Thompson (band)

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Thompson
The band members Bilić, Perković, Ivić, Orlić and Ivanković (from left to right) after a concert (2013)
The band members Bilić, Perković, Ivić, Orlić and Ivanković (from left to right) after a concert (2013)
General information
Genre (s) Rock , hard rock , pop rock , right-wing rock
founding 1991
Website thompson.hr
Current occupation
singing
 Marko Perković
guitar
 Tomislav Mandarić
guitar
 Ivan Ivanković
Keyboard
 Duje Ivić
Drums
 Ivica Ike Bilić

Thompson is a Croatian rock band named after the nickname of its founder and front man Marko Perković . The band, which is successful in Croatia, is accused of glorifying Croatian fascism .

Naming

Nicknamed Thompson , who is also the name of his band, singer Perković was alluding to in the Croatian War used by him submachine gun brand Thompson . Perković belonged to the Battalion Čavoglave ( Bojna Čavoglave ) , the unit of his hometown. When distributing the weapons, Perković came too late and asked where his weapon had gone. He then received an old Thompson that was still available. From then on his comrades teased him about this weapon and gave him his nickname.

Concerts and appearances

The band appears regularly on the Croatian public broadcaster HRT, and the song “ Bojna Čavoglave ” was also broadcast here. A world tour began in September 2002 in front of 40,000 visitors in Split. The tour, during which the band also gave their best-attended concert in Germany in Frankfurt am Main in front of 13,000 visitors, ended in May 2005 in Sydney, Australia. In November 2007 a concert tour through North America began.

According to the New York Sun , a concert in Toronto planned for November 2007 was initially canceled after the Canadian “Task Force Against Hate” protested against it. The concert then took place on private property, to which the organizers had directed 5000 fans by email and SMS. The ticket sales for the concert in Manhattan were handled by the local Croatian parish. The Croatian ambassador told the Simon Wiesenthal Center that they were distancing themselves from the performance. There is also no invitation from the band by a member of the Croatian diplomatic corps.

Front man Perković at a concert (2013)

The band's concerts also included the fascist Ustasha song Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara , which glorified the killing of Jews and Serbs in the Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška concentration camps . Perković initially denied having sung this song and only admitted it after a recording of a concert appeared. Perković said that he distanced himself from right-wing radicalism or the Ustaša ideology. He sees himself as a "patriot". However, observers classify him as clearly nationalistic.

In May 2007, a benefit concert for Croatian students planned in Sarajevo on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II was canceled. The “Croatian Catholic Welfare” (HKKD), which acts as the organizer, made this decision after several members had received anonymous threats.

After the announcement of a concert in Kriens in Lucerne in September 2009, the Swiss Young Socialists demonstrated against Perković's appearance. The Lucerne government turned to the Federal Office of Police , which on September 29, 2009 imposed an entry ban on Perković with reference to the racism penal norm . The Federal Office relied on the results of the Service for Analysis and Prevention, which had found a glorification of the Croatian fascists in the inflammatory texts of the band. The Croatian Foreign Ministry then sent a diplomatic note to the Swiss Embassy and appointed the Swiss Ambassador to the Croatian Foreign Ministry. The Croatian President Stjepan Mesić criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and defended Switzerland regarding the entry ban. Perković's appearances were also banned in the Istria and the Netherlands.

After a six-year performance ban in Switzerland, a concert took place in Friborg in Üechtland on December 5, 2015 , with restrictions on the pieces being sung. On the other hand, a planned concert in Kremsmünster, Austria , was canceled by the mayor. In the course of the cancellation, the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution saw a potential risk.

Football World Cup 2018: Thompson and the Croatian national team

In the context of the success of the Croatian national football team , it became known that the players in the dressing room were listening to Thompson's music. Marko Perković also took part in the national team's open bus on arrival and triumphant trip through Zagreb .

Others

In addition to black T-shirts with their trademark, a sword, there were also slivovitz bottles on which the portrait of HVO General Ante Gotovina was emblazoned at the merchandising stands . Perković also raised money for the defense of Gotovina, who was accused of war crimes in The Hague and was acquitted.

Young fan with Crna Legija T-shirt

Fans of the band sometimes wear black clothes and symbols of the Ustasha movement at concerts or wear symbols of the " Black Legion " ( Crna legija ). For example, at a concert in Zagreb in May 2009 with 20,000 visitors, three people were arrested for wearing Ustaše symbols. The greeting “ Za Dom Spremni! “(Ready for the homeland) of the Ustaše movement is often chanted. The Hitler salute was shown at individual concerts . In an interview before a concert in Vukovar on April 13, 2007, Perković distanced himself from fans who came to the concert with Ustaša symbols on their clothes. His band could not make the fans dress code, but they should rather wear symbols of the Croatian War of Independence than Ustasha symbols.

reception

The press is usually very critical of the band. The most common allegations refer to the glorification of Croatian fascism in World War II. Thompson would serve a nationalism that is deeply rooted in Croatian society and goes beyond the right wing. Here, various voices in Croatian politics are often referred to who clearly distance themselves from Thompson, such as the Croatian President Stipe Mesić . In fact, the Croatian Public Prosecutor's Office investigated suspicions of sedition in 2003 , but no charges were brought. Another allegation relates to support for the Croatian generals indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal ICTY .

The ban on performing in Umag in 2008, which led to heated discussions in Croatia , is often cited as an indication of the justified criticism . Hundreds of politicians, intellectuals and bishops signed a petition against the ban. The head of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO), Ivo Banac , was also critical of the ban, given the fact that neither security-related nor legal reasons were given to justify a ban on the performance. The local politician of the regional, left-wing liberal party IDS, Damir Kajin, had enforced the ban with the support of the then Croatian President Stipe Mesić.

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Ora et Labora
  AT 73 04/26/2013 (1 week)

Studio albums

year title German translation Label and notes
1992 Moli, mala
First studio album 		Pray, little one Croatia Records
1995 Vrijeme škorpiona
Second studio album 		Time of the scorpions Croatia Records
1996 Genikomi
third studio album 		Genes of stone Croatia Records
1998 Vjetar s Dinare
Fourth studio album 		Wind from the Dinara Croatia Records
2002 E, moj narode
Fifth studio album 		Oh my people Croatia Records
2006 Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj
Sixth studio album 		Once upon a time in Croatia Croatia Records
120,000 copies sold; 4 × platinum
2013 Ora et labora
Seventh studio album 		Pray and work Croatia Records

Compilations

year title German translation Label and notes
2003 Sve najbolje
First best-of album 		All the best Croatia Records
2008 Druga strana
compilation album 		Other side Croatia Records
Newly Recorded Hits
2015 The Best of Collection
compilation album 		The best of collection Croatia Records
2016 Antologija anthology Croatia Records
2019 Original album collection Croatia Records

Video albums

  • 2002 - Poljud (limited edition of 2500 pieces)
  • 2004 - Turneja - E, moj narode
  • 2007 - Turneja - Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj
  • 2013 - Poljud

literature

  • Bernd Robionek: Music as a Means of Transport for Ideology: The Example of the Croatian Singer Marko Perković “Thompson” . In: Kemal Bozay , Dierk Borstel (ed.): Ideologies of inequality in the immigration society: causes, backgrounds and ideas for educational and political practice (= Edition Centaurus - youth, migration and diversity ). Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-12978-1 , p. 223 ff.
  • Alojz Ivanišević: Faith - Love - Home: The Thompson phenomenon as a reflection of Croatian post-war society . In: Stefan Michael Newerkla et al. (Hrsg.): The political song in East and Southeast Europe (=  Volume 11 by Europa Orientalis ). LIT Verlag Münster, 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-50255-1 , p. 213 ff .
  • Catherine Baker: Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia since 1991 . Ashgate, Farnham 2010, ISBN 978-1-4094-0337-1 .
  • Catherine Baker: Myth, war memory, and popular music in Croatia: The case of Marko Perković Thompson . In: Slovo: An Inter-Disciplinary Journal of Russian, East-Central European and Eurasian Affairs . tape 17 , no. 1 , 2005, p. 19-32 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maruxa Relaño: Neo-Nazi band Set To Play Amid protests , The New York Sun 24 October, 2007
  2. ↑ Against the trivialization of Nazi concerts!
  3. ^ New York: Second Thompson Concert Added! ( Memento from May 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Croatian singer's alleged Nazi sympathies strike a sour note , Jerusalem Post, October 27, 2007
  5. ↑ Efraim Zuroff: Ustasa rock n 'roll . In: The Jerusalem Post, June 25, 2007
  6. ^ Nazis Rock on in Croatia , The Center for Peace in the Balkans, June 23, 2007
  7. ↑ a b The Bard of Hatred . , NZZ of July 18, 2016
  8. ^ Threats cancel Croat singers' Sarajevo concert
  9. ^ Nzz.ch: Entry ban for Perkovic has consequences
  10. ↑ nzz.ch: Croatian blood-and-soil rock star
  11. ↑ nzz.ch: No right to protest against Switzerland
  12. ^ Pope receives right-wing extremists ( memento of November 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) , fr-online.de , November 22, 2009
  13. ^ Upper Austria: Thompson concert in Kremsmünster canceled! Kosmo , April 27, 2017, accessed May 20, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Behind the scenes of Croatia's soccer World Cup and the glorification of fascism Deutschlandradio Kultur July 13, 2018 Moderation: Christine Watty Audio 1/2 year online
  15. ↑ Croatia's President and the World Cup celebrating with political calculation , Erich Rathfelder, TAZ July 11, 2018
  16. ↑ Right-wing rocker Marko Perkovic travels with Croatia's heroes through Zagreb , Die Welt July 17, 2018
  17. ↑ scandal over Croatia's World Cup heroes: Modric and Rakitic pose with controversial singer , Focus July 17, 2018
  18. ↑ Marko Perkovic alias Thompson Controversial rocker delivers song for Croatian World Cup celebrations Stuttgarter Zeitung June 22, 2018
  19. ↑ Five years of Croatia in the EU: Celebrating with the Bard of Hate , by Michael Martens, FAZ June 21, 2018
  20. ↑ Ultra Nationalist singer in celebration of Croats Michael Robausch The Standard July 17, 2018
  21. ↑ Scandal at World Cup celebration: Croatia's national team celebrates with "Fascho-Rocker" by Marco Fieber, Huffington Post July 17, 2018
  22. ↑ Why this Croatian appearance is ruining everything , by Danijela Pilic, Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 18, 2018
  23. ↑ "My songs speak for me ", Caroline Fetscher in: Tagesspiegel July 4th 2007.
  24. ↑ B92 - arrests at concert ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  25. ^ Foundation EVZ (ed.): Right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (PDF) ( Memento from July 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  26. ↑ Thompson u Vukovaru: Opća mobilizacija ( Memento of February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), April 13, 2007
  27. ^ FAZ: The hate singer
  28. ^ Catherine Baker: Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia since 1991 . Routledge, 2016, ISBN 978-1-317-05241-8 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
  29. ↑ Chart sources: AT

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