Crvena Jabuka

Crvena Jabuka is a pop rock band formed in Sarajevo in May 1985 and based in Zagreb since 1994. It was founded by singer and guitarist Dražen Ričl and guitarist Zlatko Arslanagić, with keyboardist Dražen Žerić, drummer Darko Jelčić and bassist Aljoša Buha. Inspired by The Beatles and by Indexi, the band released its self-titled debut in 1986 and it was an instant success, with "Bježi kišo s prozora", "Dirlija" and the ballad "Sa tvojih usana" all over the airwaves.

On 18 September 1986, on the way to the first concert of their tour in Mostar, the band was in a car accident near Jablanica. Aljoša Buha died on the spot and Dražen Ričl died on 1 October 1986. The others carried on, and "Za sve ove godine" (1987) brought "Tugo, nesrećo" and "Uzmi me kad hoćeš ti". With "Sanjati" (1988), Žerić on vocals, Arslanagić writing the songs and Nikša Bratoš joining, they were back at the top with "Ima nešto od srca do srca" and "Zovu nas ulice", and the album won MESAM's rock band of the year award. "Tamo gdje ljubav počinje" (1989) gave them "To mi radi" and "Volio bih da si tu", and "Nekako s proljeća" (1991) featured Kemal Monteno and a cover of Indexi's "Bacila je sve niz rijeku".

The war ended that first run. In 1994 Žerić, Jelčić and Bratoš reformed Crvena Jabuka in Zagreb, and the albums kept coming: "U tvojim očima" (1996), "Svijet je lopta šarena" (1997), with guitarist Džimi Kurfirst, "Sve što sanjam" (2000), "Tvojim željama vođen" (2002) and "...Duša Sarajeva" (2007), with "Tamo da putujem (Rastanak)". The band marked its 20th anniversary in Sarajevo in 2005 and its 25th with the four-disc compilation "Da nije ljubavi".

Over the years Crvena Jabuka has shared songs with many names from the region, among them Arsen Dedić, Željko Bebek, Saša Lošić, Kemal Monteno again on "Nek' bude ljubav" (2013) and Željko Samardžić on "Tvrđava" (2020). Džimi Kurfirst died on 29 September 2014, and in July 2017 Darko Jelčić left the band. Later albums include "Volim te" (2009), "Za tvoju ljubav" (2011), "Nokturno" (2019), "Neka nova jutra" (2022) and "Mirišu jabuke" (2024), with Dražen Žerić still the voice of the band.

In the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times, a poll of readers, critics and musicians published in 2000, "Sa tvojih usana" was ranked 90th.