Branimir Štulić

Biography

Branimir "Johnny" Štulić (born April 11, 1953) is a Yugoslav singer-songwriter, musician and author, best known for being the frontman of the popular Yugoslav rock group Azra. He is known for his charismatic stage performances and inspiring song lyrics that often combined rock poetry with a strong sense for social commentary, which is the cause for him becoming a cult figure.

Early life

Štulić was born on April 11, 1953, in Skopje, where his mother Slavica (née Milovac) and father Ivan Štulić–an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army–were stationed at the time. His paternal Croatian family originates from Nin, belonging to one of the town's oldest families. His family background is ethnic Croat but he declares himself a "Balkanian". At the age of seven, Štulić moved with his family to Jastrebarsko. In January 1967, Štulić moved to Zagreb, where he attended high school and later studied phonetics and history at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Philosophy for two years before dropping out.

Music career

He began his musical career with a band named "Balkan Sevdah band", performing his own songs, as well as covers of The Beatles and folk music. The name of the band was changed to Azra in 1977. The initial line up, which included Jura Stublić, Marino Pelajić and Mladen Juričić, soon dissolved, and the other members formed another popular band, Film. During the 1980s, Azra became one of the most prominent and influential musical acts in Yugoslavia. The time spent in Azra brought Štulić widespread fame in Yugoslavia, as well as a rabid and devoted youth following – Štulić often used his music as commentary directed towards the social and political conditions in Socialist Yugoslavia.
He has been living in the Netherlands since 1986. From 1989, he performed under his name with live support of "Sevdah Shuttle Band", and released the solo studio albums Balkanska rapsodija×Balkanska rapsodija1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 30 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Prije nego odem u rajA2ZviždanjeA3Svijet se okrenuo naopačkeA4Ain't Got No TimeA5Distant KarmaA6Kao kad se misli poklopeA7Boli glavaA8Po zasluziB1Lađa bez dnaB2Fait AccompliB3Dao sam ti svoju ljubavB4Traži meneB5OsluškivanjeB6SačekivanjeB7My Useless GirlB8Nasuprot svemuB9How to Love (Abdulah)Disc 2C1Teško ovo život3:00C2Smiješan osjećaj3:48C3Jutro3:46C4Then You'll See What's Next in Store2:21C5Azra2:45C6The Best Things (Go to Hell)2:52D1Svi se trude oko moje male2:09D2Lice puno bola1:45D3I'd Rather Slide Away2:21D4Rekvijem2:26D5The Back of My Mind2:39D6Ti znaš da putujem s tim2:09D7Hajri Mate3:59 (1989) and Balegari ne vjeruju sreći×Balegari ne vjeruju sreći1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks1Voljela me nije nijedna3:062Usne vrele višnje2:583Big Bang3:004Leute moj2:415Balegari ne vjeruju sreći2:196Gimme Some Faith2:017Čalgija2:078Who's Gonna Play All Those Songs Tonight2:349Nema problema2:0910Rosalinda2:5511Oui monsieur2:1812Melankolija2:1913Meni se dušo od tebe ne rastaje4:3214Golgota2:4215Atlantis1:5016Klasičan znak2:4717The Hustler2:0118Vrbovina2:13 (1990). When it became obvious to him that Yugoslavia would collapse, in 1991 Štulić recorded the album Sevdah za Paulu Horvat×Sevdah za Paulu Horvat1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 24 tracks1Nepotrebno precrtaj2:082Pretvorba2:473Lijepo lice2:184Navike2:215Vlajka2:516Aj ča2:387Znam ponavlja se to serijski2:198Raspleti kose damo2:489Kratki pomak2:5010Došlo vrijeme da se umire2:4911So Far2:1812Laku noć2:4513Partizan2:4614Neće da se pomiri2:5815Otac moga oca6:2816Fantazija2:3917Kraj potoka bistre vode2:4818Čežnja2:1719Sevdah šatl3:0120Bugi Bane3:2021Bolja strana neba2:3522Ni jeban ni lud2:4823Sevdah za Paulu Horvat2:1624Jovano Jovanke2:45 (released in 1995) and the documentary Das ist Johnny, which featured a view from the window of Johnny's Sarajevo hotel room, with him concluding that "soon all would burn." His alleged last visit to the territory was in 1995 in Belgrade, where he produced the album Anali×Anali1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 50 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Ne glumi4:362Jano mori2:303You Can Find Me There1:534Golubice bijela1:225Voice2:036Lijepa Janja2:197Uncertain Times1:598Ajde Janjo1:559Mystery2:0810U Stambolu1:5311Dark Street of Petty Thieves2:5012Marushka's Dread1:5113Zacijelo sam vol2:2614Jeza3:5115Push on Through2:2716Vođe2:4817Hajduk Veljko3:1518Djevojka s obale mora2:5119Juriš lake konjice2:2120Otprije znadeš za poljupce moje1:5421Anchors & Chains2:1322Ludi ludi2:3023Abydos2:0124Moderato cantabile3:3225A ja nemam dara5:3526Zabavljač0:48Disc 21Last Man in Europe2:412Better Days2:013Modern Day Blues2:034No Tomorrow Like Today2:145Zumbul cvijeće2:466Konjuh planinom2:097Ljubav3:098Rjabinuška3:269Makers of Fortune2:1610Kap veselja7:0411Biljana platno beleše1:061290 Years / Bide My Time3:3313Si zaljubiv v edno mome3:1014Cruel Sea2:2915Heraklit je to i Kavafi uz to3:4216An Idle Day & Gosip2:5917Moj Dilbere1:5918Earthquake Blues1:5919Kaleš bre Anđo2:5520Dawning in Gold3:4021Imam jednu želju2:1522Blonde - Brunette3:0123Dan2:3124What's life5:58 and promoted the book Božanska Ilijada.
In the wake of the Yugoslav Wars, Štulić frequently expressed his disapproval of separatism and was a fervent believer of Yugoslavism and "brotherhood and unity". He commented: "I have no passport, no money and no place to go back to. I had a Yugoslav one and it expired. Yugoslavia is no more, it's the same as when you are born and you are told: this is your father, this is your mother, because, according to Homer, no one knows, when they are born, who gave birth to them, at least for the first three years. And now I do not have my parents and that's why I'm happy". After most Yugoslav Wars ended in 1995, Štulić recorded two solo albums, both released in Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia, with the last, Blase, in 1997.

Life in the Netherlands

In 2005 he published an autobiography called Smijurija u mjerama, with mixed to positive reception. Hrvoje Horvat, a Croatian journalist, wrote a biography of Johnny Štulić titled Fantom slobode ("The Phantom of Freedom"), published in 2006. Due to Štulić's immense popularity in former Yugoslavia, the book was an immediate commercial success. However, it was also heavily criticized by many literary critics, and even Štulić himself, for its occasionally poor writing quality and alleged misinterpretation of facts. Ines Pletikos directed a documentary film Kad Miki kaže da se boji (2004), and Kruno Petrinović wrote a book, Prilozi za biografiju Johnnyja B. Štulića (2006), about the heroes of Johnny's poems.
Today, Štulić lives a modest and ascetic lifestyle in Houten, Netherlands, with wife Josephine Grundmeiyer. He typically does not give interviews and is very protective of his privacy. He states he has no interest in going back to his rock career, though he has since recorded and posted over 600 traditional songs, hit covers and some original material on YouTube. He also worked on a dozen Serbo-Croatian translations of ancient and medieval works.
In 2012 he initiated a lawsuit against Croatia Records from Zagreb, the direct successor of Jugoton, over royalty rights, as well book publisher from Belgrade, for copyright infringement. In revolt to the statements made by music editor from the Croatia Records and former Jugoton, Štulić stated that Azra is not a Croatian band. About appearing in Croatia or Serbia, he said that he does not want to perform in "occupied territories", referring to the successor states that contributed to the breakup of Yugoslavia. He saw himself as Yugoslav and stated that Yugoslavia is his only country of origin. Štulić states he sees no reason to return to the region, as he "went as far away as possible from people who suddenly wanted to kill each other". Upon being asked about visiting Croatia or Serbia, he stated he could not due to not possessing a passport and that he has no interest in registering for one.