Prljavo Kazalište

Prljavo Kazalište (lit. Dirty Theater) is the name of two Croatian (formerly Yugoslav) rock bands; one formed in Zagreb in 1977, and the other formed in Zagreb in 2023. Initially part of the Yugoslav punk rock and new wave scene, the original incarnation of the band turned to mainstream rock sound in mid-1980s. The group has enjoyed large popularity throughout most of its career, and is widely considered one of the most influential acts of Yugoslav and Croatian rock scenes.

Formed by vocalist Davorin Bogović, guitarist Jasenko Houra, guitarist Zoran Cvetković "Zok", bass guitarist Nino Hrastek and drummer Tihomir Fileš, Prljavo Kazalište initially performed punk rock, their songs lyrics featuring provocative social commentary. Their eponymous debut album, recorded with guitarist Marijan Brkić "Brk", who came in as replacement for Cvetković, was released in 1979 to large attention of the country's public and critical acclaim. With their following, more ska- and 2 Tone-oriented album Crno bijeli svijet the group established themselves as one of the most notable acts of the Yugoslav new wave scene. After the album release, Bogović departed from the group, and the band recorded their third album Heroj ulice with Houra on lead vocals, the record marking the band's shift towards more conventional rock sound. Bogović returned for the group's fourth album Korak od sna, after which the group went on hiatus. The band returned to the scene with the 1985 album Zlatne godine, featuring new frontman Mladen Bodalec and radio-friendly pop rock sound. During the following years, the band would enjoy large mainstream popularity, scoring a number of hit songs. Their late 1980s work sparked controversy in some parts of Yugoslavia due to its (perceived) nationalistic undertones, but also increased the band's popularity in Croatian public. During the Croatian War of Independence, the band recorded a number of patriotic tunes, but returned to social criticism with their late 1990s works. The group maintained their musical direction with mainstream rock sound, returning briefly to their new wave roots with the 2003 album Radio Dubrava. Since the late 1990s, Prljavo Kazalište has enjoyed the status of the most popular Croatian rock band (alongside Parni Valjak), also maintaining large popularity in other former Yugoslav republics.

In 2022, a fallout between two remaining original members, Jasenko Houra and Tihomir Fileš, led to a legal process over the rights to the band name. Since 2023, two factions of the band have been active, both named Prljavo Kazalište, one led by Houra and fronted by Bodalec, and the other led by Fileš and fronted by original vocalist Davorin Bogović.

Biography

1977–1979: Formation, debut album and instant popularity

The band's origins can be tracked to the band Ciferšlus (Zipper), active in Zagreb in the second half of 1970s and consisting of vocalist Davorin Bogović, guitarist Zoran Cvetković "Zok", bass guitarist Nino Hrastek and drummer Tihomir Fileš. In 1977, the four were joined by guitarist Jasenko Houra, the five deciding to start working under a new name. On the promotional concert in Zagreb's Dom sportova, held on 27 December 1980, the band was joined on stage by traditional tamburica orchestra Zagrebački Muzikaši, in the song "Mi plešemo", the guest appearance revealing Houra's interest for Croatian traditional music. the band generally moved to a more conventional rock sound with the songs like "Djevojke bi" ("The Girls Would"), "Sve gradske bitange" ("All the City's Punks") and "Lupam glavom u radio" ("I'm Banging My Head Against the Radio"). After the release of the record, Fileš and Hrastek went to serve their mandatory stints in the Yugoslav People's Army, so the group continued to perform with the help of the drummer Dražen Šolc and former member Zoran Cvetković, who played bass guitar in this lineup.

In 1983, Davorin Bogović returned to the band, and sang on their fourth album Korak od sna (One Step from the Dream). At that time, shortly before the upcoming breakup of Yugoslavia, tensions broke out between the constituent republics of the Yugoslav federation, so the issue of an eventual Croatian independence from Yugoslavia started to rise. Hence the verse "Zadnja ruža hrvatska" ("Last Croatian rose") made the song very popular in Croatia, especially in pro-independence part of Croatian public, which embraced it as a return to Croatian national sentiment, but also led to criticism in some parts of Yugoslavia due to (perceived) nationalist undertones, which were considered politically incorrect for the Yugoslav policy of brotherhood and unity. On 7 November 1988, the band performed on a large concert in Zagreb alongside three other most popular Zagreb-based bands of the time, Parni Valjak, Film and Psihomodo Pop. The recordings from the concert were released the following year on the double live album ZG Rock Forces. Fileš claimed that the band was formed by Bogović and himself, with Houra joining on later, and that Prljavo Kazalište trademark was registered by himself. At the beginning of July 2022, as a part of the legal process, Houra's faction was temporarily banned from using the name Prljavo Kazalište on their live performances. In June 2023, Fileš stated that he had an official meeting with Houra and that "Houra doesn't seem to have a problem with the existence of two bands named Prljavo Kazalište".

The song "Mojoj majci" was in the late 1980s embraced by nationalist and pro-independence parts of Croatian public as the announcement of return to Croatian national sentiment. The song was covered during the same year by singer Frank Kalabrić Franky on his album Ruža hrvatska, titled after the song.

Serbian and Yugoslav psychobilly musician Toni Montano covered the band's ballad "449 (Svaki put kad odlaziš)" ("449 (Everytime You Leave)"), under the title "Odlaziš (1984–1990)" ("You're Leaving (1984–1990)"), on his 1991 album Lovac na novac (Money Hunter), and the band's song "Široke ulice" on his 1999 album Srećan rođendan (Happy Birthday). Croatian dance-pop group Karma covered "Zaustavite Zemlju" on their 2001 album Sedam dana (Seven Days). The song "Sretno dijete" was covered by Croatian world music band Postolar Tripper on their 2007 album Zamisli život u ritmu cipela za ples (Imagine a Life in the Rhythm of Dancing Shoes). The band's song "Iz nekih starih razloga" ("Out of Some Old Reasongs") was covered by Croatian pop singer Ivana Kindl on her 2010 album Promjenljiva (Unstable). A Polish cover version of the Prljavo Kazalište's song "Crno bijeli svijet", translated as "Czarno-Biały Świat" and performed by Kazik, was included in the 2001 tribute album Yugoton, a tribute to the Yugoslav rock scene by Polish artists. In 2015, Prljavo Kazalište was polled No.23 and Crno bijeli svijet was polled No.24 on the list of 100 Greatest Yugoslav Albums published by the Croatian edition of Rolling Stone.

In 2000, "Mi plešemo" was polled No.49, "Crno bijeli svijet" was polled No.74, "Ma kog me boga za tebe pitaju" was polled No.77 and "Marina" was polled No.93 on the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times list. In 2006, "Mi plešemo" was polled No.42 and "Crno bijeli svijet" was polled No.60 on the B92 Top 100 Yugoslav songs list.

The lyrics of the band's songs "U mojoj općini problema nema" ("There Are No Problems in My Municipality"), "Sretno dijete", "Čovjek za sutra", "Nove cipele", "Moderna djevojka" ("Modern Girl") and "Neka te ništa ne brina" ("Nothing Should Worry You") were featured in Petar Janjatović's Pesme bratstva, detinjstva & potomstva: Antologija ex YU rok poezije 1967 - 2007 (Songs of Brotherhood, Childhood & Offspring: Anthology of Ex YU Rock Poetry 1967 – 2007).

Books

The band has been a subject of several books:

Lupi petama (1993);
Božićni koncert 1994 (1995), dealing with the band's 1994 Christmas concert;
Prljavo Kazalište (1996), dealing with the band's tour across Canada, United States, and Australia;
Sve je lako kad si mlad (2001) by Darko Glavan and Hrvoje Horvat, an authorized biography of the band.

Discography

Studio albums

Prljavo Kazalište (1979)
Crno bijeli svijet (1980)
Heroj ulice (1981)
Korak od sna (1983)
Zlatne godine (1985)
Zaustavite Zemlju (1988)
Devedeseta (1990)
Lupi petama... (1993)
S vremena na vrijeme (1996)
Dani ponosa i slave (1998)
Radio Dubrava (2003)
Moj dom je Hrvatska (2005)
Tajno ime (2008)
Možda dogodine (2012)

Live albums

Sve je lako kad si mlad – Live (1989)
Zabranjeni koncert (1994)
Božićni koncert (1995)
20 godina (1997)
XXX godina (2009)
XL World Tour Finale Stadion Zagreb (2019)
30 godina od koncerta na Trgu - Arena Zagreb (2020)

Compilation albums

Najveći hitovi (1994)
Sve je lako kad si mlad '77 – '99 (box set; 2001)
Rock balade (2004)
Single Collection '79–'90 (2010)
Greatest Hits Collection (2017)

Box sets

Sve je lako kad si mlad (2001)
Millenium Collection (2008)
Best of Live (2008)

Video albums

Lupi petama (1993)
Božićni koncert (1995)
Prljavo Kazalište (1996)
Prljavo Kazalište na Trgu (2003)
XXX godina (2009)
XL World Tour Finale Stadion Zagreb (2019)
30 godina od koncerta na Trgu - Arena Zagreb (2020)

Singles

"Televizori" / "Majka" / "Moje djetinjstvo" (1978)
'Moj je otac bio u ratu" / "Noć" (1978)
"Moderna djevojka" / "Crno bijeli svijet" (1980)
"...Mojoj majci" / "Topoteka House Mix" / "Marina" (1989)
"Dođi sada Gospode" (1996)
"Tamni slapovi" (2014)
"Stare navike" (2023)
"Makni se" (2023)
"Molim Boga da svane" (2024)
"Djeca su OK" (2024)

Charted singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| CRO<br/>

! scope="row"| "Stare navike"

| 2023

| 2

| colspan="22" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.