Laki Pingvini
Encyclopedia
Laki Pingvini were a Serbia
n rock
band from Belgrade
. While initially being a New Wave
act, throughout their later career, the band turned towards synthpop
and pop rock
.
costume party held at the Pinki club in Zemun
. At the time, the band had four vocalists and no regular lineup, but, as time passed, the lineup featuring Đorđe Dragojlović (vocals), Časlav Stanković (guitar
), Srđan Đurić (bass guitar
), Aleksandar Rodić (keyboards
) and Milan Bubalo (drums
) became the default band lineup.
The band started working more accurately on September 1982, and the following Summer managed to release their debut EP Šizika (Crazyca). The EP, beside the title track, featured two more tracks, "Devojka iz svemira" ("A Girl from Outer Space") and "Možda, možda" ("Maybe, Maybe"), and was produced by Saša Habić. A demo version of the song "Možda, možda" also appeared on the Ventilator 202 Demo Top 10 compilation.
The following year, the band released their debut album, Muzika za mlade (Music for the Young Ones), produced by Slobodan Marković, featuring a cover version of the Bay City Rollers
' "Yesterday's Hero", with lyrics in Serbian
entitled "Ne, nisam tvoj heroj" ("No, I'm Not Your Hero"), and a nationwide hit "Moja devojka" ("My Girlfirend"). The track "Baby" featured sampled accordion
and car engine sounds, and the whole album featured an analog drum machine
. Having released the album, the band performed at the Split
music festival with the song "Ja sam mornar" ("I'm a Sailor") and a cover version of Paul Anka
's "Love Me Warm and Tender", with lyrics in Serbian
entitled "Voli me" ("Love Me"), which appeared on the various artists compilation Split '84.
The following album Striptiz (Striptease
), released in 1985, featured the hit "Blago morskih dubina" ("Sea-Depths Treasure"), but the public did not show much interest for the rest of the album. The song also appeared as a B-side of the "Cry, Baby, Cry" single, released during the same year. After the album release, vocalist Đorđe Dragojlović left the band and started working under the alias Super Đoka, under which he appeared at the MESAM festival in 1986 with the song "Pokreni me" ("Turn Me Around"). The song later appeared on the festival album MESAM 1986. Two years later, in 1988, the band members went to Italy
and performed at night clubs and cabarets, and having returned to Yugoslavia
, in 1989, the band ceased to exist.
(Without Electricity).
The following year, Dragojlović reformed the band in a new lineup, featuring former Galija
guitarist Dragutin Jakovljević, Piloti
drummer Zoran Obradović "Ćera", keyboardist Ivan Aleksijević and bassist Rade Bulatović. Together they released the comeback album Stereo. The album featured newly recorded versions of "Blago morskih dubina", "Kraj" ("The End") and "Pokreni me" and a cover versions of Herbie Hancock
's "Cantaloupe Island
", entitled "Šta bi dao bre" ("What Would I Give"), Brian Eno
and John Cale
's "Empty Frame", entitled "Dragan, Marko i Violeta" ("Dragan, Marko and Violeta") and Pro Arte song "Lola". The album was recorded during January at Mačak Studio and produced by the band themselves. After the album release, the band split up. Dragojlović appeared as guest on the cover version of "Šizika" recorded by the band Ruž on their album Kao nekad in 1995.
In March 2006, the original lineup reunited to perform as guests at the Delča i Sklekovi concert held in the Belgrade Dom Omladine. In October of the same year, the band performed as an opening act for Duran Duran
.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. While initially being a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
act, throughout their later career, the band turned towards synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
and pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
.
Formation, prominence, breakup (1979-1989)
The band was formed in 1979 and had their first public appearance on November 29, at a punkPunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
costume party held at the Pinki club in Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
. At the time, the band had four vocalists and no regular lineup, but, as time passed, the lineup featuring Đorđe Dragojlović (vocals), Časlav Stanković (guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
), Srđan Đurić (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), Aleksandar Rodić (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) and Milan Bubalo (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
) became the default band lineup.
The band started working more accurately on September 1982, and the following Summer managed to release their debut EP Šizika (Crazyca). The EP, beside the title track, featured two more tracks, "Devojka iz svemira" ("A Girl from Outer Space") and "Možda, možda" ("Maybe, Maybe"), and was produced by Saša Habić. A demo version of the song "Možda, možda" also appeared on the Ventilator 202 Demo Top 10 compilation.
The following year, the band released their debut album, Muzika za mlade (Music for the Young Ones), produced by Slobodan Marković, featuring a cover version of the Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
' "Yesterday's Hero", with lyrics in Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
entitled "Ne, nisam tvoj heroj" ("No, I'm Not Your Hero"), and a nationwide hit "Moja devojka" ("My Girlfirend"). The track "Baby" featured sampled accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and car engine sounds, and the whole album featured an analog drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. Having released the album, the band performed at the Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
music festival with the song "Ja sam mornar" ("I'm a Sailor") and a cover version of Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
's "Love Me Warm and Tender", with lyrics in Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
entitled "Voli me" ("Love Me"), which appeared on the various artists compilation Split '84.
The following album Striptiz (Striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
), released in 1985, featured the hit "Blago morskih dubina" ("Sea-Depths Treasure"), but the public did not show much interest for the rest of the album. The song also appeared as a B-side of the "Cry, Baby, Cry" single, released during the same year. After the album release, vocalist Đorđe Dragojlović left the band and started working under the alias Super Đoka, under which he appeared at the MESAM festival in 1986 with the song "Pokreni me" ("Turn Me Around"). The song later appeared on the festival album MESAM 1986. Two years later, in 1988, the band members went to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and performed at night clubs and cabarets, and having returned to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, in 1989, the band ceased to exist.
Reformation and reunions (1994, 1995, 2006)
On January 1994, the band reunited to perform at the unplugged festival at Sava Centar in Belgrade, and the acoustic version of "Šizika" ("Crazyca"), recorded at the festival was released on the various artists compilation Bez strujeBez struje
Bez struje is a various artists live album, released in 1994, recorded on the unplugged festival held in 1994 in Sava Centar, Belgrade, Serbia. The album features eighteen Serbian acts.-Track listing:-References:*...
(Without Electricity).
The following year, Dragojlović reformed the band in a new lineup, featuring former Galija
Galija
Galija is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band from Niš. The central figures of the band are brothers Nenad Milosavljević and Predrag Milosavljević...
guitarist Dragutin Jakovljević, Piloti
Piloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood and in elevated houses such as Old Queenslanders in Australia's...
drummer Zoran Obradović "Ćera", keyboardist Ivan Aleksijević and bassist Rade Bulatović. Together they released the comeback album Stereo. The album featured newly recorded versions of "Blago morskih dubina", "Kraj" ("The End") and "Pokreni me" and a cover versions of Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's "Cantaloupe Island
Cantaloupe Island
Cantaloupe Island is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock and recorded on his 1964 album Empyrean Isles. during his early years as one of the members of Miles Davis '60s quintet. It is one of the very first examples of a modal jazz composition set to a funky beat...
", entitled "Šta bi dao bre" ("What Would I Give"), Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
's "Empty Frame", entitled "Dragan, Marko i Violeta" ("Dragan, Marko and Violeta") and Pro Arte song "Lola". The album was recorded during January at Mačak Studio and produced by the band themselves. After the album release, the band split up. Dragojlović appeared as guest on the cover version of "Šizika" recorded by the band Ruž on their album Kao nekad in 1995.
In March 2006, the original lineup reunited to perform as guests at the Delča i Sklekovi concert held in the Belgrade Dom Omladine. In October of the same year, the band performed as an opening act for Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
.
Studio albums
| Title | Released |
|---|---|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
EPs
| Title | Released |
|---|---|
| |
|
Singles
| Title | Released |
|---|---|
| |
|
Other appearances
| Title | Album | Released |
|---|---|---|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
External links
- Laki Pingvini at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Laki Pingvini at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Laki Pingvini at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Laki Pingvini at YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Laki Pingvini at Rateyourmusic