| Marko Perković | |
|---|---|
Marko Perković in Frankfurt |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 27 October 1966 Čavoglave, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Origin | Croatia |
| Genres | Rock, Pop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Associated acts | Thompson |
Marko Perković (English transcription: Marko Perkovich) (born October 27, 1966) is a Croatian musician and is the lead singer of the band Thompson since 1991.
In June, 2008, Marko Perković was named as the third most influential person in Croatian showbusiness by Globus magazine.[1]
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Marko Perković was born 1966 in the village of Čavoglave, Yugoslavia to parents Marija and Ante. He rarely saw his father, who worked as a Gastarbeiter in Germany and only came home for Christmas and Easter. He finished high school in Split.
In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, and soon the Croatian War of Independence started. Perković joined the Croatian National Guard where he was given the American gun Thompson, which became the nickname given to him by his battlefield comrades. It was during the time where he was defending his home village in the that Perković became inspired to write one of the most popular songs during the war: Bojna Čavoglave ("Čavoglave Battalion"), which launched his music career.
In 1992, Perković held numerous humanitarian concerts throughout Croatia, and released his first album in 1992. He continued to write songs to raise morale during the war. In 1995 he returned to the Croatian Army and the 142nd Drniš Brigade, and became on of the first soldiers to enter the captured cities of Drniš and Knin during Operation Storm.
Perković's songs are often marked with Christian and historic themes, and often include folklore elements. His motto is that he sings of his three big loves: God, Family and homeland, are not simply a self-defense statement, or a political manifesto: a lot of his most successful (and most appreciates by critics) songs deal about religion: Radost s Visina (Joy from Above), Neću izdat ja (I will not betray/give up), Dan dolazi (The day is coming), Početak (In Principium); or his own family and birthplace: Vjetar s Dinare (Winds from Dinara, Sine Moj (Oh, my Son), Moj Dida i Ja (My Grandfather and I).
Marko Perković has said that he is personally a fan of Nightwish, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Dream Theater among others ultra-Catholic group, with great consistency of its Catholic thought.[2][3]
The lyrics of his songs often feature patriot sentiments and relate to Croatia, God, the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, family, and condemn the domestic softline politics and politicians and media, as well as international politics that forgot the values of family and patriotism.
Under the accusations of neo-Nazism, he was banned from performing in the Netherlands.,[4] His concert is held either in the Swiss city Luzern after the Social Democratic Party called for an urgent statement on the issue of Thompson's concert by the cantonal council.[5] On the same occasion, and he was banned from entering Switzerland for three years.[6] Since Switzerland is a member of Schengen, Thompson was the decision prohibited the entry into all Schengen countries for a period of three years which was confirmed by Michele Cercone, spokesman for European Commission Vice President.[7]His concerts have been banned in several German cities.[8][9]
The biggest concentrations of his fan base is (for the most part) the rural hinterland, in Dalmatia, Lika, Herzegovina, Bosnia, but also in other areas affected by the recent war, as well as fans in urban areas with origins from those areas, which has significantly influenced the public opinion in certain parts. Romantic glorification of Croatian rural areas (especially mountainous ones, neglected by national economic policy) and revival of folk traditions in his songs, brought him even more popularity among Croats.
He has caused much controversy performing the song Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara, which openly glorifies genocide against the Serbs in WWII.[10] The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has filed complaints to Croatia's state television channel regarding its broadcast of a singer accused of expressing nostalgia for the Ustaše, Croatia's pro-Nazi ruling party during World War II, although Perković denies any connection with that period in history.[11] His fans are known for displaying Croatian patriotism mixed with Ustaše uniforms, (including black hats associated with the regime), symbols, and banners.[12]
At the beginning of the song Bojna Čavoglave, Perković invokes the audience with the slogan "za dom - spremni!" which means "for home - ready!" The slogan was also (but not exclusively) used by the Ustaša, which gave it bad connotations.[13] However, Perković says this did not originate as an Ustaša slogan and that it was traditionally used by Croats before World War II.
The song was composed at the time of hardest part of the Serbian aggression on Croatia (when the "tide" was on the Serb side) as a memory to glorious successful defense in battle of the village Čavoglave, against much better equipped and armed enemy, Serb-led JNA and rebel Croatian Serb paramilitary forces; he himself was engaged in that battle, and the song appeared there, on the battlefield.
That slogan, that was also used by Ustaše, Croat Nazi movement from WWII (that came to power by being posed by Axis forces). In this context, here's important to note that that regime (besides not less important inhumanities) behaved as heavily revanchist towards the Serbs.
He has performed two large concerts in Croatia. One was held in Poljud Stadium, Split, on September 15, 2002 with about 45,000 people. The other was held in the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on June 17, 2007 for 60,000 people. Following this June 2007 concert, the Croatian government released a statement decrying the use of Ustaša symbols. He has also performed for Croatian diaspora in Germany, Australia, Sweden, Canada and the USA.
Perković has written many songs for other singers, such as Mate Bulić. He has also sung in duets with Miroslav Škoro, Tiho Orlić, and Jasmin Stavros.
Perković's nickname, "Thompson", is actually a nom de guerre deriving from his time as a soldier in the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, during which he carried a Thompson submachine gun.
In the mid 1990s he was in a relationship with Croatian singer Danijela Martinović. Although never legally married, they had a marriage ceremony in the Catholic Church. After their separation and his marriage, he sought a Church annulment, which was granted by the Ecclesiastical Court in Split in 2005.
Subsequently he was able to join in church marriage with his wife Sandra, a Croatian-Canadian he met during a concert in Canada. Together they have five children: Petar, Ante, Diva Maria, and the twins Katarina and Cvita.
He owns a share in the radio station Narodni radio, the most successful Croatian private station, notable for airing exclusively Croatian songs. Because of that he was able to counteract the ban of his songs on the state-owned radio stations. His concert in Maksimir Stadium was aired live on state owned HRT plus pay-for view channel, and few days after also on the main national channel.
Pope Benedict XVI received Thompson in an audience in December 2009. [14]
Perković is a declared Roman Catholic and a hardline right-wing political supporter, although not affiliated to any specific party.