Nele Karajlić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nele Karajlić
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Karajlić performing with The No Smoking Orchestra in Barcelona, 2 July 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nenad Janković |
| Born | 11 December 1962 Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Genres | Rock, World music, Garage Rock, Rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor, writer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | Jugoton Diskoton Komuna Universal |
| Associated acts | Zabranjeno pušenje, The No Smoking Orchestra |
Nenad Janković, born on December 11, 1962, is better known as Dr Nele Karajlić. He is a talented musician, composer, comedian, actor, writer, and TV director. He lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia.
Nele was one of the people who started the "New Primitivism" art movement in his hometown of Sarajevo. He was also the lead singer and a songwriter for one of the most famous bands in the former Yugoslavia, called Zabranjeno Pušenje (which means "No Smoking").
Karajlić also helped create and appeared in popular TV shows like Top lista nadrealista (The Surrealist Hit Parade) and Složna braća. When the Bosnian War started, he moved to Belgrade. There, he formed a new version of his band, which later included the famous filmmaker Emir Kusturica. This new group was named The No Smoking Orchestra.
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Early Life and Education
Nenad Janković was born in Sarajevo, which was then part of Yugoslavia, on December 11, 1962. He grew up in a middle-class family. His father, Srđan Janković, was a language expert and a professor at the University of Sarajevo.
When he was young, Nenad was a playful kid who sometimes had trouble focusing. He decided to study the same subject as his father, Orientalism, at the same university. However, as his music and TV career became very busy, he didn't finish his studies.
He chose the stage name "Dr Nele Karajlić" as a joke. It was meant to sound like the secret names used by Partisan heroes during World War II, who were often shown in movies and TV. The name "Karajlić" sounded like it might be from a Bosnian Muslim background, which made it harder for people to guess his real Serbian background. This proved useful later when ethnic tensions grew.
Music Career Highlights
The Original Zabranjeno Pušenje
In the mid-1980s, the band Zabranjeno Pušenje became very popular across Yugoslavia. Nele Karajlić became a well-known public figure. His simple, down-to-earth style matched the "New Primitivism" philosophy the band promoted.
Nele often liked to create a stir. For example, during one concert, he joked that "The Marshall croaked," referring to an amplifier. This caused a big reaction in Yugoslavia at the time, even though it seems harmless today. The band's press conferences were often like lively debates, where Nele would charm journalists while talking about many different topics. This was both a way to get publicity and a kind of social commentary.
On stage, Nele was very energetic. He would climb on stage equipment, jump into the audience, and perform in exciting ways. During a concert in Zagreb in 1985, he even climbed on top of a concert piano and danced, which thrilled the crowd but also surprised many traditional music fans.
The band quickly became successful. Their first album, Das ist Walter, came out in June 1984. Their popularity quickly grew beyond Sarajevo. They played a sold-out show for 6,000 people in Belgrade in November 1984. At the same time, Nele was also starring in the TV comedy show Top lista nadrealista, which made him even more famous.
Over the next seven years, Zabranjeno Pušenje released three more albums and played many sold-out concerts. However, in late 1991, Nele and Davor Sučić (known as "Sejo Sexon") decided to go their separate ways. Nele and Sejo were the main creative force behind the band, writing most of the songs. The exact reasons for the band's breakup are not fully clear. Nele said the band ended when Sejo didn't want to play anymore in late 1991, before the war. Sejo, however, suggested the band broke up when Nele moved to Belgrade in 1992 after fighting began in Bosnia. They have not met much since then, except for one time after Sejo's father passed away.
Nele Karajlić in Belgrade
In Belgrade, Nele was a refugee, but a famous one. He lived with his wife and young daughter in an apartment belonging to another musician, Rambo Amadeus. During this time, music was not his main focus. He often waited in lines at charity organizations to send food to his family members in Sarajevo, which was under siege.
His first music performance after the original Zabranjeno Pušenje was a duet with Toni Montano on a song called "Srećna porodica." From 1993 to 1996, Nele played with different musicians for fun, still using the name Zabranjeno Pušenje. He didn't record new music but sometimes played small club shows in Belgrade. In September 1995, he traveled to Toronto for a Zabranjeno Pušenje show with other musicians. During this time, he also worked on new songs, wondering if he should release them.
A big moment for him was a concert at Belgrade's Tašmajdan stadium on September 13, 1996. The stadium holds about 10,000 people. The plan was to play old Zabranjeno Pušenje songs and some new ones. Surprisingly, the stadium was full, and the show became a huge comeback for Nele, even with pouring rain. Because of this success in Belgrade, the new band went on a small tour across Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Slovenia, playing memorable shows in cities like Novi Sad and Ljubljana.
This sudden interest from the public made Nele feel responsible for the quality of his new music. He delayed the album release to make sure the songs were perfect. Finally, in 1997, the Belgrade version of Zabranjeno Pušenje (with Nele as the only original member) released Ja nisam odavle (I'm not from around 'ere). It sold very well in Serbia.
In 1998, members of the Belgrade Zabranjeno Pušenje teamed up with Riblja Čorba's Bora Đorđević to form "Riblje Pušenje" (Fish Smoking). They recorded two songs for the 1998 World Cup in France. These songs, "Pobednička Pesma" (Winners' Song) and "Gubitnička Pesma" (Losers' Song), praised or joked about the Yugoslavia national team, depending on whether they won or lost.
Around this time, Nele worked with filmmaker Emir Kusturica, who used to be a bass player for Zabranjeno Pušenje. They created the soundtrack for the movie Black Cat, White Cat. The songs "Pit bull" and "Bubamara" became popular hits from this soundtrack.
The No Smoking Orchestra
After the movie Black Cat, White Cat was released, Nele and his band were asked by Emir Kusturica to go on a tour in Italy in the summer of 1999, right after the NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia. To take advantage of Kusturica's fame, the band changed its name to Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, even though Kusturica had a smaller role in the music. The tour was a big success, and they soon released an album across Europe called Unza Unza Time.
This was the third version of the band (and the second after Nele left the original group). They changed their sound from traditional rock'n'roll but kept their energetic attitude. Guitars became less important, and instruments like the accordion and violin took center stage. Nele's singing style also became a bit calmer. In a 2001 documentary called Super 8 Stories, the famous musician Joe Strummer described their unique sound as "this crazy Greek-Jewish wedding music of the past,... and the future."
The documentary, directed by Kusturica, shows what happened during their first two tours. The second tour, which started in spring 2000, took them to cities in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Italy, which became their main base.
The band's touring schedule depended on Kusturica's movie projects (he was filming Life Is a Miracle at the time). So, they waited until 2004 for their next tour. This tour took them to new places like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, and Israel.
Even though Kusturica's name was first, Nele is still the main performer of the band. Kusturica's role is to attract people with his fame. He talks a bit at the beginning and between songs, often in funny broken English, and then lets Nele and the band take over. Kusturica plays rhythm guitar but knows his limits as a musician.
This arrangement works well for Nele. He and the band probably wouldn't have had the chance to become internationally famous on their own. Nele often says that Kusturica's involvement and the band's transformation were like "someone opening a window in a stuffy room."
However, this new style made them less popular in their home country, Serbia. This was very clear on July 3, 2004, when they played their first and only show in Belgrade with this new sound. It was meant to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary (counting all its versions) and was shared with another popular local band, Riblja Čorba, who were celebrating their 25th anniversary.
About 40,000 people came to the concert, but things quickly turned unpleasant when The No Smoking Orchestra started playing. The crowd didn't like their new style (songs in Spanish, German, Romany, and English, and Nele's new ethnic clothes). They started showing their dislike when it became clear that the band wouldn't play their old classic songs. Instead of Zabranjeno Pušenje, the crowd got The No Smoking Orchestra, and they didn't like it. People started throwing plastic water bottles at the stage, forcing the band to stop their show after only 40 minutes. It was a difficult homecoming and showed that their new style wasn't popular with their old fans.
The band didn't let this stop them. They continued their tour, traveling across Europe, South America, and parts of Asia. In May 2005, they played a show in Cannes, France, during the Cannes Film Festival for people from the movie industry, including famous actors like Salma Hayek and Javier Bardem.
Writing Career
In June 2014, Nele Karajlić released his autobiography called Fajront u Sarajevu (Last Call in Sarajevo). The book received great reviews and was also very successful, selling over 80,000 copies by the end of 2014. He has also written other books, including FBI-Tesla files, United brothers, and 28 Thessaloniki Street.
See also
In Spanish: Nele Karajlić para niños
