Pankrti (The ''Bastards'' in Slovene) are a punk rock band from

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, active in the late 1970s and 1980s. They were known for provocative and political songs. They billed themselves as ''The First Punk Band Behind The

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

'' (one of their songs was titled, ''Behind the

iron curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

old broads pull red

beet The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

''). They are one of the most important former Yugoslav punk groups and one of the first punk rock bands ever formed in a

communist country A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

Biography

Gregor Tomc Gregor Tomc also known as Grega Tomc (born 3 February 1952) is a Slovenian sociologist, musician and activist. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he was the founder and member of the Slovenian punk rock band '' Pankrti''. Biography Tomc was born in ...

and Peter Lovšin, two young men from the Ljubljana suburb of Kodeljevo, came up with the idea of forming a band in 1977. From the start, the band was heavily influenced by the UK punk scene. Tomc and Lovšin were the primary songwriters. Lovšin was the lead singer in the band, while Tomc came up with the band name and was the band's manager. The band started playing in the fall of 1977, practicing in the basement of Kodeljevo's music school, and held their first concert at Moste General middle School. Initially, they played covers of established punk bands including the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial suc ...

. Some of the first original songs by the band that became popular were: "Za železno zaveso" (Behind The Iron Curtain), "Anarhist" (Anarchist), and "Lublana je bulana" (Ljubljana is Sick). They were included in the ''

Novi Punk Val ''Novi Punk Val'' (meaning ''New Punk Wave'') is a compilation album of punk rock and new wave music from the SFR Yugoslavia. It covers the period from 1978 till 1980. It was released by ZKP RTLJ in 1981. It includes songs by notable Slovenian a ...

'' compilation album. They released their first album "Dolgcajt" (Boredom) in 1980 and gained the status of a

cult band A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

all over

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

. Their second album “Državni ljubimci” (State Lovers) was highly acclaimed by the public and gained an award for best Yugoslav album of the year. In 1984, they released their ''Rdeči album'' (Red Album). The title is an obvious

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on the famous album by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

with the colour red representing symbol of communism. The album featured a cover version of the famous Italian

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

revolutionary song '' Bandiera Rossa'' (''Red Flag''), which is one of their most famous tracks. The last Album was Sexpok (1987, ZKP RTVLJ) produced by Tomo in der Muhlen at SIM studio,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

One of their last concerts was in Tivoli Hall in Ljubljana in 1987, named ''Zadnji pogo'' (The Last Pogo Dance). In 1996, the group temporarily reunited to perform as a

support act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

for the Sex Pistols concert in Ljubljana during their

Filthy Lucre Tour The Filthy Lucre Tour was the 1996 reunion tour of the pioneering British punk rock band Sex Pistols. The 78-date world tour lasted for almost six months. A live album, ''Filthy Lucre Live'', was recorded at Finsbury Park in London and reache ...

. In 2003, Pankrti were included in the 2003 Yugonostalgic Croatian

rockumentary A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

Sretno dijete ''Sretno dijete'' (English: ''Happy child'') is a Croatian documentary film directed by Igor Mirković, and produced by Rajko Grlić, an Ohio University professor of film, in 2003. The film is a nostalgic autobiographical overview of the authors a ...

, which deals with the former Yugoslav punk and new wave scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Reunion

The band's founding members, Gregor Tomc and Peter Lovšin, who is now a solo artist backed by the band ''Španski borci'' ('' Spanish Fighters'', referring to Yugoslavs who fought for the Republicans the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

), announced Pankrti's reunion concert in the Hall Tivoli for December 1, 2007 as a celebration of their 30th anniversary and it immediately sold out. This show was followed by performances in Serbia and Croatia. These events coincided with the 2007

reunion for the 30th anniversary of '' Never Mind The Bollocks''.

Popular references

* A movie was made about their first album ''Dolgcajt'' (Boredom). * Another movie named for one of their greatest songs "Totalna revolucija" (Total Revolution), examined the band's role in the appearance of punk-rock in socialist Slovenia. * In the Croatian-produced movie ''Sretno dijete'' (Fortunate Child) they were also portrayed as having played a very important role as the initiators of a new music scene in Yugoslavia. * An exhibition of their photos was held at the Modern Culture Museum in Slovenia. * The rock band

Azra Azra was a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band that was one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav new wave music of the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were ...

mentions Pankrti in its song "Balkan": :''Brijem bradu, brkove, da ličim na Pankrte'' :Translation: ''I shave my beard, moustache to resemble Pankrti'' (regarding Azra's

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Johnny Štulić's transition from

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

to new wave). * In the Slovenian film ''

Outsider Outsider(s) may refer to: Film * ''Outsider'' (1997 film), a 1997 Slovene-language film * ''Outsider'' (2012 film), a Malayalam-language Indian film * ''Outsiders'' (1980 film), a South Korean film featuring Won Mi-kyung Literature * Outside ...

'', some of the soundtrack is original Pankrti music and most of the characters were named after those from Pankrti songs. * The Slovenian punk band Racija recorded a song entitled "To ni bla Metka" (That Was Not Metka), apparently parodying Pankrti's song "Metka". This Pankrti song was included in the Yugoslav new wave-related movie ''Dečko koji obećava'' in the scene in the student

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-li ...

restaurant. * The legendary BBC Radio DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

introduced them to a wider audience in Great Britain. * NME wrote a few articles about them.

Members

* Peter Lovšin (songwriter/singer) *

(songwriter/manager) * Bogo Pretnar (guitar) * Dušan Žiberna (guitar) * Marc Kavaš (guitar) * Boris Kramberger (bass) * Slavc Colnarič (drums)

Discography

*Lublana je bulana (1978, SKUC) *Dolgcajt (1980, ZKP RTLJ) *

(1981) *Namesto tebe (1981, ZKP RTLJ) *Državni ljubimci (1982, ZKP RTLJ) *Svoboda (1982, ZKP RTLJ) *Rdeči album (1984, ZKP RTLJ) *Pesmi sprave (1985, ZKP RTLJ) *Slovan (1985, Slovan) *Sexpok (1987, ZKP RTVLJ)

References

External links

Fan site, in English and Slovene
{{Authority control Yugoslav punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Slovenian new wave musical groups Slovenian rock music groups Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups from Ljubljana