Riblja čorba

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Riblja Čorba
Riblja Čorba performing live in Kosovska Mitrovica in 2007
Background information
Origin	Belgrade, Serbia
Genre(s)	Hard Rock Rock Heavy Metal
Years active	1978 – present
Label(s)	PGP RTB, Jugoton, Samy, WIT, Hi-Fi Centar, M Factory
Associated acts	SOS Bajaga i Instruktori Warriors
Website	www.riblja-corba.com
Members
Bora Đorđević Miša Aleksić Miroslav Milatović Vidoja Božinović Nikola Zorić
Former members
Radislav Kojić (deceased) Momčilo Bajagić Vladimir Golubović Nikola Čuturilo Zoran Ilić Vladimir Barjaktarević

Riblja Čorba (Serbian Cyrillic: Рибља Чорба; translation: Fish Stew, although the name of a 1989 compilation album titled in English is The Best Of Fish Dish) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Their presence on the scene has lasted from 1978 to today. They reached their peak of popularity in the 1980s, but it has declined in the 1990s, partly due to controversial political attitudes of the band's leader Bora Đorđević. Known for their provocative social-related lyrics, Riblja Čorba were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav Rock scene.

1 Band history
2 Side projects
3 Influence
4 Trivia
5 Discography
6 References
7 External links
8 See also

[edit] Band history

[edit] 1970s: The beginning and rise to fame

Original Riblja Čorba lineup, from left to right: Vicko Milatović, Bora Đorđević, Rajko Kojić, Momčilo Bajagić and Miša Aleksić

Riblja Čorba was officially formed on the August 15 1978 in kafana Šumatovac. The band was formed by former Rani Mraz member Bora Đorđević (vocals, acoustic guitar and songwriter) and former SOS members Miša Aleksić (bass guitar), Miroslav Milatović (drums) and Rajko Kojić (guitar). Their intention was to name the band Bora & Ratnici (Bora and the Warriors), but eventually, the band was named Riblja Čorba, which was at the time Belgrade slang for menstruation.

Riblja Čorba had its first concert in Elemir on the September 8. In November, Radio Belgrade show Veče uz radio celebrated its birthday in Subotica sport hall. Riblja Čorba played only two songs and animated the audience. They won new fans at the fundraising concert in Sarajevo and BOOM festival in Novi Sad. On the December 22 they released their first single, "Lutka sa naslovne strane", a hard rock ballad about a fame-hungry model, which became an immediate hit on radio stations. At the time Đorđević decided to leave acoustic guitar and dedicate himself to singing. Soon Riblja Čorba got rhythm guitarist, Momčilo Bajagić, who became a member of the band on Kojić's suggestion. This lineup held its first concert on the January 7, 1979 in Jarkovac. On the February 28 they held a long promoted concert in Dom omladine, which was the band's first concert in Belgrade. While the band performed "Lutka sa naslovne strane" Đorđević broke a fashion doll. Minka Kamberović's ballerinas also took part in the concert. That evening Riblja Čorba played most of the songs that would be released on their first album. In the beginning of March the band held several concerts in Macedonia. On their concert in Dolovo Aleksić fell from the stage and broke his leg, so until the end of the tour he was replaced by Aleksandar Cvetković. On March 19 they released their second single with songs "Rock'n'Roll za kućni savet" and "Valentino iz restorana". Marina Tucaković wrote part of "Valentino iz restorana" lyrics, which was the only time in Riblja Čorba career that the writer of the lyrics was someone outside the band. Riblja Čorba spent the summer in Makarska, where they practiced for the coming debut album promotin. The concert was held on September 1 in Tašmajdan. Although the album was released ten days after the concert, Tašmajdan was sold out. Bulevar, Formula 4 and Meri Cakić's antiballet group Ribetine also performed at the concert. Meri Cakić, who appeared on the concert wearing garter belts, has, by some, inspired Đorđević to write "Lutka sa naslovne strane". On this concert Đorđević got his concert nickname Bora Majstor (Bora the Master). Several days later Đorđević went to Doboj and Kojić went to Sarajevo, due to their army obligations. On November 28, the band, without Đorđević and Kojić performed at the marathon concert in Sarajevo.

Riblja Čorba's debut album, Kost u grlu (Bone in the troat) was soon released. Album was met with a great thrill. It brought a large number of hits: "Zvezda potkrovlja i suterena", "Egoista", "Ja sam još ona ista budala", "Ostani đubre do kraja". The album was sold in more than 120,000 copies, Đorđević was proclaimed the rock musician of the year by some music magazines, and Riblja Čorba's hard rock sound with blues inputs achieved high success, although the age of New Wave was about to begin.

[edit] Early 1980s

At the end of the July 1980 Đorđević appeared in Belgrade to record "Nazad u veliki prljavi grad" with Bajagić, Milatović and Kojić. On December 31 and January 1, 1981 Riblja Čorba held two concerts with Atomsko Sklonište. Concerts were held in Pionir Hall in Belgrade and were advertised as "Atomska Čorba" ("Atomic Stew"). In February 1981 Riblja Čorba released its second album Pokvarena mašta i prljave strasti (Perverted Imagination and Sordid Passions). Album brought a whole series of hits: "Ostaću slobodan", "Lak muškarac", ballads "Neke su žene pratile vojnike", "Nemoj srećo, nemoj danas", "Dva dinara druže", "Rekla je". Riblja Čorba promoted album on their Yugoslav tour. After their return to Belgrade, they held a concert in Kalemegdan's Rockoteka. Band's special guest was Ian Gillan Band's bass guitarist John McCoy. In the summer band recorded its third album Mrtva priroda (Still life) with McCoy as the producer. Mrtva priroda brought Riblja Čorba's first political song, "Na zapadu ništa novo". Album was sold in more than 450,000 copies.

Ledena dvorana incident

In January 1982 Riblja Čorba started its Yugoslav tour with concert in Čačak. The tour's slogan was "Ko preživi, pričaće" ("The one who survives will tell about it"), which later proved to be a fatal mistake. On their concert in Ledena dvorana in Zagreb, due to the organizers' inconsideration, there was 15,000 people in the hall with only 10,500 seats. In the rush at the end of the concert a fourteen-year old Željka Marković was ran over. This was a good reason for some people to publicly attack Riblja Čorba and rock music in general. After the concert in Zagreb some of their concerts were canceled.

This was the time of the first political scandal that followed Riblja Čorba. League of Communist Youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina demanded for Mrtva priroda to be banned because of the lyrics "Za ideale ginu budale" ("Fools get killed for their ideals") and "Kreteni dižu bune i ginu" ("Jerks uprise and get killed"). Before the concert in Sarajevo, Đorđević had to write an explanation for this problematic lyrics. This was only an opening for the political censorship Đorđević will fight in the rest of his career.

Riblja Čorba finished the tour with four concert in Pionir Hall. Live album U ime naroda (In the name of the people) was recorded on their concert on April 11. On the Youth Day the band was unexpectedly awarded with Majska nagrada award by the Belgrade Committee of the League of Socialist Youth. Several days later they performed on the Marx and Engels Square in Belgrade on a concert held as a sign of solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Their next album Buvlja pijaca (Flea market) was released in at the end of 1982. The producer was once again McCoy. Some of the songs featured string instruments which made the sound more sophisticated than on previous Riblja Čorba albums. This album brought a number of successful songs: ironical love songs "Draga ne budi peder", "U dva će čistači odneti đubre", "Dobro jutro" and political songs "Ja ratujem sam", "Pravila, pravila", "Kako je lepo biti glup". However, the final number of copies sold was 250,000 which was less than the number of previous albums' copies sold. Album was followed by a tour, which finished in Belgrade's Sajmište which hosted a rock concert after sixteen years. After the concert Milatović left the band due to his army obligations, and was replaced by former Tilt and Suncokret member Vladimir Golubović.

During 1983 Bajagić was working on his first solo album Pozitivna geografija (Positive geography), but he also wrote songs for Riblja Čorba's next album Večeras vas zabavljaju muzičari koji piju (Tonight You Will Be Entertained By Musicians Who Drink). Album was produced by Kornelije Kovač. Immediately after the album was released, state's censors declared songs "Mangupi vam kvare dete" and "Besni psi" ethically unacceptable. "Besni psi" caused an international scandal. Because of the lyrics "Grčki sverceri, arapski studenti, negativni elementi, maloletni delikventi i besni psi". ("Greek smugglers, Arab students, negative elements, juvenile hooligans and mad dogs") embassys of three Arab countries and Zaire protested because, in their words: "Đorđević equated foreign students and mad dogs"). Yugoslav Ministry of culture ordered an analysis of the song by the experts. With dark, depressive atmosphere, album was not as nearly successful as Riblja Čorba's previous albums, bringing only one hit, ballad "Kad hodaš". Spring tour was also unsuccessful, bringing conflicts inside the band. Đorđević and Aleksić soon excluded Kojić and Bajagić from the band. Bajagić soon started a successful career as a frontman of Bajaga i Instruktori.

Vidoja Božinović, a former Opus and Rok Mašina member, and Zoran Dašić became band's new guitarists. After only couple of rehearsals Dašić left the band, and was replaced by former Siluete and Električni Orgazam member Nikola Čuturilo. During this period the band performed mostly at the clubs. At this time Đorđević made a guest appearance on Bijelo Dugme's self-titled album Bijelo Dugme, on the song "Pediculis Pubis", having co-written it with his main rival at the time, Goran Bregović. This guest appearance helped Riblja Čorba's shattered status. During the winter the band entered the studio to record its next album.

[edit] Istina

Istina (Truth) was released in 1985. Although many critics claimed that Riblja Čorba belongs to the past, Istina represents the first real comeback in the history of Yugoslav Rock. More heavy metal-oriented than any of the band's previous works, album is considered Riblja Čorba's magnum opus. Album is perhaps most memorable for apocalyptical "Pogledaj dom svoj anđele", which went on to become one of Riblja Čorba's signature songs. On the Bosnian tour that followed the album release YU grupa bass guitarist Žika Jelić replaced Aleksić.

[edit] Late 1980s

In February 1986 the band released Osmi nervni slom (Eighth Nervous Breakdown). Album featured Eddy Grant on vocals in the song "Amsterdam". Other hits include "Nemoj da ideš mojom ulicom", "Tu nema Boga, nema pravde", "Južna Afrika '85 (Ja ću da pevam)". In the beginning of 1986 Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia discussed Riblja Čorba's lyrics, but that did not influence the audience. On March 8, in front of the 10,000 people in Sarajevo's Skenderija Riblja Čorba started its most successful tour since Mrtva priroda. In February 1987 they released their ninth studio album Ujed za dušu (Soul bite), which featured their first cover, "Zadnji voz za Čačak" (cover of Neil Diamond's "Last Train to Clarksville"). Except "Član mafije", album did not feature any political songs. Songs "Nesrećnice nije te sramota" and "Zašto kuče arlauče" were released on the single which was a gift given with the first thousand copies of Ujed za dušu.

Đorđević, who released his first book of poems in 1985, was indicted for "disturbing the public" in 1987, when he red his poems in Sava Centar, but because he was reading poems already published in his books and in magazines, charges were dropped. In 1988, after reading his poems in Bar, he was indicted for "insulting the working people of Yugoslavia", but eventually the charges were dropped.

In 1988 Riblja Čorba celebrated the ten years of existence by releasing Priča o ljubavi obično ugnjavi (Talking About Love Is Usually Annoying) and compilation album Riblja Čorba 10. The band planned to hold a fund raising concert in front of the Cathedral of Saint Sava with Đorđe Balašević, Ekatarina Velika and Piloti as special guests, but did not manage to get permission to organize it. In 1988 Čuturilo released his first solo album 9 lakih komada (9 easy steps). After releasing his second studio album Raskršće (Crossroads), Čuturilo left the band. He was replaced by Zoran Ilić, a former Bezobrazno Zeleno member. In 1990 the band released Koza nostra (Cosa Nostra). Album featured Branimir Štulić and Azra members as backing vocals on the track "Al Kapone" ("Al Capone", however, the song is reffering to Josip Broz Tito).

[edit] 1990s: Yugoslav wars and Milošević era

After the outbreak of the Yugoslaw wars Riblja Čorba members decided to record their farewell album. Labudova pesma (Swan song), with a number of anti-war songs but only one hit, "Kad sam bio mlad" (cover of Eric Burdon's "When I Was Young"), did not turn out to be Riblja Čorba's last album, as they eventually changed their decision to disband. Oliver Mandić, who was approached to join the band as a keyboard player, eventually did not become Riblja Čorba member, and two songs he wrote were not released on the album. Next album Zbogom, Srbijo (Farewell, Serbia) was not very successful either. It featured "Zelena trava doma mog" (cover of Tom Jones' "Green Green Grass of Home"), "Danas nema mleka" (cover of Herman's Hermits' "No Milk Today") and "Tamna je noć" (cover of Mark Bernes' "The Dark Night") as album's only hits. At this period Vlada Barjaktarević, a former Van Gogh member, became the band's keyboard player.

At this time Đorđević became an active supporter of the Serbian troops in Republika Srpska and Republika Srpska Krajina. With Knin band Minđušari he recorded controversial "E moj druže Zagrebački" ("Oh, my Zagreb comrade") as a response to Jura Stublić's song "E moj druže Beogradski" ("Oh, my Belgrade comrade"). Đorđević also worked with turbo folk singer Baja Mali Knindža known for his nationalist songs. This has, alongside with the unsuccessful Riblja Čorba albums, made Riblja Čorba lose part of its fans in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Đorđević's support for Serbian nationalism did not, however, imply support for the government of Slobodan Milošević, and in 1996 Đorđević relased his solo album Njihovi dani (Their days) in his own name rather than that of his band. "Baba Jula" (the song that innuends to Mirjana Marković) became an athem on 1990s protests in Serbia.

In the summer of 1996 Ilić left Riblja Čorba. Album Ostalo je ćutanje (The rest is silence) featured a cover of John Lennon's song "Jelaous Guy", Riblja Čorba version titled "Ljubomorko". At the beginning of 1997 a compilation album Treći srpski ustanak (The third Serbian Uprising) with a number of Riblja Čorba political songs, previously unreleased "Snage opozicije" and the new song "Volim i ja vas". In 1997 the band held a tour named "Po slobodnim gradovima Srbije" ("Around the free cities of Serbia") which finished with two concerts in Tašmajdan, during which they recorded live album Beograd, uživo `97 - 1 i 2 (Belgrade Live 97 - 1 and 2). Đorđević's political involment caused their concert in Tivoli Hall in Ljubljana to be banned.

In 1999 Riblja Čorba released Nojeva barka (Noah's Ark), produced by Aleksić and Miša Popović. Album featured a cover of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons" (Riblja Čorba version titled "16 noći"). Bajagić made a guest appearance on the song "Gde si". At the beginning of 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Riblja Čorba recorded patriotical "Samo Sloga Srbina Spašava" with Bajagić, Dejan Cukić, Van Gogh frontman Zvonimir Đukić, No Smoking Orchestra frontman Nele Karajlić and Generacija 5 frontman Đorđe David.

[edit] 2000s

First Riblja Čorba album after the democrating changes in Serbia was Pišanje uz vetar (Pissing Against the Wind). "Ljubav ovde više ne stanuje" and "Srbin je lud" became major hits. "Crno-beli svet" featured Eyesburn frontman Nemanja Kojić on vocals. In 2004 Riblja Čorba relased Ovde (Here), with songs "Zašto uvek kurcu sviram" and "Pičkin dim" on the bonus CD and ballad "Poslednja pesma o tebi" as the only hit. In 2005 the band released Trilogija 1: Nevinost bez zaštite (Trilogy 1: Virginity witout protection), the first part of the trilogy with which Riblja Čorba took part in the battle against piracy. Two other parts of the trilogy, Trilogija 2: Devičanska ostrva (Trilogy 2: Virgin Islands) and Trilogija 3: Ambasadori loše volje (Trilogy 3: Badwill Ambassadors), were released in 2006. Although imagined as Riblja Čorba's comeback to the top of the Serbian rock scene, trilogy did not manage to recover Riblja Čorba's popularity in Serbia, mostly decreased because of Đorđević's Democratic Party of Serbia membership and political involvement.

[edit] Side projects

Riblja Čorba members were involved in numerous side projects.

Bora Đorđević has released two solo albums: Njihovi dani, which heavily criticizes Slobodan Milošević and Mirjana Marković, and Bora priča gluposti, which features a recording of his poetry evening. His unplugged performance with Arsen Dedić in Terazije Theatre resulted in a famous bootleg album Arsen & Bora Čorba Unplugged '87. With Minđušari he recorded controversial songs "E, moj druže zagrebački" and "Ljetovanje", released on Minđušari 1993 album Armija srpska. He wrote music for plays Bonton, Siroti mali hrčki and Tamna je noć, as well as for Stojan Stojanović's movie Atoski vrtovi and Dragan Kresoje's movie Tamna je noć. He made a guest appearance on numerous projects: artist he worked with include Bijelo Dugme, Balkan, Kerber, Zoran Predin, Rambo Amadeus, Biljana Krstić, Dejan Cukić, Vlada i Bajka, Baja Mali Knindža, Zabranjeno Pušenje and others. He was involved in recording of a cult compilation album Paket aranžman. He wrote songs for Zdravko Čolić, Bisera Veletanić, Đorđe Marjanović, Neda Ukraden, Rajko Kojić, Dušan Prelević, Oliver Mandić, Šaban Šaulić, Poslednja Igra Leptira, Denis & Denis, Viktorija, Željko Bebek, Ceca Ražnatović, Zana, Prljavi inspektor Blaža i Kljunovi and others.

Miroslav Milatović has released two solo albums: U ritmu srca malog dobošara and children music album Dečaci o devojčicama. He was a forming member of heavy metal band Warriors, and in 1994 he formed Indijanci, a hard rock band infamous for their pornographic lyrics. In 2005 he, alongside Božinović, made a guest appearance on AlogiA's live album Priče O Vremenu I Životu. He worked with Kraljevski Apartman and a number of club bands.

Radislav Kojić released his solo EP Ne budi me bez razloga in 1983. Other Riblja Čorba members made guest appearrences on this album.

Vidoja Božinović worked with Babe on their debut album Slike iz života jednog idiota and their second album Lažne slike od ljubavi. With Milatović, he made a guest appearance on AlogiA's album Priče O Vremenu I Životu.

[edit] Influence

Slovenian band Zaklonišče Prepeva released a cover of Riblja Čorba's song "Zvezda potkrovlja i suterena" on their 1996 album Nešto kao Džimi Hendriks. Serbian hardcore punk band S.M.F. released a cover of "Odlazak u grad" on their 1998 album Lako ćemo. Serbian band Ništa Ali Logopedi released song "Bora Bora" which referes to Đorđević on their 1998 album Vaspostavljanje. Serbian punk rock band Six Pack released a cover of "Na zapadu ništa novo" on their 2000 album Minut ćutanja. Serbian power metal band AlogiA released a cover of "Gde si u ovom glupom hotelu" on their 2004 album Priče O Životu.