Zabranjeno Pušenje
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Zabranjeno pušenje (phrase literally meaning "Smoking is forbidden", often translated as "No Smoking") is a Bosnian garage rock band founded in the 1980s in Sarajevo.
The original band (Sarajevo)
During a time when the rest of the ex-Yugoslav music scene was following the trends of Europe at the time (chiefly Punk Rock and New Wave), Zabranjeno Pušenje were part of a unique rock movement centered in Sarajevo that forged its own path. This movement for the most part centered on simple, youthful, garage rock, with folk influences and a distinct Sarajevo urban feel called Novi primitivizam-New primitivism.
After two years of live performances in small Sarajevo concert halls, in 1984 Zabranjeno Pušenje (which musical critics have defined as a Gypsy techno-rock band) recorded their first album, "Das ist Walter". One of the songs in the album, "Zenica blues", was soon to hit the top charts in Yugoslavia with more than 100,000 copies sold. In the same period, the band appeared on a TV serial, "Top lista nadrealista" (trans. "Surrealist Top List"), a fake newscast that was actually a savage satire of Yugoslav politics. The trouble for the band started when its leader, Nele Karajilić, made ironic remarks on Marshal Tito's death at a live performance before a huge crowd of enthusiastic supporters.
Boycotted and heavily criticized by the country's official propaganda machine, the band was able all the same to record its second album, "Dok čekaš sabah sa šejtanom" ("Waiting for the Sabbath with the devil"), whose title contained words that were borrowed from Muslim Bosnian culture, just to emphasize the band's strong cultural bonds to Bosnia's capital city, Sarajevo.
Sales of the band's second album dropped precipitously due to the official censorship. The hard times took a heavy blow on the band. Some of the original members left and were replaced by others, including, in 1986, renowned film director Emir Kusturica on bass.
The band's third album, "Pozdrav iz zemlje safari" ("Greetings from safari land"), sold 90,000 copies. In the meantime, dramatic changes in the Yugoslav political scene allowed them to embark on a new tour. In 1989, they recorded their fourth album, "Male priče o velikoj ljubavi" ("Little stories of a great love") and appeared on the sequel to the TV serial "Top lista nadrealista", which prophetically heralded the first impending Balkan crisis.
Songs such as Dan kad je otišao Hase (The Day That Hase Left) (song looks like a tribute to Asim Ferhatović - Hase, a football player, but actually talks about Josip Broz Tito), Anarhija all-over Baš Čaršija, Zenica blues, Šeki is on the road again, Balada o Pišonji i Žugi, Pišonja i Žuga u paklu droge, Dok jezdiš ka Alemanji, Lutka sa naslovne strane, Na straži pored Prizrena and the cautiosly optimistic Lijepa Alma (Beautiful Alma) have secured their place in the history of ex-Yugoslavian/Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian rock music. They released four albums before the Yugoslav wars.
Members
- Dado ?ihani - solo guitar (1987)
- Darko Ostojić - bass guitar (1989)
- Darko Poljak - saxophone (1989)
- Faris Arapović - backing vocals (1987 - 1989)
- Fu-do ?ozić - backing vocals (1985)
- Jadranko Džihan - keyboards (1989)
- Kovalski - bass guitar (1987)
- Muhamed Adas - violin (1989)
- Mujo Snažni - solo guitar (1984 - 1985)
- Munja Mitić - bass guitar (1984 - 1985)
- dr Nele Karajilić - vocals (1984 - 1989)
- Oggie - drums (1987)
- Ogi Gajić - sax & flute (1984 - 1987)
- Predrag Kovačević - guitar (1989)
- Seid Mali Karajilić - synthesizer (1984 - 1987)
- mr Sejo Saxon - rhythm guitar (1984 - 1989)
- Seki Gayton - drums (1984 - 1985)
Discography
- Das ist Walter - 1984
- Dok cekaš sabah sa šejtanom - 1985
- Pozdrav iz zemlje Safari - 1987
- Male price o velikoj ljubavi - 1989
Breakup
Due to the breakup of Yugoslavia, the band temporarily stopped releasing albums and lost some of its prominence. During the war in Bosnia, part of the bend took refuge in Croatia (including Sejo Sexon of the original group), while some others, including the singer Nele Karajlić fled to Serbia.
Zabranjeno Pušenje (Zagreb)
The western part continued to perform in mid-1990s and renewed the group's success. They also later went to a European tour and by 2004 released five new albums.
Members
Discography
No Smoking orchestra (Belgrade)
The eastern part released one new album as Zabranjeno Pušenje, and later got renamed to "Emir Kusturica & No Smoking orchestra" and released four more albums and continued touring all around the world. In 1998 the "No smoking" composed the music for Emir Kusturica's film "Black Cat, White Cat," which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival of that year.
After the "Side Effects" tour in the summer of 1999, which draw more than 55,000 people to the band's live performances, and after their appearance at the Venice Film Festival and their participation as guests at important TV shows, the No Smoking have recorded a new album "Unza Unza Time", produced by the Universal Records company, as well as a video clip for MTV and Video Music, directed by Emir Kusturica himself.