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Popular music in Yugoslavia includes thepop androck music of the formerSFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included theconstituent republics:SR Slovenia,SR Croatia,SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,SR Montenegro,SR Macedonia andSR Serbia and its subunits:SAP Vojvodina andSAP Kosovo. The pop and rock scene was a part of the generalMusic of Yugoslavia, which also includedfolk,classical music,jazz etc. Within Yugoslavia and internationally, the phrases ex-YU orex-Yugoslav Pop and Rock both formally and informally generally to the SFRY period, though in some cases also to its successor theFR Yugoslavia including Serbia and Montenegro which existed until 2006 (such as the book titleEx YU rock enciklopedija 1960 - 2006).
Although sometimes considered as anEastern Bloc country, theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a founding member of theNon-Aligned Movement and as such, it was far more open to western influences compared to the othersocialist 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 presidentJosip Broz Tito himself, notablyBijelo Dugme,Zdravko Čolić andRani Mraz. SFR Yugoslavia was the onlycommunist country which was taking part in theEurovision Song Contest. It joined in 1961 even before someWestern andNATO nations such asPortugal,Ireland,Greece andTurkey, which joined in1964,1965,1974 and1975 respectively.
One of the first stars in the former Socialist Yugoslavia and one of its first internationally acclaimed artists, was thetraditional pop singerIvo 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 was the original performer of theStrangers in the Night song byBert Kaempfert, predatingFrank Sinatra who recorded his version later in 1966.
Robić closely cooperated with Kaempfert throughout most of his career. In the early 1960s, after seeing a promising young act from England performing at theTop Ten Club inHamburg, Robić convinced Kaempfert, who wasPolydor's agent, to help those youngsters in their career. Kaempfert accepted and thanks to him the group was hired to record together with the then popularTony Sheridan. The young group wasThe Beatles. Those were their first commercial recordings ever, including "My Bonnie", "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow". That album was released in numerous versions such asIn the Beginning (Circa 1960),The Beatles' First andBeatles Bop - Hamburg Days.
Therock and roll scene in Yugoslavia started to emerge in the 1950s influenced by the classic rock and roll androckabilly acts such asElvis 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 guitaristMile Lojpur from Belgrade (born inZrenjanin in 1930). He was tributed by many musicians later, notably byNikola Čuturilo. Other eminent act that started in the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene wasKarlo Metikoš fromZagreb, who after moving to Paris started an international career under the pseudonym Matt Collins. He recorded forPhilips Records and had an opportunity to meet legends such asJerry Lee Lewis andPaul Anka.
A notable singer who emerged in the late 1950s wasĐorđe Marjanović, who became the first Yugoslavmegastar.
The beginning of the 1960s saw the emergence of numerous bands, many of them initially inspired by the then-popularCliff Richard andThe Shadows: in 1960 Uragani were formed inRijeka,[1][2]Bijele Strijele andSiluete, formed in 1961; the Zagreb-basedCrveni Koralji and Belgrade'sZlatni Dečaci in 1962; in 1963 two other important Belgrade bands were formed,Samonikli andCrni Biseri, the latter featuringVlada Janković-Džet, a prominent Yugoslav musician, who got his nickname afterJet Harris. The Zagreb-basedDelfini were also formed the same year. After theBritish invasion, many of these bands later moved on toBritish rhythm and blues. InSkopje, a popular 1960s rock 'n' roll group was formed namedBisbez who were considered "The Macedonian Beatles". They were formed by merging two already existing bands Biseri and Bezimeni.
The 1960s also saw the expansion ofBeatlemania. Many new bands formed influenced byThe Beatles or by theRolling 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 wasRadio 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-Italianbeat music festivals took place.
In the mid-1960s many bands such asDžentlmeni,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 wereThe Animals,The Byrds,The MonkeesThe Kinks,The Who,Manfred Mann and others. Thegarage 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 asex 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 fromCongo Edi Dekeng, went on to playsoul music.
The prominent Croatian singerTereza Kesovija representedMonaco at theEurovision Song Contest 1966.
One of the most eminent and influential former Yugoslav group formed in the 1960s wasIndexi. They were formed inSarajevo 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 featuringDavorin 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 toSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Indexi gradually moved to a morepsychedelic sound, with more complex guitar and keyboard solos adding occasional folk and even classical music elements. One of the band's notable membersKornelije Kovač, left Indeksi to form another legendary band,Korni Grupa, in Belgrade in 1968.
As the end of the 1960s was approaching, thehippie movement expanded around the world as well as in SFR Yugoslavia. Notable group was the Croatian-based Grupa 220, which during a certain period featuredPiko Stančić. Later he rose to one of the most important musicians, producers and arrangers in the whole former Yugoslav scene.
Under influences such asBob Dylan andJoan Baez, many young people embraced the acoustic sound and thus were called "akustičari" contrary toelektričari" (transl. electricians). Prominent acoustic artist was Ivica Percl, formerly of Roboti. He was an acoustic musician andpeace activist playing guitar andharmonica influenced byBob Dylan andDonovan.
The year of1968 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 groupAmbasadori. One of the members of both Ambasadori and Korni Grupa wasZdravko Čolić, who went solo later and was acclaimed as the biggest pop star in the former Yugoslavia. The most notable female vocalist wasJosipa 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 musicalHair. 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 aSocialist state, and it was highly praised by theHair's original authorsGerome Ragni andJames 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".[1]
Many pop music festivals existed across SFR Yugoslavia including theSplit Festival,Opatija Festival,Beogradsko proleće inBelgrade,Skopje Fest,Vaš šlager sezone inSarajevo, and later alsoMakfest inŠtip was established. The family-friendly pop music played at those festivals was comparable to olderEurovision Song Contests, the Germanschlager genre, the ItalianSanremo Music Festival or theadult oriented pop music category.
The specificDalmatian pop sound featuring local folk elements performed at festivals held along the touristyAdriatic coast was very popular and some of its most notable exponents wereOliver Dragojević andMišo 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 fromSplit, "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 theSplit Festival, where he won with the song "Ča će mi Copacabana".[3]
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A year later, composerZdenko Runjić and Dragojević, released the song "Galeb i ja". It proved to be a big hit across the formerSFR 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".[4] In 1990, Dragojević won the Split Festival withTi is moj san, and got third place at theYugoslav selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the songSreća je tamo gdje si ti, both in collaboration withZorica Kondža.[5][6] His style blended traditionalklapa melodies ofDalmatia 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 numerousPorin andIndexi awards. He is one of the few Croatian musicians who performed at major international venues such asCarnegie Hall,Royal Albert Hall,L'Olympia andSydney Opera House.[4]
The 1970s were marked by rock genres such ashard rock,progressive rock,jazz rock,art rock,glam rock,folk rock,symphonic rock,blues rock andboogie rock. In that period, some of the greatest Yugoslavstadium rock bands emerged:YU grupa,Time,Smak,Parni valjak,Atomsko Sklonište,Leb i Sol,Teška industrija andGalija.
In 1974 one of the most renowned rock groups ever formed in SFR Yugoslavia came to prominence, theSarajevo basedBijelo Dugme, withŽeljko Bebek as its first singer.
Many foreign pop and rock stars visited Yugoslavia. In July 1970, the American rock bandBlood, Sweat & Tears played five concerts across Yugoslavia, received in a subdued or indifferent fashion by the audiences. The 2023 documentary filmWhat the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? shows footage from the Zagreb and Belgrade dates.[7] Significant appearances include theDeep Purple concerts in Zagreb and Belgrade in 1975 with the local support acts Hobo and Smak in each of the cities respectively, and theRolling Stones concert in Zagreb in 1976.
Several rock music festivals existed of whichBOOM 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 albumKoncert kod Hajdučke česme.
1975 saw the emergence of a very influential act,Buldožer from Slovenia, noted for itsexperimental rock, which was a reaction pointed against the musical scene of the time.
The Yugoslav scene also featured several notable singer-songwriters, who emphasized their poetry over music, and usually performed accompanying themselves by anacoustic guitar orpiano. Some of them were inspired by the Frenchchanson orfolk rock. One of the first critically acclaimed singer-songwriters was the Croatian artistArsen 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 alsoĐorđe Balašević fromNovi Sad. He started his music career in the 1970s as a member of Žetva andRani Mraz, before beginning a very successful solo career that continued up to his death in 2021. Despite being intoacoustic rock initially, later he often used various elements of pop and rock often spiced up either with typical Vojvodinian humour or aballad type of melancholy. A notable female artist in this category wasJadranka Stojaković from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was an author of the main music theme for the1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo. Since 1988, she resides in Japan. An artist notable for socially engaged lyrics wasMarko Brecelj, formerly a member ofBuldožer.
Thedisco craze spread around the world in the 1970s, conquering Yugoslavia as well. Similarly to the disco movieSaturday Night Fever,Zdravko Čolić became a sort of "YugoslavJohn Travolta" dancing in stadiums across the country, dressed in a tight white suit and the then-fashionablebell-bottoms. At the legendary concert at theBelgrade stadiumMarakana on September 5, 1978, about 70,000 people gathered to see him. The concert was also attended by representatives of a West Germanrecord 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 anEnglish 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 aposh 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 aone-hit wonder called Mirzino Jato, labeled by the media askitschyeuro disco band obviously influenced byBoney M., who were quite popular in Yugoslavia, especially after their only male memberBobby Farrell married a girl fromSkopje's predominantlyRomani inhabited municipalityŠuto Orizari.[2] Mirzino Jato's style encompassed the deep, subwoofer shaking voice ofSarajevo opera and classical choir singer Mirza Alijagić and the three sexyback vocalists called "Jato" (trans.Flock). Music was written and produced byDivlje Jagode guitaristSead Lipovača, while the author of most lyrics wasMarina 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 theDado Topić's opening track of the 1979 filmNacionalna klasa starringDragan Nikolić as Floyd, the fanatic car racer.
Gordi were one of the first Yugoslavheavy metal bands and are considered one of the pioneers of classic heavy metal in Yugoslavia.Hard rock groupRiblja Čorba, known for their provocative social-related lyrics and controversial political attitudes of the band's frontmanBora Đorđević was one of the most important groups of the Yugoslav andSerbian rock in general. Riblja Čorba drummerVicko Milatović formed heavy metal bandWarriors, which later moved to Canada and recorded an album for the foreign market. The eminent heavy metal groupDivlje Jagode from Bihać, led by guitaristSead "Zele" Lipovača started a short-lasting international career in 1987 under the name Wild Strawberries. Another notable Bosnian hard rock group wasVatreni Poljubac led by charismaticMilić Vukašinović, formerly a member ofBijelo Dugme. Other notable hard rock and heavy metal bands includeGeneracija 5,Rok Mašina,Kerber andGriva from Serbia;Atomsko sklonište,Osmi Putnik (whose frontmanZlatan Stipišić Gibonni, later started a successful pop music career) andCrna Udovica (later changed their name to Big Blue) from Croatia;Pomaranča from Slovenia, and others. Yugoslavglam metal scene featured few acts, most notable beingKrom,Karizma andOsvajači.
The Yugoslavpunk rock scene emerged in the late 1970s, influenced by the first wave ofpunk rock bands from the United Kingdom and United States, such asSex Pistols andThe Clash and others, but also theproto-punk bands such asMC5,The Stooges andNew York Dolls. TheDIYpunkzine scene also started to develop. The Yugoslav punk bands were the first punk bands ever formed in asocialist state. Some of the first ones were formed inSR Slovenia andSR Croatia:Pankrti fromLjubljana (formed in 1977) andParaf fromRijeka (depending on the source, formed in 1976 or 1977). The Slovenian and Croatian scene of that period is featured in the compilation albumNovi Punk Val, compiled byIgor Vidmar. Late 1970s-early 1980s Belgrade scene included:Urbana Gerila,Radnička Kontrola and many others. This generation of bands was included on theArtistička Radna Akcija compilation.Pekinška Patka was a cult band coming fromNovi Sad. Some of the notable punk bands inSR Macedonia included:Fol Jazik, arguably the first punk band inSkopje, formed in 1978;Afektiven naboj fromStruga formed in 1979 feat.Goran Trajkoski; Other notable acts from Skopje includedBadmingtons andSaraceni, both led byVladimir Petrovski Karter. In Sarajevo,SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, the following artists emerged: Ozbiljno Pitanje (which later evolved into the pop-rock star bandCrvena Jabuka), Ševa (which later evolved intoBombaj Štampa led by the charismaticBranko Đurić), and the cult bandZabranjeno Pušenje. These Sarajevian bands later formed the punk-inspiredNew Primitives movement, an important phenomenon in the former Yugoslav culture.
In the late 1970s, some punk bands were affiliated with thenew 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 asstreet punk andOi!. Later camehardcore punk, followed by various extreme styles such ascrust punk,crossover thrash all the way togrindcore. Notable hardcore punk acts during the 1980s included:Niet,Patareni,KBO! and others. A notable mainstreampop punk band wasPsihomodo Pop from Croatia (heavily influenced byThe 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 andThe Anti-Nowhere League. In 1983 The Anti-Nowhere League released their albumLive in Yugoslavia, while Angelic Upstarts released a live album with the same title in 1985. Beside musicians, the Yugoslavpunk subculture also includedpunk writers andartists, withIvan Glišić fromŠabac being one of the notable ones.
Thenew 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 toPunk rock,Ska,Reggae,2 Tone,Power pop,Mod Revival etc. The new wave was especially advocated by the music magazinesPolet fromZagreb andDžuboks fromBelgrade, and by the TV showRokenroler, which was known for itsartistic 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 ofcult bands.
Symbols of the Yugoslav new wave era are the compilation albumsPaket aranžman,Novi Punk Val,Artistička Radna Akcija and especially moviesDavitelj protiv davitelja (starring Idoli memberSrđan Šaper) andDečko koji obećava (starringAleksandar Berček and featuring appearances by members ofŠarlo Akrobata andIdoli).
An importantrockumentary covering this period isSretno dijete.
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 ofŠarlo Akrobata formed the legendary groupDisciplina Kičme (a unique noisy mix of punk rock,funk,jazz fusion and many other styles). The band later rose to international prominence and appeared onMTV.Zoran Kostić-Cane, the former vocalist ofRadnička Kontrola, formed the furiousgarage punk groupPartibrejkers and achieved huge success.Idoli,Prljavo Kazalište andFilm (the latter under the monikerJura Stublić i Film) becamepop-rock and all of them respectively achieved great mainstream success; The cult bandAzra gradually moved on to a more conventional rock sound with occasional use offolk rock.Johnny Štulić's poetic trademarks were still notable throughout their lyrics.Električni Orgazam went through apsychedelic 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, wasOliver Mandić. He usedtransvestite elements in his stage and video performances long beforeBoy George emerged. His music utilized muchfunk dance music. The nationalRadio-Television Belgrade filmed the TV show featuring a collection of hismusic videos calledBeograd noću (Belgrade by Night) directed by Stanko Crnobrnja. The ambitiously avantgarde program wonRose d'Or award at the 1981Montreux 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'scross-dressing and aggressive makeup.
A formerRiblja 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 wereNovi Fosili and theSplit based groupMagazin, both featuring female vocalists.
1983 was marked byDanijel Popović, the Yugoslav performer at theEurovision Song Contest inMunich. He instantly became a nationwide pop star, but was also acclaimed around Europe. West German andSwedish artists released cover versions of his hit "Džuli".
In the following year, at the national ESC pre-selection in Skopje,Dado Topić performed aduet withSlađana Milošević, known for her extravagant style comparable to that ofNina Hagen. Although their song "Princeza" did not win, it remained an evergreenpop ballad. Another notableduet was the song "Jabuke i vino" byŽeljko Bebek andZana Nimani.
Zana Nimani was a notable artist from theAlbanian minority, she was a frontress of the bandZana from Belgrade and later started a solo career.
The most popular TV show during the decade wasHit meseca (Hit of the Month) which was a sort of YugoslavTop of the Pops.[8] The host of the show was Dubravka "Duca" Marković. A popular magazine among the youths wasITD, which also had a version calledSuper ITD in a bigger format. The most prominent rock music magazines wereRock andDžuboks.
Musical genres such asPost-punk,Gothic rock,Darkwave,New Romantic andSynthpop 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.
The former punksPekinška Patka moved topost-punk anddarkwave on their second, less acclaimed albumStrah od monotonije released in 1981 and soon disbanded. Another legendary band,Paraf, moved from their initial punk rock phase and released their psychedelic albumIzleti in 1982 with elements of post-punk andgothic rock.Električni Orgazam had a notable psychedelic phase, during which, they released their albumLišće prekriva Lisabon in 1982.
Milan Mladenović, formerly a guitarist ofŠarlo Akrobata, in that same 1982 formed thecult bandEkatarina 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 thebass guitar playerBojan Pečar, formerly a member of Via Talas and the drummerSrđan Todorović, who later rose to internationally acclaimed film actor.Margita Stefanović-Magi, the keyboard player, and Milan, thefrontman both rose to a status of "alternative celebrities". Later, both died.
Notableart rock groups included thearty and extravagantDorian Gray andBoa, both fromZagreb. The former, named afterOscar Wilde'sDorian Gray, formed in 1982, influenced byRoxy Music andJapan. It was led byMassimo Savić, later a successfulpop singer.Boa formed in the 1970s, influenced byYes,King Crimson andGenesis, but later turned toNew Romantic. In 1990, it performed asDavid Bowie'sopening act atStadion Maksimir.
During theNew Romantic era popularized around the world byDuran Duran andSpandau Ballet, prominent acts in Yugoslavia were the aforementioned Zagreb based groupBoa andJakarta fromBelgrade.
Notablesynthpop artists in the former Yugoslavia included:Beograd, formed in 1981, named after their hometown Belgrade;Videosex from Ljubljana, Slovenia, led by their charismaticfrontressAnja Rupel; the duoDenis & Denis from Croatia featuring the sex-symbolMarina Perazić, who later started a solo career, and her boyfriendDavor Tolja; the humorous bunchLaki Pingvini and a similar act namedD' Boys (pronounced as "The Boys") led byPeđa D' Boy, formerly avocalist of the West German rock bandJane. In Macedonia, a notable synthesizer-led act was the groupBastion which featured the now internationally acclaimedelectronic musicianKiril Džajkovski onelectronic keyboards andMilcho Manchevski as a lyrics writer. Many Yugoslav artists in this period were already experimenting with the use ofpersonal 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 popularCommodore 64.
The New Primitivism was an urbansubcultural movement in Sarajevo in the early 1980s. Some of projects that came from the New Primitives were the bandZabranjeno Pušenje, theTop lista nadrealista TV and radio show, the legendary groupElvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors,Bombaj Štampa and others. Its creators includeElvis J. Kurtović, dr.Nele Karajlić, mr.Sejo Sexon,Bombaj Stampa (featuring actor/directorBranko Đurić — Đuro), Boris Šiber,Zenit Đozić from the Sarajevo neighbourhood ofKoševo. The film directorEmir 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 inTurcisms, 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 betweenMonty Python's Flying Circus show and New Primitives methods, as they share the form of short sketches and utilizeabsurdity 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 SlovenianNeue Slowenische Kunst (NSK).
In the late 1984Bob Geldof andMidge Ure organized the famine relief campaign namedBand Aid, which continued throughout 1985 until its finale – the historicalLive Aid concert on 13 July 1985. The concert was broadcast worldwide including SFR Yugoslavia. Beside "Do They Know it's Christmas?" andUSA 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 nameYU Rock Misija. The group includedOliver 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 formerGeneracija 5 leaderDragan Ilić and Mladen Popović. The guitar solo in the song is played byVlatko Stefanovski. The song was released as a single. Also a corresponding video was filmed.Bora Đorđević andGoran Bregović, leaders ofRiblja Čorba andBijelo Dugme were not credited on the record's back cover, however they appeared in aTV 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 avideo interlude. It is included, though not completely, in theOverseas contributors section in the officialLive Aid DVD that was released in the 2004 byWarner Music Group.
Sarajevo developed a distinguishable pop and rock sound, often (but not necessarily) featuringBosnian folk music elements, which became popular across the whole Yugoslav federation. It was the birthplace of one of the top Yugoslav rock bandsBijelo Dugme and the pop starZdravko Čolić.
The scene began to develop in the 1960s with groups such asIndexi, Pro Arte and singer/songwriterKemal Monteno. It continued into the 1970s withAmbasadori, Bijelo dugme and Vatreni poljubac, while the 1980s brought artists such asPlavi Orkestar,Crvena Jabuka,Hari Mata Hari,Dino Merlin, Valentino,Regina, Bolero and Gino Banana.
Sarajevo was also the home of the authenticpunk-influenced subculture known as theNew Primitives, which developed in the early 1980s and was brought into the mainstream by artists such asZabranjeno Pušenje, Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors,Bombaj Štampa and the radio and TV comedy showTop lista nadrealista.
Notable industrial music acts in Yugoslavia wereAutopsia fromRuma andSCH from Sarajevo.
The Yugoslav scene also included numerous neo-rockabilly,psychobilly and retro-rock and roll acts.
A noted artist was controversialVelibor "Bora" Miljković, better known as Toni Montano, nicknamed afterTony Montana, the main character of the movieScarface. He was a former vocalist of thepunk rock group Radost Evrope, ironically named after the internationalchildren's music festivalJoy of Europe held annually in Belgrade. Toni often stirred controversy in his interviews and frequently attacked other musicians, likeEkaterina Velika and such, whom he consideredpseudointellectuals 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 theSex Pistols' "Friggin' in the Riggin'" and "Lonely Boy". Espousing anold school macho rocker attitude and image, Toni's songs often featuredsexist lyrics.
On the other hand, the group Đavoli from Split led byNenad "Neno" Belan were a softer retro-rock 'n' roll act, they released several summer hits and alsotwist orsurf music influenced tracks. Some of its members also had punk rock background.
The rockabilly groupFantomi was another act in Croatia, while in Serbia the group calledVampiri emerged with their trademarkdoo-wop style of singing and performed as asupport act of the internationally acclaimed retro jazzy pop groupVaya Con Dios at their concert in Belgrade.
In Slovenia, the cult avant-garde bandLaibach emerged in 1980. Experimenting with various styles such asindustrial,martial andneo-classical music they rose to international prominence and influenced acts such as the groupRammstein for instance. They appeared onMTV with theircover version of "Across the Universe" byThe Beatles, featuring a guest-appearance byAnja Rupel. One of the groups connected with NSK were Abbildungen Variete fromMaribor.[9]
The most notableelectronic body music act wasBorghesia, from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
While Slovenia had theNeue Slowenische Kunst movement, in Macedonia, the collective Makedonska Streljba was formed. The Macedoniandarkwave andgothic rock scene featured some of the most prominent Macedonian acts ever, such asMizar,Arhangel andPadot na Vizantija, the latter featuringGoran Trajkoski.
Theextreme metal music scene across SFR Yugoslavia was also developed. It included variousthrash metal,speed metal anddeath 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 bandBombarder (initially formed in Sarajevo, later moved to Belgrade), Bloodbath (not to be confused with the Swedish bandBloodbath),Heller (the pioneers of Yugoslav thrash metal) and others. The thrash metal bandSanatorium was formed in Skopje in 1987. During its 20 years of existence, it shared stage with many prominent international stars such asMotörhead,Halford,Soulfly and others.
Manyrap 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 wasThe Master Scratch Band. They have released some works forJugoton in 1984 including the trackBreak War featuringHit 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 distinguishableBalkan-flavoured humour andmachocamp on the other. He often, if not always used rap music combined with folk music parody and political and socialsatire, 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 actorBoris Dvornik. Dino Dvornik was a popular funk-inspireddance-pop artist.
Two years after the groupRiva won theEurovision Song Contest 1989 and one year after theEurovision Song Contest 1990 took place inZagreb, the SFR Yugoslav music scene ceased to exist with thebreakup of Yugoslavia. Ironically, the 1990 winning song performed byToto Cutugno was calledInsieme: 1992 (in Italian: Together in 1992) featuring the lyricsTogether, Unite, Unite Europe! acclaiming the approachingEuropean 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 theYugoslav Wars many of the former Yugoslav musicians participated inanti-war activities, often being attacked by the nationalists in their countries. In 1992, theserbian rock supergroupRimtutituki featuring members ofPartibrejkers,Ekatarina Velika andElektrični Orgazam released an anti-militarist song, and after the authorities forbade them to promote it with a live show, they performed on atrailertowed by atruck through the streets ofBelgrade. However, others previously involved in the Yugoslav pop and rock scene embraced nationalchauvinism, 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 theSerbian nationalism written byJura Stublić from theCroatian groupFilm, at the time of its appearance it caused different reactions.Bora Đorđević, who had a cult status in theSerbian rock scene as a frontman ofRiblja Čorba, soon "replied" with the controversial song "E moj druže Zagrebački" ("Hey my Zagreb comrade"), a cynical parody featuring nationalist messages.[3]
ManyCroatian pop and rock artists took part in projects such as "Moja domovina" andRock za Hrvatsku during theCroatian War of Independence.
When theBosnian War broke out, theSarajevo based groupZabranjeno Pušenje split into two separate fractions. The latter based itself in Belgrade and received international exposure under the nameNo Smoking Orchestra led byNele Karajlić, also featuring the movie directorEmir Kusturica. They played withJoe Strummer and that concert footage is included in theSuper 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.
WhileSlovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina andMacedonia proclaimed themselvesindependent states, the leaderships ofSerbia andMontenegro decided to form a new federal state called theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia which existed from 1992 until 2003, however it was not recognized as a legal successor to the formerSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[4]
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 theSarajevo siege and a compilation albumRock 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 theYouTube channels Kocayine and Наша Српска Архива (Our Serbian Archive). Some notable artists in this style of music areLepi Mića andBaja Mali Knindža.
After the end of the conflicts and especially later, after the departure of the nationalist leaders such asSlobodan Milošević andFranjo Tuđman, theformer 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 ofDorian Gray) andBoris Novković (formerly of the group Boris i Noćna Straža), whileAnja Rupel, formerly ofVideosex, recorded aduet withToše Proeski, a young Macedonian pop singer who became respected in all the former Yugoslav countries.
Following the reconciliation ofSerbia andCroatia, the aforementioned Croatian musicianJura Stublić held three sold-out concerts inBelgrade in 2003. Asked by the media about "E, moj druže Zagrebački" case,Bora Đorđević replied that "it was just a joke".[10] He also expressed approbation for Stublić's comeback to Belgrade after so many years. On the other hand,Bajaga andĐorđe Balašević had respectively made numerous concert appearances in Croatia and Bosnia.
In 2003 Igor Mirković from Croatia made therockumentarySretno dijete (Happy Child) named after a song byPrljavo Kazalište. The movie covers the earlyYugoslav punk rock andnew wave scenes featuring eminent artists fromZagreb,Ljubljana andBelgrade.
Many eminent former Yugoslav Pop and Rock artists composedchildren's music, mostly educational. The SFR Yugoslav system through its media encouraged children to practise the traditional folk music and dances, as well as to listen to pop and rock music, contrary to thekitschy "novokomponovana narodna muzika".
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