Tagline: The hottest rock & roll bands in Serbian history
Meta description: These are five best-selling rock bands in the history of Serbia and former Yugoslavia. They are among the most influential rock groups in the Western Balkan region!
The Most Popular Rock Bands in Serbian (and Former Yugoslav) History
Rock & roll arrived in Yugoslavia in the early sixties. Although pretty conservative republics of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Montenegro, were surprisingly tolerant of this new and strange music coming from the west, especially in larger cities and more progressive areas.
Members of a hip new subculture with long hair and wild beards had occasional issues with the local police because of the unusual image and behavior that was obviously too unconventional for a communist regime still recovering after a long and exhausting World War. However, many people in Serbia believe that the government actually supported this western influence and freedoms. This way, all the energy that comes from the educated young people, able to change the system and cause riots on the streets of Belgrade, stays channeled and controlled. They gave people freedom of expression, up to a certain level, of course. As long as you don’t mention Tito, the almighty communist leader, and his regime, they will allow you to make music, sing about pretty much anything you want, and let people go wild.
Serbia, which was a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, became a buffer zone between the capitalist West and communist Eastern Block. Western capital allowed this Balkan country to develop rapidly and rebuild itself after the invasion of Germany and its allies. The socialist regime in Serbia was similar to those in other Eastern European countries but with a touch of western cultural influence. This time of economic growth and weird political atmosphere gave birth to some of the most insanely popular rock bands in this area ever. Here’s the list of the hottest mainstream rock & roll bands in the history of Serbia.
Riblja Čorba (Fish Stew)
Riblja Čorba is one of the most popular rock groups in Serbia and former Yugoslavia ever! This broadly influential rock band started to exist in 1978 in Serbia’s capital city - Belgrade. It was created by vocalist and text writer Bora Djordjević, bass guitarist Miša Aleksić, guitarist Rajko Kojić, and drummer Vicko Milatović. Since then, they made 20 studio albums, eight concert albums, and six singles. They still perform after all these years, and they never fail to sell out their concerts. Riblja Čorba is probably the biggest name the Serbian rock scene ever had!
SMAK (The End Time)
Another giant of the Serbian rock scene was established in 1971. This group was ahead of its time. SMAK was born in the city of Kragujevac in central Serbia. They just had a concert in their hometown on April 23, 2022, in front of more than 30,000 people. Although they are pretty old already, they can play for hours, sounding as good as they ever did. Radomir Mihailović, the band's frontman and guitarist, also known as Točak (The Wheel), is commonly recognized as one of the most important and influential guitarists in the former Yugoslav rock scene. The band peaked during the seventies and continued to attract many people throughout the years.
EKV (Ekatarina Velika - Catherine the Great)
This alternative rock band with some pop elements lasted from 1982 until 1994, until the frontman Milan Mladenovic passed. His tragic death caused this strongly-influential band to break down. All seven studio albums are still smashing across the Western Balkan region. The group had many members throughout the years, but the ones that stayed the longest are Milan Mladenović (voice and guitar), Margita Stefanović (keyboards), and Bojan Pečar (bass guitar). This distinctive Serbian band comes from Belgrade, but it was broadly popular in the former Yugoslavia. You can still hear hits like “Krug” and “Par godina za nas” in Serbian bars and clubs.
Bajaga i Instruktori (Bajaga and the Instructors)
This rock group, formed in Belgrade in 1984 by composer, songwriter, and guitarist Momilo Bajagić "Bajaga," has a vast record of hit songs that propelled them to the top of the old Yugoslav rock scene, among other mega-selling bands like Bijelo Dugme and Riblja Čorba. Bajaga i Instruktori made eleven hit albums from 1984 to 2020. Soft rock and pop songs with a positive vibe during the hard times in Serbia (’90s) were some kind of refreshment and breakout for people troubled with wars, sanctions, and crime. Bajaga is mostly popular with the female audience, probably because of its soft and melodic songs.
VIS Idoli (The Idols)
The Idols are a new wave band from Belgrade. Although not as popular as above mentioned bands, Idoli left an unerasable mark on Serbia’s rock & roll history in only four years (1980-1984). The band was formed by the elementary school buddies Vlada Divljan, Nebojsa Krstić, Zdenko Kolar, Srdjan Šaper, and Boža Jovanović. A lot of their songs, such as “Maljčiki,” “Retko te viđam sa devojkama,” and “Čokolada,” are still being performed by various artists in Serbia and the western Balkans.
Final Thoughts
These five successful mainstream rock bands sold the most copies of their albums and attracted the most people to their concerts. However, the list of distinctive artists and influential musicians is much longer. Rock & roll, with all its subgenres, had many unique representatives in Serbia.
Since the ‘60s, the rock & roll spirit’s been alive, changing forms and finding its way to different audiences. Classic rock and blues lead to alternative and indie sounds. Soft and instrumental turned into punk and gothic. Serbia has always been fertile soil for all kinds of alternative cultures, and many of those music genres have top-quality representatives.
Is rock dead? No! Rock & roll is evolving and finding new shapes and forms. It is an ever-present need for self-expression and uniqueness, energy that shaped the music we have today!