Vice Vukov

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Vice Vukov (born August 3, 1936) is one of the greatest Croatian singers.

In 1960s he used to be one of the most popular singers in Yugoslavia. He appeared at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 with the song "Brodovi" and at the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 with the song "Čežnja".

After Croatian Spring, he was branded as Croatian nationalist by Yugoslav authorities. In the 1972 wave of arrests of Croatian Spring leaders, his apartment was searched by the police. Vukov was on the Australian tour at that time. His wife warned him not to return because he could be arrested too, so instead he went to live in France for a while, returning to Yugoslavia only in 1976.[1] By that time, the authorities had lost interest in his case, but his singing career was effectively over; he was blacklisted, barred from performing publicly and all his records were pulled out of stores.

In 1989 album of his new songs, albeit without his name on the cover, reappeared in Croatian music stores, signalling the political change. Soon after, Vukov made a public comeback with a series of 14 sold-out concerts at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.[1]

Vice Vukov performed some of the greatest patriotic songs, including "Zvona moga Grada" and "Tvoja zemlja".

After the introduction of democracy to Croatia, Vice Vukov became a prominent supporter of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. He ran several times for the seat in Croatian Parliament, finally succeeding in 2003.[2] In 2001 he was suggested as ambassador to Switzerland.

On November 17, 2005, while descending the stairs in the Parliament building, Vukov tripped and fell, sustaining a serious head injury. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery, but fell into a coma shortly afterwards. In March 2006, according to his doctors, he was in a persistent vegetative state, with no chance for recovery.[3] However, as of November 2007, Vukov is conscious at times, aware of his surroundings, and his condition is described as stable.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Cvitić, Plamenko (27 March 2006). Drama u obitelji Vukov (Croatian). Nacional. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  2. ^ Vice Vukov (Croatian). Parliament of Croatia. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  3. ^ Ciboci Stunja, Suzana (28 March 2006). Liječnici Vici Vukovu ne daju šanse za oporavak (Croatian). Jutarnji list. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  4. ^ Bilešić, Romana (4 September 2007). Vice Vukov budi se iz kome nakon 22 mjeseca? (Croatian). 24 sata. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Lola Novaković		 Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
1963		 Succeeded by
Sabahudin Kurt
Preceded by
Sabahudin Kurt		 Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
1965		 Succeeded by
Berta Ambrož
Pop and Rock music of Croatia
Music of Croatia - Croatian popular music - Hrvatski Band Aid - Croatian music festivals - Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Record labels
Croatia Records - Menart Records - Suzy Records
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