Marko Perković (; born 27 October 1966) is a Croatian musician who has been the lead singer of the band Thompson since 1991. Perković was born in the village of Čavoglave,

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

, within SFR Yugoslavia, today a part of Croatia. He participated in the Croatian War of Independence (1991–95), during which he started his career with the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

song "Bojna Čavoglave". In 2002, he started his first major tour after the release of the '' E, moj narode'' album. Since 2005, he has been organizing an unofficial celebration of the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

in his birthplace of Čavoglave. During his career, Perković has attracted controversy in the media over his performances and songs, some of which are alleged to glorify or promote the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

-era Croatian fascist

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

dictatorship.

Early life

Perković was born in 1966 in Čavoglave (at the time

, SFR Yugoslavia) to Marija and Ante. He rarely saw his father, who worked as a

Gastarbeiter (; both singular and plural; ) are foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are generally consider ...

in Germany and rarely came home. He finished high school in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

. In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, prompting the Croatian War of Independence. Perković joined the Croatian forces and used the American Thompson gun during his time in the war, which became his nickname and later, his stage name. It was while he was defending his home village 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 concerts throughout Croatia, and released his first album that same year. He continued to write songs during the war. In 1995 he returned to the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

and the 142nd Drniš Brigade, and became one of the first soldiers to enter the captured cities of

Drniš Drniš is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia, about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, there are traces of older Middle Ages' fortr ...

and

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

during

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state Re ...

Career

After the war, Thompson's popularity declined. However in 2002, Thompson experienced a resurgence as Perković embraced right-wing critics of the Croatian center-left coalition government who protested the government's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in extraditing indicted war criminals. On 15 September 2002, he had his largest concert to date at the

Poljud Stadium Gradski stadion u Poljudu ( en, City Stadium in Poljud), better known as Stadion Poljud ( en, Poljud Stadium) or simply Poljud, is a multi-use stadium in Split, Croatia, which has been the home ground of Hajduk Split football club since 1979. ...

with about 40,000 visitors. In 2007 he surpassed the 2002 concert at the

Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium ( hr, Stadion Maksimir, ) is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. It takes its name from the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir. The venue is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top club of the country with 23 league ...

in Zagreb on 17 June 2007, with 60,000 people attending. His concert at the stadium was aired live on the state owned HRT Plus pay-per-view channel, and several days later on the main national channel as well. Perković during his career has cited

Mate Bulić Mate Bulić (; born 18 February 1957) is a Herzegovinian pop and folk singer, whose songs are influenced by his native Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1990s, he has been living and performing from Frankfurt, Germany, where h ...

, Nightwish,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, AC/DC and Dream Theater as main influences. In 2009, a concert in the Swiss city of Lucerne was canceled after the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

called for an urgent statement on the issue of Thompson's concert, calling Perković a fascist. He was then banned from performing in Switzerland, after the Swiss Service for Analysis and Prevention (DAP) stated that his texts are glorifying the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-affiliated

of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

. The ban was subsequently lifted and he continued having concerts in Switzerland. Thompson Maksimir 17

The lyrics of his songs often feature patriotic sentiments and relate to religion, family, the Croatian War of Independence, politics and media, but also contain notorious references to war crimes. Accused of neo-Nazism, in 2004, the band was prohibited from performing in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

by the local authorities, although he held a concert in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. As Switzerland is a member of the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

, Thompson was prohibited from entering into all

Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

countries for a period of three years, confirmed by Michele Cercone, spokesman for the Vice President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

. Perković created controversy by allegedly performing " Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara", a song that openly glorifies the

regime, its crimes against humanity during

and the genocide of Serbs. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre filed complaints to Croatia's state television channel regarding its broadcast of a singer accused of expressing nostalgia for the Ustaše, although Perković denied any connection with that time period. The complaints were ignored. Perković denied writing or even performing the song, stating he is "a musician, not a politician". Some of his fans are known for their

ultranationalism Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an Extremism, extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, Supremacism, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coerc ...

, demonstrated by Ustaše uniforms (including black hats associated with the movement), symbols, and banners. At the beginning of the song "Bojna Čavoglave", Perković invokes '' Za dom - spremni!'' (lit. ''"For home (land) – ready!"''). In 2015, Perkovic performed in Knin in front of some 80,000 spectators for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Croatian military’s

with many of those in attendance singing pro-Ustasha songs and chanting slogans such as "Kill a Serb" and "Here we go Ustasha". Perković and his band's inclusion in Croatia's celebration of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

's second place finish in the 2018 FIFA World Cup also garnered controversy and criticism. Perković's alleged glorification for the Ustaše have led to him being accused in some publications, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, of being a "fascist singer".

Personal life

In the mid-1990s he was in a relationship with Croatian singer

Danijela Martinović Danijela Martinović (born 15 July 1971), also known mononymously as Danijela, is a Croatian pop singer. Biography Born in Split to Croatian parents, Martinović began to sing from an early age. She has a sister, Izabela, who also pursued a mus ...

. Although never legally married, they had a Catholic marriage ceremony. After their separation, he sought a Church annulment, which was granted by the Ecclesiastical Court in Split in 2005. Thus, he was able to have a church marriage with his wife Sandra Rogić, a Croatian-Canadian he met during a concert in Canada. Together they have five children: Katarina, Cvita, Ante Mihael, Diva Maria and Petar Šimun. He owns a 20% share of the radio station ''

Narodni radio narodni was a Croatian radio station broadcast nationally which played exclusively domestic music. It was the most listened-to radio station in the country in 2014. , it was one of three radio stations with national concessions, along with Otvor ...

'', a privately owned Croatian radio station notable for airing exclusively Croatian songs.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

received Perković in an audience in December 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

*1992 – '' Bojna Čavoglave (za dom spremni)'' * *1992 – '' Moli mala'' *1995 – '' Vrijeme škorpiona'' *1996 – '' Geni kameni'' *1998 – '' Vjetar s Dinare'' *2002 – '' E, moj narode'' *2006 – '' Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj'' *2011 – '' Glazba iz filma Josef'' *2013 – ''

Ora et labora The phrase pray and work (or 'pray and labor'; Latin: ''ora et labora'') refers to the Catholic monastic practice of working and praying, generally associated with its use in the Rule of Saint Benedict. History "Ora et labora" (pray and work ...

Compilation albums

* 2001 – ''

The best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' * 2003 – '' Sve najbolje'' * 2008 – '' Druga strana'' * 2015 – '' The best of collection'' * 2016 – '' Antologija''

Concert videos

* 2002 – '' Turneja: E, moj narode'' * 2007 – '' Turneja: Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj'' * 2013 – '' Turneja: Ora et labora''

References and notes

External links

Official website of Thompson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkovic, Marko 1966 births Living people People from Ružić, Croatia 20th-century Croatian male singers Croatian pop singers Croatian rock singers Croatian singer-songwriters Croatian Roman Catholics Croatian businesspeople Croatian soldiers Croatian nationalists Far-right politics in Croatia 21st-century Croatian male singers Nationalist musicians