Marko Perković

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Marko Perković
File:Marko Perkovic Thompson 23082013 01 roberta f.jpg
Marko Perković, 2013
Background information
Born (1966-10-27) 27 October 1966 (age 57)
Čavoglave, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Čavoglave, Republic of Croatia)
Origin Croatia
Genres Pop-rock, Folk-rock (earlier), Hard rock, Heavy metal, Progressive metal, Symphonic metal (later)
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1991–present
Associated acts Thompson

Marko Perković Thompson (born 27 October 1966) is a Croatian musician and has been the lead singer of the band Thompson since 1991.

Early life and War

File:M. P. Thompson.jpg
Marko Perković in Frankfurt

Marko Perković was born in 1966 in Čavoglave (at the time SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) to Marija and Ante. He rarely saw his father, who worked as a Gastarbeiter in Germany and rarely came home. He finished high school in Split. In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, prompting the Croatian War of Independence. He joined the Croatian National Guard where he was given the American Thompson gun, which became the nickname given to him by his battlefield comrades.

It was while he was defending his home village that Perković became inspired to write one of the most popular songs during the war: Bojna Čavoglave (Čavoglave Battalion), which launched his music career. In 1992, Perković held numerous humanitarian concerts throughout Croatia, and released his first album the same year. He continued to write songs to raise morale during the war. In 1995 he returned to the Croatian Army and the 142nd Drniš Brigade, and became one of the first soldiers to enter the captured cities of Drniš and Knin during Operation Storm.

Career

Perković has said he is a fan of Nightwish, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Dream Theater.[1]

The lyrics of his songs often feature patriotic sentiments and relate to religion, family, the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, politics and media.[2] Accused of neo-Nazism, in 2004, the band was prohibited from performing in the Netherlands.[3] In 2009 a concert in the Swiss city of Lucerne was canceled after the Social Democratic Party called for an urgent statement on the issue of Thompson's concert, calling Perković a fascist.[4] This resulted in a three-year ban from Switzerland.[5] As Switzerland is a member of the Schengen Agreement, Thompson was prohibited from entering into all Schengen countries for a period of three years, confirmed by Michele Cercone, spokesman for the Vice President of the European Commission.[6]

Perković created controversy by performing "Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara", a song seen by some as openly glorifying the Ustaše regime and its crimes against humanity during World War II.[7] The Simon Wiesenthal Centre filed complaints to Croatia's state television channel regarding its broadcast of a singer accused of expressing nostalgia for the Ustaše, although Perković denies any connection with that period in history. The complaints were ignored.[8] Many of his fans are known for their ultranationalism, demonstrated by Ustaše uniforms (including black hats associated with the movement), symbols, and banners.[9]

At the beginning of the song "Bojna Čavoglave", Perković invokes za dom - spremni! (Ready for the homeland!), and was the slogan/rallying cry of the Nazi-affiliated Ustaše.[10] He performed two large concerts in Croatia. One was in Poljud Stadium, Split, on 15 September 2002 with about 45,000 people. The other at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on 17 June 2007 for 60,000 people. Following the June 2007 concert, the Croatian government released a statement decrying the use of Ustaša symbols. His concert at Maksimir Stadium was aired live on the state owned HRT plus pay-per-view channel, and several days later on the main national channel as well.[citation needed]

Personal life

Perković's nickname, "Thompson", is actually a nom de guerre deriving from his time as a soldier in the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, during which he carried a Thompson submachine gun. In the mid-1990s he was in a relationship with Croatian singer Danijela Martinović. Although never legally married, they had a marriage ceremony in the Catholic Church. After their separation and his marriage, he sought a Church annulment, which was granted by the Ecclesiastical Court in Split in 2005. Subsequently he was able to join in church marriage with his wife Sandra, a Croatian-Canadian he met during a concert in Canada. Together they have five children.

He owns a 20% share of the radio station Narodni radio,[11] the most successful Croatian private station, notable for airing exclusively Croatian songs. Thus he was able to, at least in part, override the ban on his songs on the state-owned radio stations.[citation needed]

Pope Benedict XVI received Perković in an audience in December 2009.[12]

Studio albums

Compilation albums

DVDs

  • 2002 - "Turneja - E, moj narode"
  • 2007 - "Turneja - Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj

See also

References and notes

  1. ↑ Thompson: "God-willing, maybe I'll sing in English", Slobodna Dalmacija, 17 April 2008; retrieved 24 April 2008.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ "Wiesenthal Center slams Croatian star nostalgic for pro-Nazi regime"; accessed 5 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ "A Croatian rock star flirts with the Nazi past", iht.com, 1 July 2007.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

ig:Marko Perković

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