Pomaranča

Pomaranča was a Slovenian heavy metal band formed in Ljubljana in 1979, often called the first Slovenian metal band. It was founded by the guitarist Mijo Popović and the singer Zlatko Magdalenič, soon joined by Tomaž Žontar on keyboards, Franc Teropšič on drums and Marko Herak on bass. The name comes from A Clockwork Orange, the Burgess novel and Kubrick film known in Slovenian as Peklenska pomaranča.

After three singles on PGP-RTB, among them "Soldat", "Alkohol" and "Mleko z noži", the band drew attention at the Novi rock festival in Križanke in 1981. That year it released Peklenska pomaranča, regarded as the first heavy metal album in Slovenian history, with the radio favourites "Moli, s kom si legla nocoj" and "Pustite upanje, ki vstopate". Still in 1981 they opened for Gillan at Hala Pionir in Belgrade, and in September 1982 they played a metal festival in Zagreb's Dom sportova alongside Motörhead, Uriah Heep and Budgie.

The second album, Madbringer (1983), was sung in English and released under the name Orange to reach audiences abroad. That year the band played its own show at the Šiška stadium in Ljubljana before 4,000 fans, and both albums sold well enough for silver records.

In 1985 Žontar, Teropšič and Magdalenič left; Roman Škraba took over the drums and the Sarajevo singer Šefik Kardumović joined for Orange III (1985), sung in English and Slovenian. In 1990 they opened for Alice Cooper in Zagreb before 6,000 people. The compilation Nekaj peklenskih came out in 1993, and with Teropšič back and the new singer Boris Krmac they released Takoj se dava dol in 1995.

From 2001 Pomaranča played occasional club shows; in 2019 the singer Matic Nareks joined for a 40th anniversary concert in Laško. Herak and Teropšič died in 2022. Popović re-formed the band with Nareks, Tilen Hudrap and Matjaž Winkler, Žontar returned, and a 45th anniversary concert sold out Kino Šiška. After Popović died in June 2025, the remaining members said Pomaranča no longer exists.