Nele Karajlić
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Nenad Janković (; ; born 11 December 1962), known as Dr Nele Karajlić (), is a Yugoslav and Bosnian Serb musician, composer, comedian, actor, writer and television director living and working in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, Serbia. One of the founders of the New Primitivism cultural movement in his hometown of
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
, he was also the lead singer and co-author for one of former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
's best known bands,
Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno Pušenje () is a Bosnian Rock music, rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with Bosnian folk music, folk influences, often featuring innovative production a ...
(No Smoking). Karajlić also co-created and participated in TV shows '' Top lista nadrealista'' (The Surrealist Hit Parade) and '' Složna braća''. During the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
, he moved to Belgrade where he formed one of two descendant factions of
Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno Pušenje () is a Bosnian Rock music, rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with Bosnian folk music, folk influences, often featuring innovative production a ...
. That splinter of the band was joined by filmmaker
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s. He has competed at the Cannes ...
, and renamed it The No Smoking Orchestra.


Early life

Janković was born on 11 December 1962, in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
, present day Bosnia and Herzegovina into a middle-class family. His father Srđan Janković was a linguist and professor of Oriental sciences at the
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...
's Faculty of Philosophy. In his youth, Nenad was a mischievous kid with short attention span. Following in his father's footsteps, Janković also studied Orientalism at the same school where his father taught. However, as his music and TV career took off, the studies were no longer a priority and he never finished them. He initially took a
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
"Dr Nele Karajlić" as an inside joke. The name was supposed to recall the wartime practice of Partisan conspirators from
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, who were lionized in state-sponsored movies and television series. The surname Karajlić vaguely recalls Bosnian Muslim ancestry, obfuscating his Serbian ancestry, despite the fact that it was entirely fabricated. Other Zabranjeno Pušenje members and friends were similarly and misleadingly nicknamed. "It later proved to be useful," he once said, "since no one outside our group could really tell which nationality we were when the pre-war ethnic tensions started".


Music career


Nele and Sejo – the original ''Zabranjeno Pušenje''

As Zabranjeno Pušenje's music and shtick started to catch on all over
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
during mid-'80s, Nele became one of the better-known public figures in the entire country. His deliberately low-brow and unkempt style were paired with a similar philosophical streak of New Primitivism that the band claimed to follow and propagate. Never content to merely let the music do the talking, Nele often engaged in matters he knew would create a stir. Some of them, like the now-famous 'Marshall episode' (when Nele declared during a concert "The Marshall croaked. I mean, the amplifier"), seem ridiculously benign and innocuous by today's standards but nevertheless raised a furor in the post-Tito socialist Yugoslavia of the 1980s. Band's pre-show press conferences often assumed the form of a debate club with Nele charming journalists while pontificating on issues ranging from lower league soccer to
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
's
Manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
. It was part publicity tool, part socio-political theatre. As far as on-stage behavior goes, dr Nele Karajlić was probably the first Yugo rock frontman to take a truly active approach while in front of a crowd. Fully utilizing the stage equipment, he would climb stage walls, dive into the audience, rip his clothes off, simulate
fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...
on microphones, flip crowds off, etc. One particular occasion during 1985/86 tour at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in
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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
(place that usually hosts opera singers and symphony orchestras and hence has a bolted down concert piano on stage) saw him get on top of the said piano, and proceeding to dry hump it for an extended period – all of which got him a big cheer from the crowd but also managed to offend many purists. The band started to hit it big fairly quickly. Their debut album ''Das ist Walter'' appeared in June 1984 and it was soon apparent that their popularity would soon grow beyond the city of Sarajevo. A national tour followed, which brought Nele more attention. They played a sold-out show (6,000 capacity) at Hala sportova in Belgrade on 4 November 1984. At this time Nele was also starring on the '' Top lista nadrealista'' sketch comedy TV show, soon making him a celebrity. His face started popping up on fold-out posters in entertainment magazines and he was talked about by the media. Over the next seven years Zabranjeno Pušenje recorded three more studio albums and played countless sold-out arenas until, in late 1991, Nele and Davor Sučić (aka " Sejo Sexon") decided to go their separate ways. The Nele-Sejo relationship was always the band's nucleus. Having written lyrics and music for most of the songs, the duo was running the band while rest of the group employed a revolving door policy. The circumstances under which Zabranjeno Pušenje ceased to exist in its first incarnation, are not entirely clear. In later interviews, Nele has explicitly stated that Zabranjeno Pušenje disbanded when Sejo informed him about not wanting to play anymore in late 1991 and that it had nothing to do with the war, while Sejo seems to suggest the break-up occurred implicitly when Nele fled for Belgrade in the spring of 1992, soon after fighting flared up in Bosnia. There is no indication they've ever met face to face since then, except after Sejo's father died and they reunited for a night of drinking at a bar. Their already complex working-business friendship-relationship was further burdened by their ethnic background – Nele is a Serb while Sejo is identifying himself as a Bosnian, although of Croatian descent. Although never openly hostile in interviews when the topic of old times is broached, both men noticeably try to project an air of indifference about one another.


Dr Karajlić goes to Belgrade

In
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, Nele was a
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
– albeit a famous one. Together with his wife Sanja and their infant daughter he spent his first Belgrade days in the apartment belonging to Rambo Amadeus. For the most part, music was the furthest thing on his mind during this period. He could be seen across town waiting in lines in front of different charity organizations like ADRA to send food packages to family members in Sarajevo which was under siege by Serbian forces. His first post-original-Zabranjeno Pušenje music gig was a low-publicity duet with Toni Montano on a quickly forgotten track called "Srećna porodica". Throughout the 1993 through 1996 period, Nele played with different musicians on a recreational basis under the name Zabranjeno Pušenje. He did not record any new material and would occasionally play an odd club date or two in Belgrade. In September 1995 he traveled to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
where he met up with Mladen Pavičić 'Pava', formerly of Plavi Orkestar, and some local musicians, including drummer Boris Daich and bassist Nenad Stanojevic, for a Zabranjeno Pušenje show. During this time he also collected and honed material for a possible new album, although he was not quite sure when or even if he would like to release it. Or, for that matter, if Belgrade audiences still had any interest in a band-less rocker from Sarajevo. The event that finally made him realize he could still be relevant was a concert at Belgrade's Tašmajdan stadium which the band booked somewhat pretentiously for 13 September 1996. The place seats around 10,000 and the plan was to play old Zabranjeno Pušenje songs with some unfinished new material sprinkled in throughout. Amazingly, the stadium was packed and the show turned into a comeback triumph for Nele that couldn't be spoiled even by the pouring rain. On the strength of their Belgrade success the new band embarked on a mini-tour across SR Yugoslavia,
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
,
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
and
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
during which they played some memorable arena gigs in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
,
Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
,
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
and
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
. This sudden unexpected surge of public interest made Nele feel added responsibility for the quality of the material about to be released, so he postponed the already set album release date because he felt songs were still not tight enough. Finally in 1997, the Belgrade fraction of Zabranjeno Pušenje (of which Nele was the only original member) released ''Ja nisam odavle'' (''I'm not from around 'ere'') which did very well commercially in Serbia even if reviews weren't as glowing. In 1998, members of the Belgrade Zabranjeno Pušenje joined forces with
Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; ) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav Rock music, rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band has been one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Popular music in the So ...
's
Bora Đorđević Borisav "Bora" Đorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Борисав, Бора Ђорђевић; 1 November 1952 – 4 September 2024), also known as Bora Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Бора Чорба), was a Serbian singer-songwriter and poet. He was best known as th ...
under the name ''Riblje Pušenje'' (Fish Smoking) to record two Yugoslavia fan songs for the upcoming soccer
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
in France. Two tracks entitled "Pobednička Pesma" (''Winners' Song'') and "Gubitnička Pesma" (''Losers' Song'') featured Nele and Bora singing praises and insults respectively to the SR Yugoslavia national team. The idea was to have a song ready for each case – victory and defeat. Around this time Nele collaborated with film director and former Zabranjeno Pušenje bass player,
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s. He has competed at the Cannes ...
, on the soundtrack for the '' Black Cat, White Cat'' movie. Off that record, the track "Pit bull" became a moderate hit as well as "Bubamara" – a gypsy brass version of "Ženi nam se Vukota" (''Vukota's Getting Married'') from ''Ja nisam odavle''.


The No Smoking Orchestra

After '' Black Cat, White Cat'' finished its theatrical life, Nele and the band were approached by Emir Kusturica for an Italian tour in the summer of 1999, right after the NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia. The idea was obviously to ride the wave of Kusturica's popularity so the band got renamed to Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra even if the famous director had a fairly minor musical role in it. The tour named Effeti Collaterali was a big success and they soon released a Europe-wide album for Universal named ''Unza Unza Time''. This was the third incarnation of Zabranjeno pusenje (second after Nele's split from the original band). They did away with traditional rock'n'roll sound but kept the attitude. Booming guitar took a back seat to accordion and violin, while Nele's scratchy howl assumed a more sedated tone. In the 2001 documentary ''Super 8 Stories'' legendary
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
, clearly at a loss for words, describes their sound as "this crazy Greek-Jewish wedding music of the past,... and the future". That movie, directed by Kusturica details goings-on throughout their first two tours. A second one that started in the spring of 2000 saw them pay visits to cities in France, Spain,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, Germany and of course Italy, which had by this time become their business base. The band's touring agenda was set around Kusturica's movie schedule (he was shooting ''
Life Is a Miracle ''Life Is a Miracle'' () is a Serbian drama film directed by Emir Kusturica in 2004. It was entered into the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where the lead animal actor, Acrobatic Dog, won the Palm Dog award. It received nomination at the Golden ...
'' at the time), which is why they waited until 2004 for the next tour that in addition to their usual stomping grounds also took them to places as
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Brazil, Chile,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and Israel. Even if he does not have the highest billing anymore, Nele is still the band's de facto frontman. Kusturica's role is that of a
Trojan horse In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer, Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending ...
– his starpower draws people to shows, he then does his talking bit at the beginning and in-between some songs (often purposely delivered in broken English) and finally turns the audience over to Nele & Co. Being aware of his limited playing capabilities, Kusturica takes a backseat role as the rhythm guitar player. It is a setup that suits Nele. He and the band would probably never have the opportunity to achieve an international music career on their own and that is why Nele often likens Kusturica's approach and the subsequent band's transformation to "someone opening a window in a stuffy room". Ironically, this makeover robbed them of huge popularity at home in Serbia. This was most evident on 3 July 2004 when they played their first and so far only domestic show in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. Conceptually it was to be a celebration of the band's 20th anniversary (if continuity is assumed through all of the band's incarnations) for which they joined forces with another local favourite
Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; ) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav Rock music, rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band has been one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Popular music in the So ...
, who were celebrating their 25th. The concert drew 40,000 but it quickly turned unpleasant after No Smoking Orchestra took the stage. The crowd coldly tolerated their new shtick (songs in Spanish, German, Romany and English, Nele's new ethno getup, etc.) throughout the first few songs but soon began to show hostility when it became clear the old classics would not be played. Instead of Zabranjeno Pušenje, the crowd got The No Smoking Orchestra, and they did not like it. The stage was pelted with half-filled plastic water bottles forcing the band to abandon their set after barely 40 minutes. It was an unpleasant homecoming and a clear statement that their new style is not welcomed by hardcore fans. The band did not dwell on it and they continued the tour, crossing Europe, South America and even parts of Asia. In May 2005 they played a show in
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
, France, during the
film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...
for a movie industry crowd including
Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...
and
Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, tw ...
.


Writing

In June 2014, Karajlić's autobiography ''Fajront u Sarajevu'' (''Last Call in Sarajevo'') got released. In addition to glowing reviews and notices, it also did well commercially, selling more than 80,000 copies by the end of 2014. He also wrote ''FBI-Tesla files'', ''United brothers'' and ''28 Thessaloniki Street''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karajlic, Nele 1962 births Living people Musicians from Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Serbia Yugoslav musicians Bosnia and Herzegovina musicians Male actors from Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina rock singers Serbian rock singers Serbian punk rock musicians Serbian film score composers Yugoslav rock singers New Primitivism people Zabranjeno Pušenje members Top lista nadrealista Indexi Award winners Yugoslav Wars refugees