Vatreni Poljubac

Vatreni Poljubac (trans. Fiery Kiss) is a hard rock and heavy metal band, originally formed in 1977 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, and since 1998 based in Belgrade, Serbia. Formed and led by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Milić Vukašinović, Vatreni Poljubac was one the most notable acts of the Yugoslav hard rock and heavy metal scene. Formed in October 1977, after the end of Vukašinović's one-year stint as the drummer for Bijelo Dugme, the original lineup of Vatreni Poljubac consisted of Vukašinović, bass guitarist Shefqet Hoxha and drummer Perica Stojanović. The band's initial releases, the single "Doktor za rock and roll" and the album Oh, što te volim, joj!, were well received by the audience and presented the band with their hard rock and heavy metal sound with folk influences. With their following releases the band maintained a loyal fanbase, although Vukašinović was occasionally criticized for his use of folk motifs in the band's songs by a part of Yugoslav music press, which compared some of Vatreni Poljubac songs with the Yugoslav "newly composed folk music". In 1982, the band went on a three-year hiatus, Vukašinović reforming the group for the 1985 comeback album Iz inata. The group's 1986 album 100% Rock 'n' Roll was recorded with former Bijelo Dugme vocalist Mladen Vojičić "Tifa", and is the only Vatreni Poljubac album not to feature Vukašinović on vocals. After the album release, the group disbanded, Vukašinović devoting himself to working with Yugoslav folk singers and releasing several solo albums. In 1997, he moved from Sarajevo to Belgrade, where he reformed Vatreni Poljubac in 1998. During the following two decades, Vukašinović would simultaneously release new Vatreni Poljubac albums, recorded by various lineups of the band, and his solo albums. Although Vukašinović's late works saw very little critical and commercial success, Vatreni Poljubac still enjoys a loyal fanbase in former Yugoslav republics. Milić "Mića "Vukašinović was born in Belgrade, but moved with his family to Sarajevo at an early age, due to his father's employment in the Yugoslav People's Army. He started to play drums at the age of twelve, persuaded by his older brother, who played guitar. He debuted as a member of his brother's band, playing at dances, and at the age of thirteen joined the band Plavi Dijamanti (The Blue Diamonds). After being expelled from gymnasium for hitting the school principal, he enrolled in a technical school, studying to be a TV repairman. However, he eventually dropped out of high school and started living off music. In 1965, he started playing with the band Čičak (Burdock), and in 1970 performed in Italian clubs with Goran Bregović, Željko Bebek and Zoran Redžić. Upon their return to Sarajevo, Vukašinović, Bregović and Redžić formed the progressive rock trio Mića, Goran i Zoran. At the end of summer of 1971, dissatisfied with the little success the group had, he left Sarajevo and moved to London, where he spent three years, working as a manual laborer and learning to play the guitar. At the end of 1974, he returned to Sarajevo, becoming the drummer of the well-established band Indexi. In October 1976, he was invited by his former bandmates Bregović and Redžić to join their new band, the highly popular Bijelo Dugme, as a temporary replacement for their drummer Ipe Ivandić, who was serving his mandatory stint in the Yugoslav army. Vukašinović left Bijelo Dugme in October 1977, after Ivandić returned from the army and rejoined the band. Upon leaving Bijelo Dugme in October 1977, Vukašinović formed Vatreni Poljubac. The first lineup of the band consisted of Vukašinović (vocals, guitar), former Rezonansa and Divlje Jagode member Shefqet Hoxha (bass guitar), and former Ambasadori and Indexi member Perica Stojanović (drums). Vatreni Poljubac debuted on the 1977 BOOM Festival held in Novi Sad. Soon after, the band released their debut single "Doktor za rock and roll" ("PhD in Rock and Roll"), with "Tvoje su usne bile moj najdraži dar" ("Your Lips Were the Dearest Gift to Me") as the B-side. The single, produced by Nikola Borota, featured Vukašinović's autobiographical lyrics. Prior to the song recording, on the insistence of the band's record label, Jugoton, Vukašinović had to alter the song verse "Sve ostalo je sranje" ("Everything else is shit") to "Sve ostalo je manje" ("Everything else is less"). The single became and immediate hit, and was proclaimed, at the beginning of 1978, Hit of the Year 1977 in the Yugoslav teen magazine Zdravo. In 1978, the band released their debut album, Oh, što te volim, joj! (Oh, How I Love You, Ouch!). The album was recorded in London and produced by Richard Whally. Vukašinović's guitar playing and high-pitched singing were influenced by contemporary heavy metal acts, with songs featuring his machist and erotic lyrics, with a corresponding album cover featuring erotic imagery. Alongside energetic hard rock and heavy metal tracks, the album featured the ballad "Baj, baj, malena" ("Bye, Bye, Little Girl"). Despite the band's and their manager's ambitions for large commercial success, the Yugoslav music press criticized Vukašinović's use of folk motifs in the group's songs, accusing him of trying to imitate Bijelo Dugme's trademark Balkan folk-influenced hard rock sound, describing the album as monotonous and expressing belief that it lacked authenticity of the band's debut single. In 1979, Vatreni Poljubac performed at the Opatija Festival, their songs "Ja bih se ljubio, ali nemam s kim" ("I Would Kiss Someone, But Have No One to Kiss") and "Ostani još samo jednu noć" ("Stay for Just One More Night") appearing on the festival's official compilation album Opatija '79 – Rock grupe (Opatija '79 – Rock Bands). In 1979, the band's second studio album was released, the double album Recept za rock 'n' roll (Recipe for Rock 'n' Roll), with part of the songs written by Vukašinović in early and mid-1970s. The album was produced by band members themselves. Sixteen songs on the album featured similar folk-influenced hard rock and heavy metal sound as heard on the band's debut, most prominently in the instrumental track "Rock kolo", which led Yugoslav music magazine Džuboks to describe Vukašinović as a "heavy metal folk singer". In 1980, Vatreni Poljubac released their third album, To je ono pravo (That's the Right Stuff). Stylistically similar to their previous two releases, with Vukašinović's self-confident lyrics—like in the track "Nek ne sluša kome smeta moj rock 'n'roll" ("Don't Listen if You Have a Problem with My Rock 'n' Roll")—the album also brought the track "Oda heroju" ("Ode to Hero"), inspired by the Yugoslav National Liberation War and described by rock critic Dragan Kremer in a review of the album as "national-liberation-revolutionary-heavy metal". Following the album release, the band once again appeared on the Opatija Festival, their song "Ona je tako dobra žena" ("She's Such a Good Woman") appearing on the festival's official compilation album. By the end of the year, the band had released another studio album, Bez dlake na jeziku (Without Mincing Words). The album brought the erotic-lyrics hit "Boogie je htjela" ("She Wanted Boogie"), but also the song "Moj dug je otišo van" ("My Friend Went Over the Border"), dealing with the emigration of educated young Yugoslavs who had no opportunity of obtaining an employment in their home country. Following the album release, Hoxha left the band, forming his own group, Carski Rez (Caesarean Section), with which he released the 1984 album Igrao sam na jednu kartu (I Placed All My Hopes on One Card). Later, he formed the band Detektor Laži (Lie Detector), and with the dissolution of Yugoslavia moved to Bulgaria. Hoxha was replaced by Sanin Karić, who was previously a member of Teška Industrija and played with Bijelo Dugme as a touring musician. Following the release of Bez dlake na jeziku, Vukašinović recorded sixteen of his songs with