Music  

Yugoslav rock legend Bora Djordjevic dies at 72

By AFP

04 September 2024   |   10:18 am

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Legendary Yugoslav rock musician Bora Djordjevic has died in hospital in Ljubljana after battling severe pneumonia, his band announced Wednesday. He was 72. Djordjevic was a major figure in the booming 1980s Yugoslav rock scene and penned many of the era's most famous songs as lead singer of the band Riblja Corba. "Dear friends, with…

Legendary Yugoslav rock musician Bora Djordjevic has died in hospital in Ljubljana after battling severe pneumonia, his band announced Wednesday. He was 72.

Djordjevic was a major figure in the booming 1980s Yugoslav rock scene and penned many of the era’s most famous songs as lead singer of the band Riblja Corba.

“Dear friends, with sadness and grief, we inform you that our friend and brother Borisav Bora Djordjevic has left us,” the band said in a statement.

Riblja Corba — which means “fish stew” — was one of the most popular rock bands in the former Yugoslavia and continued to tour across the region after the break up of the socialist federation in the wars of the 1990s.

Music from the “YU Rock” era remains a strong point of connection for many in the Balkans, with bands like Riblja Corba maintaining loyal fan bases despite a surge in nationalism and ongoing political tensions.

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Riblja Corba were famed for their provocative lyrics that sparked official ire and even criminal charges of “insulting the working class” that were later dropped.

“A giant has left us,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote on Instagram Wednesday along with a picture of Djordjevic.

Djordjevic was born in Cacak in western Serbia in 1952 and later founded Riblja Corba in 1978.

Djordjevic was occasionally panned for his political posturing in his later years and making statements seen as promoting Serbian nationalism.

Despite the occasional controversy, Djordjevic continued performing throughout the Balkans and spent his final years in Slovenia.