Zabranjeno Pušenje () is a Bosnian rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex storytelling. The band currently consists of seven members: co-founder, vocalist, and guitarist Davor Sučić; longtime drummer Branko Trajkov, guitarist Toni Lović, bass guitarist Dejan Orešković, violinist and keyboardist Robert Boldižar, backing vocalist Anđela Zebec, and harmonica player Tomislav Goluban.
The band was formed contrary to the then prevalent Yugoslav punk rock and new wave, closely associated with the New Primitivism cultural movement and the radio and television satire and sketch comedy show Top lista nadrealista. They were one of the most popular musical acts of the 1980s in Yugoslavia, selling hundreds of thousands of records. Many times they got in trouble with the authorities for their, usually mild and sympathetic, criticism of the socialist system, and the habit of making light of issues considered sensitive at the time. The band's first lineup, originally named Pseudobluz bend Zabranjeno Pušenje, featured guitarist Sejo Sexon and vocalist Nele Karajlić, alongside drummers Fu-Do then Šeki Gayton, bassist Munja Mitić, keyboardist Seid Mali Karajlić, saxophonist and flutist Ognjen Gajić, guitarist Mustafa Čengić, and synthesizerist Zoran Degan. Their debut studio album Das ist Walter (1984) was initially released in limited circulation; the final count was 100,000 copies sold, setting a record for exceeding the initial release by 30 times. Their subsequent album Dok čekaš sabah sa šejtanom (1985), also released through Jugoton, was boycotted by the mainstream media due to troubles with Communist authorities. In 1986, Šeki Gayton, Mitić and Čengić chose to leave the group, while drummer Faris Arapović, bassist Darko Ostojić, guitarist Kowalski and keyboardist Dado Džihan joined in. During the second half of 1980s with the new lineup of the band released two albums Pozdrav iz zemlje Safari (1987) and Male priče o velikoj ljubavi (1989) through Diskoton.
In 1992, the band split in the wake of the Bosnian War. Nele Karajlić continued working in Belgrade under the names Nele Karajlić & Zabranjeno Pušenje and Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, while Sejo Sexon and other members rejoined in Sarajevo, using the original name and continuing the band's career. They released the fifth studio album Fildžan viška (1997) with the changed lineup. The band's 1990s lineup alongside Sejo Sexon featured the leader of the New Primitivism movement Elvis J. Kurtović, vocalist Marin Gradac, a guest on the 1987 album bassist Dragan Bobić, guitarist Sejo Kovo and violinist Bruno Urlić. After one temporary drummer, Branko Trajkov joined the group in 1996. The same lineup recorded the album Agent tajne sile (1999). In 2000, Kurtović, Kovo, and Gradac left the group, while guitarist and producer Dragianni joined the group and played on their subsequent album, Bog vozi Mercedes (2001). That album was followed five years later by Hodi da ti čiko nešto da (2006). In the mid-2000s, Dragianni, Bobić, and Urlić chose to leave the group, while guitarist Toni Lović, bassist Dejan Orešković, and violinist Robert Boldižar came to their seats. The band's ninth studio album, Muzej revolucije (2009), was released on the Anniversary of the October Revolution in almost all former Yugoslav countries, on the same day. The band released their tenth studio album, Radovi na cesti, in 2013. Their eleventh studio album was released in 2018, titled Šok i nevjerica. The twelfth and another double studio album Karamba! was released in 2022.
History Background What would eventually become Zabranjeno Pušenje was started in 1979 by sixteen-year-old Nenad Janković (later to become known as dr. Nele Karajlić) and eighteen-year-old Davor Sučić (later Mr. Sejo Sexon), two teenage friends and neighbors who had been attending Sarajevo Second Gymnasium secondary school while residing in the same apartment building on Fuad Midžić Street in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Koševo. Already infatuated with and deeply immersed in rock and roll, the two fanatically absorbed various musical influences from Yugoslavia and abroad, all the while desperately trying to achieve a basic level of technical proficiency on their instruments—at this stage, Nele Karajlić played the piano, an instrument he had previously studied in music school for a short time before dropping out, while Sejo Sexon played the guitar. Both possessing very limited musical knowledge, despite displaying boundless enthusiasm, the duo struggled with everything from simply tuning their instruments to producing the simplest of melodies.
Sexon and Karajlić soon expanded their setup by adding Ognjen Gajić, another neighborhood teenage friend who possessed some basic musical knowledge having attended a music school. Though by Karajlić's own admission, Gajić played the piano better than him, Gajić decided to switch over to flute as an homage to his favorite band Jethro Tull. He managed to become comfortable on a new instrument fairly quickly, soon becoming a bit of a musical authority among this now three-piece.
Since each of the three teenage members of the group (by now informally known as Pseudobluz bend) lived with their parents, the band rehearsals also took place in their parents' apartments, mostly Karajlić's and Gajić's.
Before long, Sexon brought in Zenit Đozić (a.k.a. Zena, later to become known as Fu-Do), his new classmate at Second Gymnasium who had recently moved to Sarajevo from Bugojno, to be the band's drummer. Adding percussions, that actually consisted of pots and pans, to their setup created new problems as the noise during rehearsals became unbearable for Karajlić's parents and Gajić's mother so the members set about looking for a suitable rehearsal space.
1980–1983: Early years In fall 1980, in accordance with the newly passed Yugoslav law requiring high school graduates to immediately report for their compulsory military service in the Yugoslav People's Army, nineteen-year-old Sexon left Sarajevo and was away from the band for a whole year. With Sexon temporarily gone, the band got a new member – Mustafa Čengić (a.k.a. MuČe or Mujo Snažni) who, in turn, brought in Mladen Mitić (a.k.a. Munja or Mitke) on bass guitar. They were occasionally accompanied by Mirko Srdić (later to become known as Elvis J. Kurtović), Zoran Degan, Boris Šiber, Samir Ćeremida, etc. In December 1980, MuČe and Munja managed to get the band on the bill of a Želimir Altarac Čičak-organized new music showcase at Sarajevo's Dom mladih, held under the "Nove nade, nove snage" ('New Blood, New Hopefuls') mantra. The event would be the band's first-ever live public performance though they did play a small show at Sarajevo's Fifth Gymnasium for their social circle a few days earlier on 30 November 1980 as preparation for the Dom mladih gig. Shortly before Čičak's show at Dom mladih, the band changed its name to Pseudobluz bend Zabranjeno Pušenje. Over time, they dropped the first part and continued as just Zabranjeno Pušenje for brevity.
Their first recording, song "Penzioneri na more idu zimi" (), was made for Radio Sarajevo in early 1981. Additionally, from May 1981, Karajlić and occasionally a few other band members became involved with the Top lista nadrealista radio segment, which aired weekly as part of the Primus program on Radio Sarajevo's channel two. "Penzioneri na more idu zimi" began getting some modest airplay on Radio Sarajevo throughout the year, leading to an increasing number of youths in the city making the connection between the band and the weekly comedy radio segment. In early fall 1981, along with a number of upstart Sarajevo bands such as , , Ema, , , Super 98, Negra, Žaoka, Ozbiljno Pitanje, Linija Života, Lucifer, Tečni Kristal, Tina, and Bedž, Zabranjeno Pušenje were booked for a multi-act gig as opening acts for headliners Indexi, Bulevar, Paraf, Zana, Aerodrom, Laboratorija Zvuka, and Bijelo Dugme – all part of the 'Mladost Sutjeske' event commemorating and celebrating the Battle of Sutjeska from World War II. Held at Skenderija sports arena on 3 October 1981, it was the band's biggest show to date and the youngsters left a memorable impression as singer Karajlić and drummer Đozić were about to leave for their mandatory army services just as guitarist Sexon was completing his.
1984–1989: Breakthrough and rising fame in Yugoslavia The band performed around Sarajevo for two years before beginning to record material for a debut album during Fall 1983 in producer a modest studio owned by "Paša" Ferović. The shambolic recording process took seven months before the album named Das ist Walter got released by Jugoton in April 1984 in the small print of 3,000 copies, clearly indicative of the label's extremely low commercial expectations. The line-up was altered and now Nenad Janković's younger brother keyboardist Dražen Janković (a.k.a. Seid Mali Karajlić) and drummer Predrag Rakić (a.k.a. Šeki Gayton). Though the album was initially released in the small print, the final count was 100,000 copies sold, setting a record for exceeding the initial release by 30 times. In Autumn 1984, they embarked on a 60-concert nationwide concert tour, making them one of the biggest Yugoslav rock attractions after just one album.
During that tour, at their concert in Rijeka on November 27, 1984, Nele Karajlić declared, referring to an amplifier that had just broken down, "Crk'o Maršal. Mislim na pojačalo." (), which was recognized as a pun on Marshal Tito's death, landing the band in trouble. They were criticized by the media and a campaign against them resulted in the canceling of their concerts and the removal of Top lista nadrealista from the air. The affair got attention of the Yugoslav Security Administration (UDBA), as well. They were rescued by some leading liberal intellectuals, and magazines such as Polet, Mladina and Slobodna Dalmacija, who raise their voices in the defense of the group members and that affair snaps without prison sentences. Later, Sexon said that their amplifiers weren't even Marshall, and that it was a joke.
In this atmosphere, the band recorded their second, double album Dok čekaš sabah sa šejtanom () in the infamous SIM studio and released it in July 1985. The album has received widespread acclaim from critics, but was boycotted by the media. Following promotional tour had extreme difficulties due to concern of the concert hosts and the enormous presence of the state police, as a reflection of the Marshall Affair. Despite several top concerts such as at Pionir Hall in Belgrade, Poljud in Split or Dom Sportova in Zagreb, tens of thousands sold tickets, the tour had a rather disappointing conclusion as the following year Šeki Gayton and Mustafa Čengić left the band in search of a more secure means of making a living. Mladen Mitić left in late 1986 after contributing to the development of the third album.