{{Short description|1980s Yugoslav music movement}} [[File:Bijelo dugme (1986).jpg|thumb|right|Bijelo Dugme, one of three representatives of the movement, in 1986, during the movement's peak]] '''New Partisans''' was a short-lived mid-1980s movement on the Yugoslav rock scene. The term was used to denote albums by Sarajevo-based bands Bijelo Dugme, Plavi Orkestar and Merlin which were characterized by pop rock and power pop sound with elements of folk music and lyrics and imagery heavily inspired by Yugoslav Partisans movement and the ideal of brotherhood and unity.
Emerging several years after Sarajevo-based New Primitivism subcultural movement, New Partisans appeared during the era of growing liberalization in Yugoslavia's political, social and cultural life, as well as political turmoil and rise of nationalism in Yugoslav republics. The veteran band Bijelo Dugme, which had enjoyed the status of the most popular Yugoslav rock group since its formation in 1974, and two younger acts, Plavi Orkestar and Merlin, incorporated Partisan- and brotherhood-and-unity-themed lyrics into their blend of pop rock and folk, advocating for Yugoslavism and for preserving the memory of the National Liberation Struggle. Bijelo Dugme's 1984 self-titled album is generally considered the inspiration for the emergence of the movement. Additionally, some characteristics of the movement can be found on Plavi Orkestar's 1985 debut ''Soldatski bal'', which launched the band to the status of nationwide teen stars, and the subsequent promotional tour. The 1986 albums by the three bands, Bijelo Dugme's ''Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo'', Plavi Orkestar's ''Smrt fašizmu!'' and Merlin's ''Teško meni sa tobom (a još teže bez tebe)'', are considered the most notable—and sometimes the only—releases of the movement, although similar folk-influenced pop rock songs with Yugoslavism-themed lyrics appeared on albums by other Yugoslav bands of the era, like Valentino, Hari Mata Hari, Crvena Jabuka and Jugosloveni.
The 1986 albums were met by mixed reactions of the public – while Bijelo Dugme's album saw large sales, Plavi Orkestar's album alienated the group from their teen fans. The country's music critics expressed general dislike of the albums, especially of ''Smrt fašizmu'' and ''Teško meni sa tobom (a još teže bez tebe)''. Part of music press and cultural public described the albums as kitsch and accused the bands of promoting bad taste, comparing the folk elements in the bands' works to Yugoslav "newly-composed folk music", which was at the time denounced in Yugoslavia by both the academic public and the pop culture media. The other part of the music press described the New Partisans concept as insincere, accusing the bands of exploiting the imagery of Partisan struggle for popularity and financial gain, and of hypocrisy, describing their leaders as comfortably-off stars which defended the declining socialist system. Following the negative reactions, the movement declined, although Bijelo Dugme's next (and last) studio album, the 1988 ''Ćiribiribela'', was also marked by Yugoslavist and pacifist themes.
==History== ===Political, social and cultural background=== The mid-1980s in Yugoslavia were marked by political turmoil. Death of Yugoslavia's president for life Josip Broz Tito in 1980 was followed by growing liberalization in arts and culture,<ref name="ivačković238">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=238}}</ref> but also by the growing problem of foreign debt,<ref name="ivačković233">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=233}}</ref> and by protests of Kosovo Albanians, which demanded more autonomy within the country.<ref name="ivačkvović286">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=233}}</ref> By the mid-1980s, the tensions between Yugoslav republics emerged,<ref name="ivačković233"/> the first calls for abandoning socialist manifestations came from SR Slovenia,<ref name="ivačković233"/> a large number of Serbs and Montenegrins emigrated from SAP Kosovo,<ref name="ivačković339-340">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=339-340}}</ref> and nationalism was on the rise.<ref name="ivačković341-396">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=341-396}}</ref>
However, despite the tensions in the country, the Yugoslav rock scene flourished as one of the richest and most vibrant rock scenes of Europe. Prior to the appearance of New Partisans, the 1980s Yugoslav rock had already seen several music scenes and subcultural movements with the prefix ''New''. The Yugoslav new wave scene, closely associated with the Yugoslav punk rock scene, emerged in the late 1970s on the country's rock scene, up to that point dominated by progressive and hard rock bands. The new wave scene's peak in the early 1980s came in synchronicity with the death of Josip Broz Tito and new tendencies in art and culture.<ref name="ivačković238-269">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=238-269}}</ref> The bands like Pankrti, Paraf, Azra, Prljavo Kazalište, Pekinška Patka, Film, Haustor, Lačni Franz, Idoli, Električni Orgazam, Šarlo Akrobata, U Škripcu, Piloti and others recorded songs which were critical of the Yugoslav social reality, experimenting and conjoining with other art forms, with some veteran acts, like Bijelo Dugme, Parni Valjak and Buldožer, joining in on the new, exuberant scene.<ref name="ivačković238-269"/> In Slovenia, the industrial band Laibach was formed in 1980, sparking controversy with their use of iconography and elements from totalitarianism, nationalism and militarism, which ultimately led to the ban of the group's name.<ref name="janjatović169">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=169}}</ref> In 1984, the band started the informal art collective Neue Slowenische Kunst (German for ''New Slovenian Art'') with visual arts group IRWIN and Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre, continuing to provoke the Yugoslav public.<ref name="janjatović170">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=170}}</ref> Finally, in Sarajevo, the New Primitivism movement emerged in the early 1980s, initially in the form of humorous sketches in Radio Sarajevo show ''Primus'', and later through the work of the bands Zabranjeno Pušenje and Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors and their show ''Top lista nadrealista''. Through their ironical songs and their Pythonesque TV show, the New Primitives ridiculed the staggering Yugoslav economy and Yugoslav social reality, the ''petty-bourgeois'' mentality, and their predecessors on the Yugoslav scene, including Yugoslav new wave bands and their city's and the country's biggest band, Bijelo Dugme.<ref name="ivačković314-319">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=314-319}}</ref>
In his 2013 book ''Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika'' (''How We Started to Sing: Yugoslavia and Its Music''), Serbian and Yugoslav music journalist and author Ivan Ivačković dedicated a chapter to New Partisans movement entitled "Poslednje bitke Mirka i Slavko" ("The Last Battles of Mirko and Slavko"). In the chapter, Ivačković pointed out that the Yugoslavs born in the mid-1960s, like Plavi Orkestar leader Saša Lošić, got a notion of the Yugoslav Partisans struggle through popular 1960s and 1970s comic ''Mirko and Slavko'' and Partisan films.<ref name="ivačković383-384">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=383-384}}</ref> He wrote:
{{cquote|Lošić's generation was, from the early age, taken to cinema to see [Nazis'] German Shepherds biting wounded Partisans. Children would go out of the cinema shocked by violence and astonished by the courage of the Partisans. Commander Sava Kovačević was, for several years, the ultimate hero of a generation; by the way, when that generation hit puberty, Sava Kovačević had to give way to Bruce Lee, while Mirko and Slavko retreated with the advance of surrealist dark comedy comic ''Alan Ford''. Full of drama and pathos, resembling Spaghetti Westerns, Partisan film spectacles like ''Battle of Neretva'' and ''Battle of Sutjeska'' represent milestones in the melancholic, intimate mythology of Lošić's generation, especially for the part of it which grew up in Bosnia and Herzgovina. World War II was especially brutal in Bosnia—just as the 1990s civil war would be—and out of that fact SFRY wanted to make not only historical, but cultural monument as well.<ref name="ivačković383-384"/>}}
===The beginnings (1984–1985)=== In December 1984, Bijelo Dugme released their self-titled album, unofficially widely known as ''Kosovka devojka'' (''Kosovo Maiden'') due to the usage of the famous painting by Serbian painter Uroš Predić on the cover.<ref name="janjatović41">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=41}}</ref> It was the band's first and only album recorded with vocalist Mladen Vojičić "Tifa", who came to the band as the replacement for Bijelo Dugme's original vocalist Željko Bebek.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The album featured folk-oriented pop rock sound and opened with the band's version of Yugoslav national anthem "Hej, Sloveni";<ref name="janjatović41"/> the idea came from Bijelo Dugme leader Goran Bregović, who was wary of the voices which questioned Yugoslavist ideals.<ref name="vesić237">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=237}}</ref> Despite featuring new and up to that point relatively unknown vocalist, the album was a huge commercial success, selling more than 420,000 copies.<ref name="vesić236">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=236}}</ref> The album was co-released by the state-owned label Diskoton and the newly-founded private label Kamarad, started by the band's leader Goran Bregović.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The label's logo was influenced by socialist realism and featured a large red star.<ref name="vesić237"/> The followup tour was also highly successful, and during performances the band appeared on stage in stylized army uniforms partially inspired by the works of Laibach.<ref name="vesić237"/> The album is generally credited for starting a new wave of Yugoslavism on Yugoslav rock scene.<ref name="janjatović41"/><ref name="ivačković323">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=323}}</ref>
In 1985, Plavi Orkestar released their debut album ''Soldatski Bal'' (''Soldiers' Ball'').<ref name="janjatović224">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960-2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=224}}</ref> Led by vocalist and principal songwriter Saša Lošić, the band had been formed three years earlier,<ref name="janjatović223">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960-2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=223}}</ref> and was in their early phase associated with the New Primitivism movement.<ref name="leksikon">{{cite book|last=Matić|first=Đorđe|title=Leksikon YU mitologije|year=2015|publisher=Rende / Postscriptum|location=Belgrade Zagreb|page=214}}</ref><ref name="đurić71">{{cite book|last=Đurić|first=Vladimir|title=Vodič kroz novi talas u SFRJ|year=2016|publisher=Službeni-glasnik|location=Belgrade|page=71}}</ref> The group gained the attention of Yugoslavia's biggest record label Jugoton after starting to cooperate with music manager and promoter Goran Marić, alias Malkolm Muharem.<ref name="janjatović224"/> Muharem—the alias alluding to fashion designer and music manager Malcolm McLaren<ref name="janjatović224"/>—was previously involved in the New Primitives scene as the manager for Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors.<ref name="janjatović224"/> The album featured numerous guests, including folk singer Nada Obrić in the folk-oriented tune "Šta će nama šoferima kuća" ("What Do We Drivers Need a House For"), as well as Aki Rahimovski and Jura Stublić, frontmans of Zagreb-based bands Parni Valjak and Film respectively, and Peđa D'Boy, frontman of Belgrade-based Peđa D'Boy Band, the three vocalists singing with Lošić in "Stambol, Pešta, Bečlija" ("Istanbul, Pest, Viennese"), the lyrics of which were inspired by the Yugoslav principle of brotherhood and unity.<ref name="janjatović224"/> The album cover paid homage to the cover of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', depicting the members of Plavi Orkestar in archaic uniforms, four girls in folk costumes, and 49 persons from Yugoslav history and public life.<ref name="janjatović224"/> The band appeared on promotional photographs and in concerts wearing military boots and wool socks known as ''partizanke'' (''Partisan socks''),<ref name="janjatović224"/> and the live performances on the promotional tour featured socialist and Yugoslavist imagery – the concerts opened with the sounds of "The Internationale", and the screens on stage displayed footage from the 1940s and 1950s work actions, followed by the closing kolo from Jakov Gotovac's opera ''Ero the Joker''.<ref name="janjatović224"/> ''Soldatski bal'' caused an immediate sensation on the Yugoslav scene with its radio friendly folk-influenced songs, the members of Plavi Orkestar soon becoming nationwide teen stars.<ref name="janjatović224"/> Already in September 1985, Jugoton announced that the album sold 300,000 copies, becoming the best-selling debut album in the history of Yugoslav popular music,<ref name="janjatović224"/> and placing Plavi Orkestar alongside other mega-selling acts of the Yugoslav rock scene like Bijelo Dugme, Riblja Čorba and Bajaga i Instruktori.<ref name="ivačković381">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=381}}</ref> However, among more alternative-oriented Yugoslav audience the album was met with negative reactions.<ref name="janjatović224"/> The reactions of the Yugoslav music press were also mixed – part of music critics praised the album as innovative and exciting, while the other part described its blend of rock and "newly composed folk"—labeled by critic Rene Bakalović as "electro-sevdah"<ref name="ivačković381"/>—as kitsch.<ref name="ivačković381"/> The album also saw negative reactions in conservative cultural circles, which criticized the message of the album's biggest hit "Bolje biti pijan nego star" ("Better to Be Drunk than Old"), and the Yugoslav media initiated the discussion about the band.<ref name="janjatović224"/> The League of Socialist Youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated their stand on the band's work on the League's 11th congress by awarding the group with a plaque.<ref name="janjatović224"/>
Merlin, formed in 1985 and led by vocalist Edin "Dino" Dervišhalidović, also released their debut album, entitled ''Kokuzna vremena'' (''Broke Times''), during the same year.<ref name="janjatović193">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960-2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=193}}</ref> The music critics described the band as a pale copy of Bijelo Dugme,<ref name="janjatović193"/><ref name="ivačković380"/> however, the album sold 60,000 copies, much to surprise of the country's music journalists.<ref name="janjatović193"/>
===The peak (1986–1987)=== In 1986, Bijelo Dugme released their new studio album ''Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo'' (''Spit and Sing, My Yugoslavia''), recorded with new vocalist Alen Islamović.<ref name="janjatović41"/> Goran Bregović originally wanted the album to contain contributions from individuals known for holding political views outside of the official League of Communists ideology.<ref name="janjatović41"/> He and the band's manager Raka Marić approached three such individuals who were effectively proscribed from public discourse in Yugoslavia: pop singer Vice Vukov, who represented SFR Yugoslavia at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest before seeing his career prospects marginalized after being branded a Croatian nationalist due to his association with the Croatian Spring political movement; painter and experimental filmmaker Mića Popović, associated with Yugoslav Black Wave film movement, who got a dissident reputation due to his paintings; politician and diplomat Koča Popović who, despite a prominent World War II engagement on the Partisan side as the First Proletarian Brigade commander that earned him the Order of the People's Hero medal, followed by high political and diplomatic appointments in the post-war period, nevertheless got silently removed from public life in 1972 after supporting a liberal faction within the Yugoslav Communist League's Serbian branch.<ref name="vesić267">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=267}}</ref> Bregović's idea was to have Vukov sing the ballad "Ružica si bila, sada više nisi" ("You Were Once a Little Rose").<ref name="vesić267"/> However, despite Vukov accepting, the plan never got implemented after the band's manager Marić got held and interrogated by the police at the Sarajevo Airport upon returning from Zagreb where he met Vukov.<ref name="vesić267"/> Mića Popović's contribution to the album was to be his ''Dve godine garancije'' (''A Two-Year Warranty'') painting featuring a pensioner sleeping on a park bench while using pages of ''Politika'' newspaper as blanket to warm himself, which Bregović wanted to use as the album cover.<ref name="vesić267"/> When approached, Mića Popović also accepted though warning Bregović of possible problems the musician would likely face.<ref name="vesić267"/> Koča Popović was reportedly somewhat receptive to the idea of participating on the album, but still turned the offer down.<ref name="vesić267"/> Eventually, under pressure from Diskoton, Bregović gave up on his original ideas.<ref name="vesić268">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=268}}</ref> A World War II holder of the Order of the People's Hero still appeared on the record, however, instead of Koča Popović, it was Svetozar Vukmanović Tempo. He, together with Bregović and children from the Ljubica Ivezić orphanage in Sarajevo, sang a cover of "Padaj silo i nepravdo" ("Fall, (Oh) Force and Injustice"), an old revolutionary song.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The album featured numerous references to Yugoslav unity, with the lyrics on the inner sleeve printed in both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.<ref name="janjatović41"/> However, instead of Popović's painting, the album cover featured a photograph of Chinese social realist ballet.<ref name="vesić268"/> Vukmanović's appearance on the album was described by ''The Guardian'' as "some sort of Bregović's coup d'état".<ref name="janjatović41"/> ''Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo'' was excellently received by the audience, bringing several hit songs.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The final number of the album copies sold was 700,000, and on their promotional concert at Belgrade Fair the group performed in front of 25,000 people.<ref name="ivačković385">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=385}}</ref> In 1987, the band released the live album ''Mramor, kamen i željezo'' (''Marble, Stone and Iron''), recorded on the promotional tour.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The album featured similar Yugoslavist iconography – the track "A milicija trenira strogoću" ("And Police Trains Strictness") begins with "The Internationale" melody, during the intro to "Svi marš na ples" ("Everybody Dance Now") Islamović shouts "Bratsvo! Jedinstvo!" ("Brotherhood! Unity!"), and the album cover features a photograph from the 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.<ref name="janjatović41"/>
In 1986, Plavi Orkestar released their second studio album, ''Smrt fašizmu!'' (''Death to Fascism!'').<ref name="janjatović224"/> The concept of ''Smrt fašizmu!'' was conceived by the group's manager Malkolm Muharem, who found inspiration in the works of Neue Slowenische Kunst, and who described the new phase in Plavi Orkestar's work as "Bosnian art experiment".<ref name="janjatović224"/> The December 1986 issue of ''Rock'' magazine brought a photograph of Lošić on the cover and an interview with him. In the interview, Lošić stated: "In those days of war, to say: I love you, comradette! How much power and emotional strength was in that sentence!" In a different interview, he stated: "I dedicate this album to Partisan love, the only love I consider pure. I heard a lot about this gentle, deep loyalty from [former] fighters I've met across the country. [...] This love is very much different from love made in today's urbanized, dolled up world, under the discotheque lights, where reality fades."<ref name="ivačković381"/> Despite being ambitiously conceived—guest appearances included Italian singer Gazebo, violinist Jovan Kolundžija, folk singer Usnija Redžepova, klapa Šibenik, and choir of Zagreb's Saint Joseph's Church<ref name="janjatović224"/>—and bringing several hit songs, the band's departure from the style of their debut caused a decline in popularity with their fans, and the album sales and promotional tour did not repeat the success of the previous release and follow up concerts.<ref name="janjatović224"/>
Merlin turned to Partisan- and Yugoslavism-inspired lyrics and imagery with the album ''Teško meni sa tobom (a još teže bez tebe)'' (''It's Hard With You (Even Harder Without You)'').<ref name="janjatović193"/> One side of the album cover featured the text ''Teško meni sa tobom...'' and an image of Marilyn Monroe, and the other side featured the text ''...a još teže bez tebe'' and the image of Milja Marin, Partisan fighter which was a subject of Žorž Skrigin's famous World War II photograph named ''Kozarčanka'' (''Woman from Kozara'').<ref name="janjatović193"/> The album featured guest appearances by Goran Bregović and Mladen Vojičić Tifa and a tribute to Bregović in the song "Uspavanka za Gorana B." ("Lullaby for Goran B.", in reference to Bijelo Dugme song "Uspavanka za Radmilu M.").<ref name="janjatović193"/> The album featured folk-oriented songs and the Yugoslavism-inspired song "Cijela Juga jedna avlija" ("Whole Yugoslavia Is One Yard").<ref name="janjatović193"/> The growing popularity brought more attention of the media to the band.<ref name="ivačković380">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=380}}</ref> In the interview for November 1986 issue of ''Rock'' magazine, Dino Dervišhalidović stated: "I'm sad because in these times people believe more in lottery and sports betting than in any ideals", expressing his longing for "war and post-war morality" and stating that he feels sorry because "Partisan girls don't go through our street no more".<ref name="ivačković380"/>
The influence of Bijelo Dugme's 1984 self-titled album can be seen in the works of other Sarajevo-based pop rock bands of the era, but also in the works of bands from other Yugoslav republics. Other 1980s pop rock bands from Sarajevo which occasionally incorporated folk elements into their songs include Valentino,<ref name="janjatović308">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=308}}</ref> Hari Mata Hari,<ref name="janjatović127">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=127}}</ref> Bolero,<ref name="janjatović46">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=46}}</ref> and Crvena Jabuka. The mid-1980s albums by some of these acts featured songs with lyrics inspired by brotherhood and unity, like Valentino's "Jugovići" ("Jugovićs", the title being a Yugoslav slang for Yugoslavs), Hari Mata Hari's "Naše malo misto" ("Our Little Town") and Crvena Jabuka's "Ako, ako" ("If, if") and "Jedina" ("Only One"), while Bolero included a cover of the old Husino rebellion song "Konjuh planinom" ("Across Konjuh Mountain") on their 1986 concept album ''O Jesenjinu'' (''Of Yesenin'').<ref name="janjatović46"/> In addition, Belgrade-based band Jugosloveni performed similar folk-influenced pop rock, with their biggest hit being "Jugosloveni" ("Yugoslavs"), the song which described Yugoslav mentality in humorous way,<ref name="janjatović146-147">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=169}}</ref> and the second album by another Belgrade-based pop rock band, Alisa, was heavily influenced by the sound of Sarajevo bands.<ref name="janjatović11">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=11}}</ref> However, despite pop rock sound with folk elements and occasional brotherhood and unity-themed songs, Partisan struggle and Yugoslavism were never predominant in the bands' lyrics and imagery and these groups were not labeled as New Partisans.
Large part of the Yugoslav public, especially in the republics of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzgovina, Macedonia and Montenegro, feeling concerned with the future of the country, welcomed the Yugoslavist themes and iconography in rock music.<ref name="ivačković378">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=378}}</ref> However, the reactions of the Yugoslav music critics were generally negative, largely due to the bands' blend of rock and folk, compared by the music press to Yugoslav "newly-composed folk music", which was at the time denounced in Yugoslavia by the largest part of both the academic public and the pop culture media. At the time of the three albums release, the Yugoslav music press accepted the term "New Partisans" coined by Goran Bregović<ref name="janjatović224"/> and used it to denote the new movement on the Yugoslav scene.<ref name="ivačković379">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=379}}</ref> Despite the commercial success of Bijelo Dugme's 1986 album, there were negative reviews coming from prominent critics. One of them was Belgrade rock journalist Dragan Kremer. In 1987, Kremer appeared as guest on TV Sarajevo's show ''Mit mjeseca'' (''Myth of the Month''), a programme pitting Yugoslav rock critics against the country's rock stars, allowing critics to directly pose questions to musicians sitting across from them in the same studio. In the case of Kremer's appearance, however, Bregović wasn't in the studio due to being on tour; Kremer's taped questions were thus shown to Bregović while his reaction was filmed.<ref name="vecernjak-october-2014">{{cite news|last=Bubalo|first=Robert|url=https://www.vecernji.hr/showbiz/bregovic-je-zelio-vicu-vukova-da-otpjeva-ruzicu-ali-komunisti-nisu-dopustili-964761|title=Bregović je želio Vicu Vukova da otpjeva 'Ružicu', ali komunisti nisu dopustili|agency=Večernji list|date=5 October 2014|access-date=21 September 2017}}</ref> Expressing his opinion about the band's new direction, Kremer tore the album cover, which provoked Bregović to publicly insult Kremer, which became one of the larger media scandals of the time.<ref name="vesić268"/><ref name="janjatović41"/> The unrefined lyrics of new Plavi Orkestar songs like "Fa fa fašista nemoj biti ti (jerbo ću te ja, draga, ubiti)" ("Fa Fa Fascist, Don't You Be One (Because I'll Kill You, Darling)") and "Puteru, puteru" ("(Oh,) Butter, Butter") caused negative reactions coming from Yugoslav music press, but also from other Yugoslav rock artists.<ref name="janjatović224"/> One of the negative reviews was written by renowned film director Emir Kusturica.<ref name="janjatović224"/> In his review published in ''NIN'' magazine, Kusturica accused Lošić of promoting bad taste and attempting to turn rock music into state's project.<ref name="ivačković384-385">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=384-385}}</ref> Part of the music press accused Bregović and Lošić of hypocrisy, describing them as wealthy stars defending the socialist system out of selfish reasons.<ref name="ivačković385">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=385}}</ref> They were described by some Yugoslav journalists as "bourgeois rock revolutionaries" and "bureaucrats, hiding behind slogans calling for change, in order not to change themselves".<ref name="ivačković385"/>
===The decline (1988)=== In 1988, the movement declined.<ref name="ivačković386">{{cite book|last=Ivačković|first=Ivan|title=Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=385}}</ref> Unsatisfied with low record sales of ''Smrt fašizmu!'' and half-empty halls on their promotional tour, Plavi Orkestar ended their cooperation with Malkolm Muharem, and decided to go on a discographic hiatus.<ref name="janjatović224"/> With their 1989 comeback album ''Sunce na prozoru'' (''Sunshine on the Window'') they turned to sentimental pop rock, failing, however, to repeat the success of their debut.<ref name="janjatović224"/> Dino Dervišhalidović also turned away from the movement's themes and imagery on his following releases, stating in 1988 that he "wanted to bring back some old, nice customs and ideals", but also stating that the "socialist way" brought him bad experiences and that he would "not waste time with politics again".<ref name="ivačković386"/>
Of the three bands, only Bijelo Dugme continued to incorporate Yugoslavist messages into their work. At the end of 1988, the band released the album ''Ćiribiribela''.<ref name="janjatović41"/> The album was marked by Goran Bregović's pacifist efforts – the cover featured Edward Hicks' painting ''Noah's Ark'', the song "Lijepa naša" ("Our Beautiful") featured the national anthem of Croatia "Lijepa naša domovino" ("Our Beautiful Homeland") combined with the Serbian traditional World War I song "Tamo daleko" ("There, Far Away"),<ref name="janjatović41"/> and the title track featured lyrics about a love couple which decides to "stay at home and kiss" if the war starts.<ref name="krstulović50">{{cite book|last=Krstulović|first=Zvonimir |title=Bijelo Dugme: Doživjeti stotu|year=2005|publisher=Profil International|location=Zagreb|page=50}}</ref> At the beginning of 1989, the band went on a tour.<ref name="janjatović42">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released / Makart|location=Belgrade|page=42}}</ref> Despite well-attended concerts, on some of the group's performances in Croatia, the audience booed and threw various objects on stage when the band performed their pro-Yugoslav songs.<ref name="janjatović42"/><ref name="vesić291">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=291}}</ref> After the concert in Modriča, held on 15 March, with four concerts left until the end of the tour, Alen Islamović checked into a hospital with kidney pains.<ref name="vesić292">{{cite book|last=Vesić|first=Dušan |title=Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu|year=2014|publisher=Laguna|location=Belgrade|page=292}}</ref> This event revealed the existing conflicts inside the band, with Bregović claiming Islamović had no health issues during the tour.<ref name="vesić292"/> The tour was not continued, and Bregović went to Paris, leaving Bijelo Dugme's status open for speculations.<ref name="janjatović42"/> As Yugoslav Wars broke out in 1991, it became clear that Bijelo Dugme would not continue their activity.<ref name="janjatović42"/>
==Legacy== In 1998, Duško Antonić and Danilo Štrbac conducted a poll among 70 Serbian music critics, journalists, artists and other individuals whose work has been in some way related to Yugoslav rock scene, in order to create a list of 100 Greatest Albums of Yugoslav Popular Music. The results of the poll and the list were published in the book ''YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike'' (''YU 100: the Greatest Yugoslav Rock and Pop Music Albums'').<ref>[http://secanja.com/top-ex-yu-muzickih-albuma-2/ "YU 100 Najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rock i pop muzike", secanja.com]</ref> The list features two albums from Bijelo Dugme's 1984–1988 period, ''Bijelo Dugme'', polled No.28,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Antonić|first1=Duško|last2=Štrbac|first2=Danilo|title= YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike|year=1998|publisher=YU Rock Press|location=Belgrade|page=24}}</ref> and ''Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo'', polled No.53.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Antonić|first1=Duško|last2=Štrbac|first2=Danilo|title= YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike|year=1998|publisher=YU Rock Press|location=Belgrade|page=37}}</ref> In 2015, Croatian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' conducted a poll among Croatian music critics for 100 Greatest Yugoslav Albums, with ''Soldatski bal'' appearing on the 97th place on the list.<ref name="rollingstone97">{{cite magazine|title=Rolling Stone – Specijalno izdanje: 100 najboljih albuma 1955 – 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=S3 Mediji|location=Zagreb|issue=Special edition|pages=97|language=hr}}</ref>
In 2000, Serbian music magazine ''Rock Express'' conducted a poll for 100 greatest Yugoslav rock songs among its readers, 120 music journalists and 100 musicians. The list, entitled Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times and published in the magazine's 25th issue, features two songs from Bijelo Dugme's 1984 self-titled album, "Lipe cvatu, sve je isto ko i lani" ("Linden Trees Are in Bloom, Everything's just like It Used to Be"), polled No.10, and "Za Esmu" ("For Esma"), polled No.78., and one song from Plavi Orkestar's debut, "Bolje biti pijan nego star", polled No.75.<ref name="rockexpress25-28">{{cite journal|title=100 najboljih pesama svih vremena YU rocka|journal=Rock Express|location=Belgrade|issue=25|page=25|language=sr}}</ref> In 2006, Serbian Radio B92 organized a poll among its listeners for the selection of top 100 Yugoslav songs. On their B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list, Plavi Orkestar's song "Goodbye Teens" from ''Soldatski bal'' was ranked No.97.<ref>[http://www.b92.net/radio/100yunajboljih/ The B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list at B92 official site] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328190959/http://www.b92.net/radio/100yunajboljih/ |date=March 28, 2007 }}</ref>
In 2015, Serbian web magazine Balkanrock published a list of 100 Greatest Album Covers of Yugoslav Rock. On the list, ''Bijelo Dugme'' album cover was ranked No.1, ''Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo'' cover was ranked No.3, ''Teško meni sa tobom (a još teže bez tebe)'' cover was ranked No.49 and ''Soldatski bal'' cover was ranked No.58.<ref>[https://balkanrock.com/autorski-clanci/top-10/100-najboljih-omota-yu-rocka/ "100 najboljih omota YU rocka", Balkanrock.com]</ref>
In ''Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika'', Ivan Ivačković wrote about the movement:
{{cquote|New Partisans advocated Yugoslavism and tolerance, which seemed to be the solution for growing tensions in Yugoslav politics. Without Josip Broz Tito there wasn't an authority to keep the nations of Yugoslavia together, so their quarrelsome temperament became more and more apparent. The conflicts between the republics became harsher, the old, unhealed wounds from World War II were reopened, and togetherness, intellect and reason grew weaker by the day. Yugoslavia looked more and more unfixed, and New Partisans opposed that, which was, in principle, a good thing. The impression was, however, spoiled by the fact that New Partisans—just as the ones who were unbuilding Yugoslavia—promoted bad taste and vulgarity. But, as it usually goes, it was just what made the "Partisan offensive" unusually popular, and therefore strong.<ref name="ivačković380"/>}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{yupoprock}}
Category:Yugoslav rock music Category:Culture in Sarajevo Category:1980s in music Category:Art movements Category:Communist chic Category:Microgenres