Punk rock in Yugoslavia was the punk subculture of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The most developed scenes across the federation existed in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, the Adriatic coast of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and Belgrade, the capital of both Yugoslavia and the Socialist Republic of Serbia. Some notable acts included: Pankrti, Paraf, Pekinška patka, KUD Idijoti, Niet, Patareni and KBO!.
History
Although a communist country, the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia was not part of the Eastern Bloc and it was open to western influences. The Yugoslav rock scene was well developed and covered in the media. The punk scene emerged in the late 1970s, influenced by the first wave of punk rock bands from the United Kingdom and the United States, such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Ramones. The DIY punkzine scene also began to develop. The Yugoslav punk rock bands were the first ones formed in a communist country.
Punk rock spread across Yugoslavia in northwest–southeast direction, finding its earliest supporters in: Ljubljana, Rijeka, Zagreb, Novi Sad and other cities. The first punk rock bands in the country were Pankrti from Ljubljana and Paraf from Rijeka, both formed around 1977. Other notable acts were: Buldogi, Berlinski Zid, Grupa 92, Problemi, Termiti and others. Among this generation of bands was the early Prljavo kazalište, but they became a mainstream rock act later. These artists were featured on the compilation album "Novi Punk Val 78-80", compiled by Igor Vidmar. Meanwhile, in Novi Sad, the notable band Pekinška patka emerged.
The late-1970s and early 1980s bands from Belgrade included: Defektno Efektni, Urbana Gerila and Radnička Kontrola. Notable members of these bands were: Cane, who later came to prominence as a vocalist of Partibrejkers; Srđan Todorović, later a movie actor; and Vladimir Arsenijević, later a notable punk writer. This generation of bands was included on the Artistička Radna Akcija compilation.
Električni orgazam was also a punk rock band during its early period, but it became a mainstream rock act later. During this period, the punkabilly artist Toni Montano emerged, first as a vocalist of the band Radost Evrope, but later became a solo artist. Also, the punk writer Ivan Glišić from Šabac emerged in this period.
The first punk band in Skopje, is considered to be Fol jazik, formed in 1978. Other notable acts from Skopje included Badmingtons and Saraceni, both led by Vladimir Petrovski Karter. The bass player of Saraceni, Goran Trajkoski, previously played with Klime Kovaceski in the punk band Afektiven naboj from Struga. Later they went into post punk and gothic rock and together formed the bands Padot na Vizantija and Anastasia.
In Sarajevo, the following acts emerged: Ozbiljno pitanje (which later evolved into the mainstream act Crvena Jabuka), Ševa (later Bombaj Štampa led by the internationally acclaimed actor Branko Đurić), and the cult band Zabranjeno pušenje. These bands formed the punk-inspired New Primitives movement.
In the late 1970s, some punk bands were affiliated with the Yugoslav new wave scene, and were labeled as both punk rock and new wave. During a certain period, the term new wave music was interchangeable with punk. One of the most important compilations of the Yugoslav new wave era is Paket Aranžman.
The 1980s saw the emergence of streetpunk and Oi!, followed later by: hardcore punk and other subgenres. Notable hardcore punk acts during the 1980s included: Niet, U.B.R., Ćao pičke, Odpadki civilizacije, Tožibabe, III Kategorija, Stres DA, Epidemija and Quod Massacre (all from Ljubljana); S.O.R. (from Idrija); C.Z.D. (Maribor); Blitzkrieg, Z.R.M., Patareni and Sköl (Zagreb); KUD Idijoti, Gola jaja, Besposličari and Pasmaters (all from Pula); Rukopotezno povlačilo (Slavonska Požega); The Dissidents (Prijedor) and Ženevski Dekret (Mostar); Solunski front, Distress, Necrophilia, Crist and Mrgudi (all from Belgrade); KBO! (Kragujevac); Nade iz Inkubatora, Giuseppe Carabino, Marselyeza and Process (all from Subotica); Incest (Novi Bečej); Napred U Prošlost (Banatsko Novo Selo); and the Oi! or streetpunk bands Dva minuta mržnje and Vrisak generacije (both from Novi Sad).
A notable pop punk band during the 1980s was Psihomodo pop from Zagreb, which was very much influenced by the Ramones.