KBO! is a Serbian

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

, Serbia. They are one of the first

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

acts on the former Yugoslav punk scene. Since the very beginning, the band accepted the

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...

by forming their own record label KBO! Records, through which they have released all their official releases. The band have toured across several European countries including Hungary, Austria, Greece, Belgium and Netherlands and shared the stage with acts such as

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revela ...

and Babes in Toyland. They released several studio and live albums, some of them for foreign record labels and were included in numerous international punk compilations featuring eminent bands.

History

1980s

The band was formed in January 1982 by 17-year-old high school friends, guitarists Saša Vujić "Vuja", Aleksandar Vojinović "Aca", bassist Milorad Mišić "Miša" and drummer Rajko Todosavljević, becoming the first

band in

.KBO! Official MySpace
/ref> Getting the name by an onomatopoeic sound "kvo" made by a

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in a cartoon, written in

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

, the band name is often misspelled. The band had their first recordings released by English record labels on various artists compilations ''International Brigade'', released in 1984, and ''Liberate'', released in 1985. They also performed at local festivals, until the band members went to serve the army. On their return, in 1986, the band lineup changed as Mišić and Todosavljević left the band, Saša Vujić switched to vocals and his brother, Slobodan Vujić "Boban", joining the band as the new drummer. The new lineup started recording demos, releasing them independently through their own

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

KBO! Records, and so the 1986 ''Tama'' (''Darkness''), 1987 ''Nove obrade starih stvari'' (''New Covers of Older Stuff''), 1988 ''!OBK'', and 1989 ''Moja sloboda'' (''My Freedom''), gave the band the opportunity to overreach local prominence. It is partially due to this fact that the band got the opportunity to perform in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, in March 1988, recording the show and releasing it as ''Live in Budapest''. On May of the following year, the band performed in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, Greece, and having performed four times in Hungary, in October, the band went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, performing as an opening act for Emils and

1990s

The band's debut album, ''Forever Punk'', recorded at the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

''O'' studio for only four hours, was released by the Greek record label Wipe Out Records in 1991, and the following album, ''Pozovi 93'' (''Call 93'') was released by the

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

record label Start Today Records in 1992. The band promoted the materials on tours of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, Hungary and Austria, and during the summer of 1991, the band toured Belgium and Netherlands. During 1992, the band performed in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, Republic of Macedonia and prepared new material released on the CD ''Za jedan korak'' (''For a Single Step'') by the French record label Onkra from

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in 1992. The band also performed at Ilirska Bistrica and

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

, Slovenia. In 1993, the band's song "Ubijte me" ("Kill Me") appeared on the various artists compilation ''The Dignity Of Human Being Is Vulnerable'', released in Netherlands. In 1995, the band's song "IdI+odlazi" ("Go+leave") appeared on the anti-war compilation ''Mi za mir'' (''We for Peace''). The band's fourth official album, ''Svetlo ludila'' (''The Light of Craziness''), prepared for about two years, was released by their own record label in 1997, and featured cover versions of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's "

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

" and "Grk" ("Greek") by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

. In October 1996, the band performed in KST in Belgrade and the cover versions of

UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore pu ...

' "Organized Crime", Alphaville's " Forever Young", renamed to "Forever Punk" and Abrasive Wheels' "When the Punks Go Marching In", performed at the concert, appeared on the various artists compilation ''Punk You All'', released in 1998. In December 1996, the band performed at the TV Politika ''Paket Aranžman'' TV show fifth anniversary, and the live versions of "Ubijte me", "Samoća" ("Solitude") and "Lopovi" ("Thieves") appeared on the various artists compilation ''Svi protiv svih'' (''Everybody against everyone'') in 1998. The band, with Drama and Propaganda 117, appeared on the Goran Matić ''Život za sebe'' (''Life on Its Own'') movie soundtrack, with the songs "Balkanska rapsodija" ("The

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Rhapsody"), "Ludilo" ("Madness") and "Pada noć" ("The Night is Falling") and rerelesed on CD the first two studio albums through KBO! Records.

2000s

The band recorded a

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''(Ne) Menjajte stanicu'' (''(Don't) Change the Station''), released in 2001, featuring cover versions of

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

, Električni Orgazam,

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

songs. The band also appeared on the ''Know Your Rights'' various artists compilation with the songs "Zgubidan" ("Absent") and "What Can I Say", released by NGO Millennium in 2001. In 2002, the band appeared on the '' Ringeraja'' movie soundtrack with the cover of the

Indexi Indexi was a Bosnian and former Yugoslav rock band popular in Yugoslavia. It formed in 1962 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and disbanded in 2001 when singer Davorin Popović died. Some of their most notable songs are "Svijet u kome ži ...

single "Bacila je sve niz rijeku" ("She has Thrown away Everything down the River"), featuring Zvoncekova Bilježnica member Toza Rabassa on guest vocals, for which a promotional video was also recorded. The band also released the studio album ''Drugarska stvar'' (''A Friendly Matter''), which featured more politically themed songs. This was the last release to feature Aleksandar Vojinović who left the band in 2005, being replaced by Thimble member Ivan Ivezić "Iveza". The new lineup recorded the new studio album in 2008 with the work title ''Prosta proza'' (''Simple Prose''), the album was mixed and post-produced during the following year.

2010s

In October 2010, it was announced that during the following month the band would release the seventh studio and twelfth official band release ''Prosta proza'', featuring the single "Tačka" ("Full Stop"), previously released on the Internet for

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

and digital download as the first single"KBO! - koncert za Prostu prozu", Popboks.com
. The material to be released, featuring the tracks written since 1996, consists of thirteen out of thirty six new songs the band have so far recorded. In the autumn of 2014, the band participated in a tribute album to Novembar, entitled ''Tako mlad i tako čist'' (''So Young and So Clean''), with a cover of Novembar song "Blues južne pruge" ("Southern Railroad Blues")."RAZNI IZVOĐAČI - TRIBUTE TO NOVEMBAR - TAKO MLAD I TAKO ČIST", nocturnemagazine.net
/ref>

Discography

Official demo recordings

Studio albums

Cover albums

Singles

References

* EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; * Dragan Pavlov and Dejan Šunjka: ''Punk u Jugoslaviji'', publisher: IGP Dedalus, Yugoslavia, 1990
KBO! discography at Discogs

External links

*
KBO!
at

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KBO!
at

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KBO! fan page 1
at

KBO! fan page 2
at

KBO!
at

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at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

KBO!
at Last.fm
KBO!
at Rateyourmusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Kbo! Serbian punk rock groups Yugoslav punk rock groups Serbian hardcore punk groups Musical groups from Kragujevac Musical groups established in 1982 1982 establishments in Yugoslavia