman
Zlatan Stipišić Gibonni, later started a successful pop music career) and
Crna Udovica (later changed their name to Big Blue) from Croatia;
Pomaranča from Slovenia, and others. Yugoslav
glam metal scene featured few acts, most notable being
Krom,
Karizma and
Osvajači.
Punk rock The Yugoslav
punk rock scene emerged in the late 1970s, influenced by the first wave of
punk rock bands from the United Kingdom and United States, such as
Sex Pistols and
The Clash and others, but also the
proto-punk bands such as
MC5,
The Stooges and
New York Dolls. The
DIY punkzine scene also started to develop. The Yugoslav punk bands were the first punk bands ever formed in a
socialist state. Some of the first ones were formed in
SR Slovenia and
SR Croatia:
Pankrti from
Ljubljana (formed in 1977) and
Paraf from
Rijeka (depending on the source, formed in 1976 or 1977). The Slovenian and Croatian scene of that period is featured in the compilation album
Novi Punk Val, compiled by
Igor Vidmar. Late 1970s-early 1980s Belgrade scene included:
Urbana Gerila,
Radnička Kontrola and many others. This generation of bands was included on the
Artistička Radna Akcija compilation.
Pekinška Patka was a cult band coming from
Novi Sad. Some of the notable punk bands in
SR Macedonia included:
Fol Jazik, arguably the first punk band in
Skopje, formed in 1978;
Afektiven naboj from
Struga formed in 1979 feat.
Goran Trajkoski; Other notable acts from Skopje included
Badmingtons and Saraceni, both led by
Vladimir Petrovski Karter. In Sarajevo,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, the following artists emerged: Ozbiljno Pitanje (which later evolved into the pop-rock star band
Crvena Jabuka), Ševa (which later evolved into
Bombaj Štampa led by the charismatic
Branko Đurić), and the cult band
Zabranjeno Pušenje. These Sarajevian bands later formed the punk-inspired
New Primitives movement, an important phenomenon in the former Yugoslav culture. In the late 1970s, some punk bands were affiliated with the
new wave music scene, and were labeled as both punk rock and new wave. During a certain period, the term "new wave music" was interchangeable with "punk". The end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s saw the emergence of various subgenres of punk rock, such as
street punk and
Oi!. Later came
hardcore punk, followed by various extreme styles such as
crust punk,
crossover thrash all the way to
grindcore. Notable hardcore punk acts during the 1980s included:
Niet,
Patareni,
KBO! and others. A notable mainstream
pop punk band was
Psihomodo Pop from Croatia (heavily influenced by
The Ramones). Many eminent foreign punk bands played concerts around former Yugoslavia including:
The Ruts,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
U.K. Subs,
Angelic Upstarts,
The Exploited and
The Anti-Nowhere League. In 1983 The Anti-Nowhere League released their album
Live in Yugoslavia, while Angelic Upstarts released a live album with the same title in 1985. Beside musicians, the Yugoslav
punk subculture also included
punk writers and
artists, with
Ivan Glišić from
Šabac being one of the notable ones.
New wave music , the
guitarist of
Azra, one of the most popular groups across Yugoslavia|thumb|180px The
new wave music scene emerged in the late 1970s and had a significant impact on Yugoslav culture. As its counterparts – the British and the US new wave music scenes, from which the main influences came from, the Yugoslav new wave scene was also closely related to
Punk rock,
Ska,
Reggae,
2 Tone,
Power pop,
Mod Revival etc. The new wave was especially advocated by the music magazines
Polet from
Zagreb and
Džuboks from
Belgrade, and by the TV show
Rokenroler, which was known for its
artistic music videos. Important bands of the Yugoslav new wave are:
Prljavo kazalište,
Novi fosili,
Šarlo Akrobata,
Idoli,
Azra,
Električni orgazam,
Haustor,
Film,
Laboratorija Zvuka,
Lačni Franz,
Cilindar,
Gjurmet and many others. This period in the former Yugoslav music is considered a "Golden age". All of these artists still have status of
cult bands. Symbols of the Yugoslav new wave era are the compilation albums
Paket aranžman,
Novi Punk Val,
Artistička Radna Akcija and especially movies
Davitelj protiv davitelja (starring Idoli member
Srđan Šaper) and
Dečko koji obećava (starring
Aleksandar Berček and featuring appearances by members of
Šarlo Akrobata and
Idoli). An important
rockumentary covering this period is
Sretno dijete.
1980s As the new wave perished in the beginning of the 1980s, some of the bands split or took different musical directions. The period around 1982 is considered especially crucial concerning the decline of the new wave in Yugoslavia, but also around the world. Many new important bands formed in 1982 after the new wave faded:
Dušan Kojić-Koja, the former bass player of
Šarlo Akrobata formed the legendary group
Disciplina Kičme (a unique noisy mix of punk rock,
funk,
jazz fusion and many other styles). The band later rose to international prominence and appeared on
MTV.
Zoran Kostić-Cane, the former vocalist of
Radnička Kontrola, formed the furious
garage punk group
Partibrejkers and achieved huge success.
Idoli,
Prljavo Kazalište and
Film (the latter under the moniker
Jura Stublić i Film) became
pop-rock and all of them respectively achieved great mainstream success; The cult band
Azra gradually moved on to a more conventional rock sound with occasional use of
folk rock.
Johnny Štulić's poetic trademarks were still notable throughout their lyrics.
Električni Orgazam went through a
psychedelic phase and later became a successful mainstream rock band inspired mostly by the 1960s sound. One of the most prominent mainstream dance pop acts during the decade, especially in the early 1980s, was
Oliver Mandić. He used
transvestite elements in his stage and video performances long before
Boy George emerged. His music utilized much
funk dance music. The national
Radio-Television Belgrade filmed the TV show featuring a collection of his
music videos called
Beograd noću (
Belgrade by Night) directed by Stanko Crnobrnja. The ambitiously avantgarde program won
Rose d'Or award at the 1981
Montreux TV festival. Mandić's controversial image in the show, created by the conceptual artist Kosta Bunuševac, raised quite a public furor due to the singer's
cross-dressing and aggressive makeup. A former
Riblja čorba member,
Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga formed one of the most popular ex-Yugoslav acts ever,
Bajaga i Instruktori. Later,
Dejan Cukić, one of the members of Instruktori left the band and started a successful solo career. Family-friendly pop acts during the 1980s were
Novi Fosili and the
Split based group
Magazin, both featuring female vocalists. 1983 was marked by
Danijel Popović, the Yugoslav performer at the
Eurovision Song Contest in
Munich. He instantly became a nationwide pop star, but was also acclaimed around Europe. West German and
Swedish artists released cover versions of his hit "
Džuli". In the following year, at the national ESC pre-selection in Skopje,
Dado Topić performed a
duet with
Slađana Milošević, known for her extravagant style comparable to that of
Nina Hagen. Although their song "Princeza" did not win, it remained an evergreen
pop ballad. Another notable
duet was the song "Jabuke i vino" by
Željko Bebek and
Zana Nimani. Zana Nimani was a notable artist from the
Albanian minority, she was a frontress of the band
Zana from Belgrade and later started a solo career. The most popular TV show during the decade was
Hit meseca (
Hit of the Month) which was a sort of Yugoslav
Top of the Pops. The host of the show was Dubravka "Duca" Marković. A popular magazine among the youths was
ITD, which also had a version called
Super ITD in a bigger format. The most prominent rock music magazines were
Rock and
Džuboks. Musical genres such as
Post-punk,
Gothic rock,
Darkwave,
New Romantic and
Synthpop were already expanded in SFR Yugoslavia during the early 1980s, and especially at the end of 1980s because of coming of new technologies such as Video recorders and Satellite Television in many homes in SFR Yugoslavia.
Post-punk The former punks
Pekinška Patka moved to
post-punk and
darkwave on their second, less acclaimed album
Strah od monotonije released in 1981 and soon disbanded. Another legendary band,
Paraf, moved from their initial punk rock phase and released their psychedelic album
Izleti in 1982 with elements of post-punk and
gothic rock.
Električni Orgazam had a notable psychedelic phase, during which, they released their album
Lišće prekriva Lisabon in 1982.
Milan Mladenović, formerly a guitarist of
Šarlo Akrobata, in that same 1982 formed the
cult band Ekatarina Velika, initially named Katarina II. The band is remembered for its darker poetic post-punk sound and its intellectual attitude. Some of its members included the
bass guitar player
Bojan Pečar, formerly a member of Via Talas and the drummer
Srđan Todorović, who later rose to internationally acclaimed film actor.
Margita Stefanović-Magi, the keyboard player, and Milan, the
frontman both rose to a status of "alternative celebrities". Later, both died.
Art rock Notable
art rock groups included the
arty and extravagant
Dorian Gray and
Boa, both from
Zagreb. The former, named after
Oscar Wilde's
Dorian Gray, formed in 1982, influenced by
Roxy Music and
Japan. It was led by
Massimo Savić, later a successful
pop singer.
Boa formed in the 1970s, influenced by
Yes,
King Crimson and
Genesis, but later turned to
New Romantic. In 1990, it performed as
David Bowie's
opening act at
Stadion Maksimir.
New Romantic During the
New Romantic era popularized around the world by
Duran Duran and
Spandau Ballet, prominent acts in Yugoslavia were the aforementioned Zagreb based group
Boa and
Jakarta from
Belgrade.
Synthpop Notable
synthpop artists in the former Yugoslavia included:
Beograd, formed in 1981, named after their hometown Belgrade;
Videosex from Ljubljana, Slovenia, led by their charismatic
frontress Anja Rupel; the duo
Denis & Denis from Croatia featuring the sex-symbol
Marina Perazić, who later started a solo career, and her boyfriend
Davor Tolja; the humorous bunch
Laki Pingvini and a similar act named
D' Boys (pronounced as "The Boys") led by
Peđa D' Boy, formerly a
vocalist of the West German rock band
Jane. In Macedonia, a notable synthesizer-led act was the group
Bastion which featured the now internationally acclaimed
electronic musician
Kiril Džajkovski on
electronic keyboards and
Milcho Manchevski as a lyrics writer. Many Yugoslav artists in this period were already experimenting with the use of
personal computers in creating of their music. The cover of the single "Neka ti se dese prave stvari" / "Ne zovi to ljubavlju" by the Belgrade-based group Data featured the then popular
Commodore 64.
New Primitives The New Primitivism was an urban
subcultural movement in Sarajevo in the early 1980s. Some of projects that came from the New Primitives were the band
Zabranjeno Pušenje, the
Top lista nadrealista TV and radio show, the legendary group
Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors,
Bombaj Štampa and others. Its creators include
Elvis J. Kurtović, dr.
Nele Karajlić, mr.
Sejo Sexon,
Bombaj Stampa (featuring actor/director
Branko Đurić — Đuro), Boris Šiber,
Zenit Đozić from the Sarajevo neighbourhood of
Koševo. The film director
Emir Kusturica was an associate and friend of the crew. The fresh spirit that the group left in the urban Bosnian culture and a quite new way of expression, flooding directly from street subculture, attracted significant popularity and made it one of monuments of modern Bosnian culture. The discourse of New Primitivism was primarily humorous, based on the spirit of Bosnian ordinary people from the cultural underground. They introduced the jargon, rich in
Turcisms, of Sarajevo "mahalas" (suburban neighborhoods) into the official musical and TV scene. Most of their songs and sketches involve stories about small people – coalmine workers, petty criminals, provincial girls etc. - put in unusual or even absurd situations. There are comparisons between ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus'' show and New Primitives methods, as they share the form of short sketches and utilize
absurdity as means to illicit laughs from the audience. The name of the movement arguably came as a reaction to two then-actual movements:
New Romantic in global pop music and Slovenian
Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK).
Band Aid In the late 1984
Bob Geldof and
Midge Ure organized the famine relief campaign named
Band Aid, which continued throughout 1985 until its finale – the historical
Live Aid concert on 13 July 1985. The concert was broadcast worldwide including SFR Yugoslavia. Beside "
Do They Know it's Christmas?" and
USA for Africa projects from the UK and USA respectively, plenty of other countries also joined in. For example: Canada, West Germany, Austria, Norway etc. The SFR Yugoslav pop and rock elite also joined Geldof's campaign and formed a Yugoslav Band Aid under the name
YU Rock Misija. The group included
Oliver Mandić,
Željko Bebek,
Marina Perazić,
Momčilo Bajagić,
Aki Rahimovski,
Husein Hasanefendić,
Slađana Milošević,
Jura Stublić,
Dado Topić,
Massimo Savić,
Zdravko Čolić,
Izolda Barudžija,
Snežana Mišković,
Alen Islamović,
Sead Lipovača,
Dejan Cukić,
Doris Dragović,
Anja Rupel,
Srđan Šaper,
Vladimir Divljan,
Peđa D' Boy,
Zoran Predin and other eminent musicians. They recorded the Yugoslav Band Aid song "Za million godina" ("For a Million Years") written by former
Generacija 5 leader
Dragan Ilić and Mladen Popović. The guitar solo in the song is played by
Vlatko Stefanovski. The song was released as a single. Also a corresponding video was filmed.
Bora Đorđević and
Goran Bregović, leaders of
Riblja Čorba and
Bijelo Dugme were not credited on the record's back cover, however they appeared in a TV performance of the song. At the end of the campaign, the Yugoslav musicians played a big 8 hour stadium concert on June 15, 1985, in Belgrade. The video for "Za million godina" was played on many TV stations worldwide and also, on July 13 at the Wembley Stadium on large video screens during a
video interlude. It is included, though not completely, in the
Overseas contributors section in the official
Live Aid DVD that was released in the 2004 by
Warner Music Group. :*The Yugoslav message to Live Aid and
YU Rock Misija video incl. subtitles
Sarajevo school of pop rock Sarajevo developed a distinguishable pop and rock sound, often (but not necessarily) featuring
Bosnian folk music elements, which became popular across the whole Yugoslav federation. It was the birthplace of one of the top Yugoslav rock bands
Bijelo Dugme and the pop star
Zdravko Čolić. The scene began to develop in the 1960s with groups such as
Indexi, Pro Arte and singer/songwriter
Kemal Monteno. It continued into the 1970s with
Ambasadori, Bijelo dugme and Vatreni poljubac, while the 1980s brought artists such as
Plavi Orkestar,
Crvena Jabuka,
Hari Mata Hari,
Dino Merlin, Valentino,
Regina, Bolero and Gino Banana. Sarajevo was also the home of the authentic
punk-influenced subculture known as the
New Primitives, which developed in the early 1980s and was brought into the mainstream by artists such as
Zabranjeno Pušenje, Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors,
Bombaj Štampa and the radio and TV comedy show
Top lista nadrealista.
Industrial Notable industrial music acts in Yugoslavia were
Autopsia from
Ruma and
SCH from Sarajevo.
Neo-rockabilly The Yugoslav scene also included numerous neo-
rockabilly,
psychobilly and retro-
rock and roll acts. A noted artist was controversial
Velibor "Bora" Miljković, better known as Toni Montano, nicknamed after
Tony Montana, the main character of the movie
Scarface. He was a former vocalist of the
punk rock group Radost Evrope, ironically named after the international
children's music festival
Joy of Europe held annually in Belgrade. Toni often stirred controversy in his interviews and frequently attacked other musicians, like
Ekaterina Velika and such, whom he considered
pseudointellectuals who alienated themselves from the "street", where, according to him, the real rock music should emerge from. He arrogantly proclaimed himself a "real rock star" whose time is yet to come. However, he never really managed to achieve the success of his adversaries, who never bothered much with him anyway. His albums often included cover versions of punk rock tracks, such as the
Sex Pistols' "
Friggin' in the Riggin'" and "Lonely Boy". Espousing an
old school macho rocker attitude and image, Toni's songs often featured
sexist lyrics. On the other hand, the group Đavoli from Split led by
Nenad "Neno" Belan were a softer retro-rock 'n' roll act, they released several summer hits and also
twist or
surf music influenced tracks. Some of its members also had punk rock background. The rockabilly group
Fantomi was another act in Croatia, while in Serbia the group called
Vampiri emerged with their trademark
doo-wop style of singing and performed as a
support act of the internationally acclaimed retro jazzy pop group
Vaya Con Dios at their concert in Belgrade.
Neue Slowenische Kunst In Slovenia, the cult avant-garde band
Laibach emerged in 1980. Experimenting with various styles such as
industrial,
martial and
neo-classical music they rose to international prominence and influenced acts such as the group
Rammstein for instance. They appeared on
MTV with their
cover version of "
Across the Universe" by
The Beatles, featuring a guest-appearance by
Anja Rupel. One of the groups connected with NSK were Abbildungen Variete from
Maribor. The most notable
electronic body music act was
Borghesia, from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Macedonian darkwave and gothic scene While Slovenia had the
Neue Slowenische Kunst movement, in Macedonia, the collective Makedonska Streljba was formed. The Macedonian
darkwave and
gothic rock scene featured some of the most prominent Macedonian acts ever, such as
Mizar,
Arhangel and
Padot na Vizantija, the latter featuring
Goran Trajkoski.
Extreme metal The
extreme metal music scene across SFR Yugoslavia was also developed. It included various
thrash metal,
speed metal and
death metal acts. A festival called Hard Metal was taking place in Belgrade and also a magazine with the same name was published. Notable acts included speed metal band
Bombarder (initially formed in Sarajevo, later moved to Belgrade), Bloodbath (not to be confused with the Swedish band
Bloodbath),
Heller (the pioneers of Yugoslav thrash metal) and others. The thrash metal band
Sanatorium was formed in Skopje in 1987. During its 20 years of existence, it shared stage with many prominent international stars such as
Motörhead,
Halford,
Soulfly and others.
Rap music Many
rap music artists emerged in SFR Yugoslavia throughout the 1980s.
Breakdance groups also existed especially in the first half of the 1980s. A prominent breakdance rap act was
The Master Scratch Band. They have released some works for
Jugoton in 1984 including the track
Break War featuring
Hit Meseca host Dubravka "Duca" Marković.
Disciplina Kičme also used rap music elements, though in their own specific way, always mixed with numerous other styles. But there was an artist who utilized rap music in a very distinguishable manner. In the late 1980s, a charismatic musician of Montenegrin origin came into nationwide prominence:
Rambo Amadeus. His pseudonym as well as his music encompassed an intellectual attitude on one side, but also a distinguishable
Balkan-flavoured humour and
macho camp on the other. He often, if not always used rap music combined with folk music parody and political and social
satire, although he doesn't fit into the conventional rap music category because he went beyond the style. He also coined the term "
turbo folk", though he was one of its greatest enemies. He is still a cult personality in the ex-Yugoslav territories. He often closely cooperated with another musician,
Dino Dvornik, the son of the Croatian actor
Boris Dvornik. Dino Dvornik was a popular funk-inspired
dance-pop artist.
Yugoslav Wars and aftermath (1990s) Two years after the group
Riva won the
Eurovision Song Contest 1989 and one year after the
Eurovision Song Contest 1990 took place in
Zagreb, the SFR Yugoslav music scene ceased to exist with the
breakup of Yugoslavia. Ironically, the 1990 winning song performed by
Toto Cutugno was called
Insieme: 1992 (in Italian: Together in 1992) featuring the lyrics
Together, Unite, Unite Europe! acclaiming the approaching
European unification that took place in 1992.
Tajči became one of the last breakout pop stars in Yugoslavia, before the disintegration of the country cut her career short and she emigrated to the United States. With the outbreak of the
Yugoslav Wars many of the former Yugoslav musicians participated in
anti-war activities, often being attacked by the nationalists in their countries. In 1992, the
Serbian rock supergroup
Rimtutituki featuring members of
Partibrejkers,
Ekatarina Velika and
Električni Orgazam released an anti-
militarist song, and after the authorities forbade them to promote it with a live show, they performed on a
trailer towed by a
truck through the streets of
Belgrade. However, others previously involved in the Yugoslav pop and rock scene embraced national
chauvinism, and even saw active combat. A notable example is the song "E, moj druže Beogradski" ("Hey my Belgrade comrade"). Although generally seen as an emotional anti-war song pointed against the
Serbian nationalism written by
Jura Stublić from the
Croatian group
Film, at the time of its appearance it caused different reactions.
Bora Đorđević, who had a cult status in the
Serbian rock scene as a frontman of
Riblja Čorba, soon "replied" with the controversial song "E moj druže Zagrebački" ("Hey my Zagreb comrade"), a cynical parody featuring nationalist messages.Many
Croatian pop and rock artists took part in projects such as "
Moja domovina" and
Rock za Hrvatsku during the
Croatian War of Independence. When the
Bosnian War broke out, the
Sarajevo based group
Zabranjeno Pušenje split into two separate fractions. The latter based itself in Belgrade and received international exposure under the name
No Smoking Orchestra led by
Nele Karajlić, also featuring the movie director
Emir Kusturica. They played with
Joe Strummer and that concert footage is included in the
Super 8 Stories film directed by Kusturica. Newly established folk singer Zehra Bajraktarević's career was met with the harshness of siege of Sarajevo, nonetheless she continued to produce albums despite the conditions of the war. While
Slovenia,
Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Macedonia proclaimed themselves
independent states, the leaderships of
Serbia and
Montenegro decided to form a new federal state called the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which existed from 1992 until 2003, however it was not recognized as a legal successor to the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/UNMembers%20SRES777.pdf The local scenes in the independent countries that emerged after the breakup of Yugoslavia continued to exist, some of them heavily suffering during the war. The music scene continued even in the shelters during the
Sarajevo siege and a compilation album
Rock under siege (Radio Zid Sarajevo, Stichting Popmuziek Nederland) was released in 1995. The music of the Yugoslav Wars has gained a cult following on the internet, mostly among foreigners. This is evidenced by the wide popularity of the
YouTube channels Kocayine and Наша Српска Архива (Our Serbian Archive). Some notable artists in this style of music are
Lepi Mića and
Baja Mali Knindža.
2000s After the end of the conflicts and especially later, after the departure of leaders such as
Slobodan Milošević and
Franjo Tuđman, the
former Yugoslav nations started to normalise their relations. Thus their music scenes could freely restore their former cooperation. Many of the former pop and rock stars re-emerged and toured the former Yugoslav countries:
Bijelo Dugme,
Leb i Sol,
Crvena Jabuka,
Plavi Orkestar,
Massimo Savić (formerly of
Dorian Gray) and
Boris Novković (formerly of the group Boris i Noćna Straža), while
Anja Rupel, formerly of
Videosex, recorded a
duet with
Toše Proeski, a young Macedonian pop singer who became respected in all the former Yugoslav countries. Following the reconciliation of
Serbia and
Croatia, the aforementioned Croatian musician
Jura Stublić held three sold-out concerts in
Belgrade in 2003. Asked by the media about "E, moj druže Zagrebački" case,
Bora Đorđević replied that "it was just a joke". He also expressed approbation for Stublić's comeback to Belgrade after so many years. On the other hand,
Bajaga and
Đorđe Balašević had respectively made numerous concert appearances in Croatia and Bosnia. In 2003 Igor Mirković from Croatia made the
rockumentary Sretno dijete (
Happy Child) named after a song by
Prljavo Kazalište. The movie covers the early
Yugoslav punk rock and
new wave scenes featuring eminent artists from
Zagreb,
Ljubljana and
Belgrade. ==Music for children==