Laibach: Difference between revisions

At the beginning of 1983, the group resumed its activities with an exhibition in Zagreb'sthe Prošireni mediji (''Expanded Media'') gallery in Zagreb.<ref name="megla216"/> After a number of complaints, the management of the gallery attempted to persuade members of Laibach to remove part of the pieces exhibited, which they refused. Only four days after the opening, the management decides to close the exhibition.<ref name="megla216"/> The band continued their concert activities with a live appearance in Ljubljana's Freedom Hall, featuring guest performances by the English bands Last Few Days and [[23 Skidoo (band)|23 Skidoo]].<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /><ref name="megla216"/> The 30-minutes long recording of dogs barking and snarling were used as the concert intro.<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /><ref name="megla216"/> The day after the performance, the group received considerable media coverage for a concert at the Zagreb Biennale entitled ''Mi kujemo bodočnost'' (''We Forge the Future''), during which the group used simultaneous projections of the film ''Revolucija še traja'' (''The Revolution is Still Going On'') and a [[pornographic film]].<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> After the simultaneous appearance of [[Josip Broz Tito]] and a [[penis]] on the screens, the performance was interrupted by the police, and the members of the band were forcibly removed from the stage.<ref name="Janjatovic 127" />

Following the performance at the Zagreb Biennale, the band published their "[[manifesto]]", entitled "Akcija v imenu" ("Action in the Name Of"), in the ''[[Nova revija (magazine)|Nova revija]]'' [[literary magazine]], largely thanks to [[Taras Kermauner]], a [[philosopher]], [[literary historian]] and one of the magazine editors.<ref name="megla218">{{cite book|last=Megla|first=Maja|title=Leksikon YU mitologije|year=2015|publisher=Rende – Postscriptum|location=Belgrade – Zagreb|page=215}}</ref> In the "manifesto" the band quoted [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] ("[[Engineers of the human soul|Artists are engineers of human souls]]") and [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] ("Art is sublime, leading to fanaticism").<ref name="megla218"/> The subsequent debut television appearance on 23 June 1983, in the informative-political program ''TV tednik'' (''TV Weekly''), caused major negative reactions by the public.<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> The members of the band appeared in the program sitting motionlessly, wearing army uniforms and [[armband]]s with black crosses.<ref name="megla218"/> The host of ''TV tednik'', Jure Pengov, stated: "Maybe now someone will react and ban, exterminate this danger, these horrible ideas and beliefs".<ref name="megla218"/> After Laibach's appearance in ''TV tednik'', they were banned from using the name Laibach on their records and live appearances.<ref name="megla218"/>

The group then started an international ''The Occupied Europe Tour '83'', with the group [[Last Few Days]], which included sixteen dates in eight [[Eastern Bloc|Eastern]] and [[Western European]] countries.<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> The performances provoked a lot of interest in the European media, especially with the band's totalitarian musical and visual style.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> The socialist background, effective live appearances and a dissident status in their home country provided the group with a swift increase of interest in the Western countries.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> By combining the imagery of [[socialist realism]], [[Nazism]]—which provoked the Slovene WW2 Veteran Organization in Yugoslavia—and [[Futurism|Italian futurism]], the group created a unique aesthetic style which could not pass unnoticed by the public.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> In [[Poland]] they provoked the public by declaring themselves the sympathizers of [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]].<ref name="megla218"/> The statement provoked someone to present them with [[feces]] rolled into newspapers on the press conference in [[Warsaw]].<ref name="megla218"/> At the time of the tour, the song lyrics were mostly in [[German language|German]], but having included cover versions of [[English language]] songs, the group started focusing more on the latter.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/>

In 1984, the group moved to [[Great Britain]], where they worked as labourers in [[London]], worked at a pier in [[Belfast]] and appeared as extras in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> They returned to Yugoslavia to hold a concert dedicated to the late Hostnik at the Malči Belič Hall in Ljubljana.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> Due to the fact that they were still banned from using the name Laibach, they announced the concert with posters featuring only a black cross, the initials of the hall, and date and time of the concert.<ref name="megla218"/> During that period, the group, with their early collaborators Irwin and the [[Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre]], founded the informal art organization ''[[Neue Slowenische Kunst]]'' (German for ''New Slovene Art'').<ref name="megla218"/>

The following year, the group released their debut studio album, ''[[Laibach (album)|Laibach]]'', through the Ljubljana Študentski kulturni center (''Students' Cultural Center'') Ropot label, which did not feature the group name on the album cover, due to its ban, and a sample from a speech by Tito on one of the album tracks was also censored.<ref name="Janjatovic 127"/> During the same year, the [[West Germany|German]] label WUS released a compilation album ''[[Rekapitulacija 1980–1984]]'' (''Recapitulation 1980–1984'').<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> The band toured Germany, the concerts featuring hunting imagery, like axes and [[Trophy hunting|trophy antlers]].<ref name="megla218"/> During the concerts, the band members sawed wood on stage, surrounded by live tranquilized rabbits.<ref name="megla218"/> With the [[Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre]], the group performed in their own play ''Krst pod Triglavom'' (''A Baptism Under Triglav'') at the Ljubljana's [[Cankar Centre|Cankar Hall]].<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> Durig the year, a [[Round table (discussion)|round table]] about the ban of the name Laibach was organized in Ljubljana. The discussion featured academics, representatives of political organizations and authorities, including the president of the Assembly of the City of Ljubljana Tina Tomlje.<ref name="megla218"/> In a TV interview, Tomlje stated that she was informed of the quality of the band's works and of the success they had achieved abroad, but that they would not be allowed to perform in Ljubljana under the name Laibach.<ref name="megla218"/>

Later during the year, the group released its second album, ''[[Nova Akropola]]'' (''The New Acropolis''), via [[Great Britain|British]] [[independent record label]] Cherry Red.<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> After the album release, the [[League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia|League of Socialist Youth of Slovenia]] on their 12th congress demanded the ban on the usage of the name Laibach to be lifted, and soon after awarded the band with the Zlata ptica ("The Golden Bird") award on the [[Youth Day#Yugoslavia|Yugoslav Youth Day]].<ref name="Janjatovic 127" /> The group performed its first legal concert in Slovenia, in [[Hum, Brda|Hum]], entitled ''Krvava gruda, plodna zemlja'' (''Bloody Land, Fertile Soil'').<ref name="Janjatovic 127" />