New Partisans
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 , 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 . 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 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, but also by the growing problem of foreign debt, and by protests of Kosovo Albanians, which demanded more autonomy within the country. By the mid-1980s, the tensions between Yugoslav republics emerged, the first calls for abandoning socialist manifestations came from SR Slovenia, a large number of Serbs and Montenegrins emigrated from SAP Kosovo, and nationalism was on the rise.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. 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. 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. In 1984, the band started the informal art collective Neue Slowenische Kunst with visual arts group IRWIN and Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre, continuing to provoke the Yugoslav public. 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.
In his 2013 book Kako smo propevali: Jugoslavija i njena muzika, Serbian and Yugoslav music journalist and author Ivan Ivačković dedicated a chapter to New Partisans movement entitled "Poslednje bitke Mirka i 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. He wrote:
The beginnings (1984–1985)
In December 1984, Bijelo Dugme released their self-titled album, unofficially widely known as Kosovka devojka due to the usage of the famous painting by Serbian painter Uroš Predić on the cover. 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. The album featured folk-oriented pop rock sound and opened with the band's version of Yugoslav national anthem "Hej, Sloveni"; the idea came from Bijelo Dugme leader Goran Bregović, who was wary of the voices which questioned Yugoslavist ideals. Despite featuring new and up to that point relatively unknown vocalist, the album was a huge commercial success, selling more than 420,000 copies. 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. The label's logo was influenced by socialist realism and featured a large red star. 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. The album is generally credited for starting a new wave of Yugoslavism on Yugoslav rock scene.In 1985, Plavi Orkestar released their debut album Soldatski Bal. Led by vocalist and principal songwriter Saša Lošić, the band had been formed three years earlier, and was in their early phase associated with the New Primitivism movement. 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. Muharem—the alias alluding to fashion designer and music manager Malcolm McLaren—was previously involved in the New Primitives scene as the manager for Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors. The album featured numerous guests, including folk singer Nada Obrić in the folk-oriented tune "Šta će nama šoferima kuća", 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", the lyrics of which were inspired by the Yugoslav principle of brotherhood and unity. 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. The band appeared on promotional photographs and in concerts wearing military boots and wool socks known as partizanke, 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. 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. 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, and placing Plavi Orkestar alongside other mega-selling acts of the Yugoslav rock scene like Bijelo Dugme, Riblja Čorba and Bajaga i Instruktori. However, among more alternative-oriented Yugoslav audience the album was met with negative reactions. 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"—as kitsch. 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", and the Yugoslav media initiated the discussion about the band. 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.
Merlin, formed in 1985 and led by vocalist Edin "Dino" Dervišhalidović, also released their debut album, entitled Kokuzna vremena, during the same year. The music critics described the band as a pale copy of Bijelo Dugme, however, the album sold 60,000 copies, much to surprise of the country's music journalists.