Crvena Jabuka

Crvena Jabuka
Crvena jabuka performing live in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 15 January 2016
Background information
Origin	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Zagreb, Croatia
Genres	Pop rock, rock, pop, new wave
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Diskoton, Croatia, Tutico Records
Associated acts	Plavi orkestar, Valentino, Ozbiljno Pitanje, Đavoli
Members	Darko Jelčić Dražen Žerić Krešimir Kastelan Tomislav Skrak Igor Matkovic
Past members	Dražen Ričl Aljoša Buha Srđan Šerberdžija Branko Salka Zlatko Volarević Zlatko Arslanagić Danijel Lastrić Mario Vukušić

Crvena jabuka ("Red apple") is a Sarajevo-based rock/pop band that originated in 1985, and since then has remained very popular. They were also a part of the New Primitives movement that occurred in the 1980s in the Former Yugoslavia territory.

Crvena Jabuka has undergone many lineup changes through the years, but the only two members to last in every lineup are drummer Darko Jelcic and Drazen Zeric. Zeric played keyboards and sang backing vocals on their debut album, but then became the lead singer with the death of Drazen Ricl and Aljosa Buha. Kresemir Kastelan, and Niksa Bratos come in third and fourth as the longest-standing members respectively.

The band's heyday was between 1985 and 1992. In 1992, long-time contributor, rhythm guitarist/songwriter Zlatko Arslanagic quit the band which resulted in a major rift in the band. However, the group re-located to Zagreb around late summer 1994 and by 1996 had reinvented their image and continue their career to this very day.

During the mid 2000s, the group's popularity started declining. However, with the beginning of the 2010s, the band seems to have gotten back on track.

Crvena jabuka was founded in 1985. The first line-up of the band consisted of drummer Darko Jelčić, lead guitarist/singer Dražen Ričl "Zijo", bassist Aljoša Buha, rhythm guitarist/lead songwriter Zlatko Arslanagić "Zlaja", and keyboardist/vocalist Dražen Žerić "Žera." The band's name was derived from an occasion when Darko Jelčić brought a red apple to one of the band's meetings. They released their self titled debut album in 1986, and it was an instant success. The album contained their singles "Bježi kišo s prozora", "S tvojih usana", and "Dirlija". The band quickly gained popularity all over former Yugoslavia, and on September 18, 1986 the band headed to Mostar for a promotional concert, and suffered a car accident that claimed the lives of two members. - Dražen Ričl and Aljoša Buha.

In tribute of this tragic moment, a concert was done in Skenderija palace in Sarajevo in which musicians and bands from all generations performed. Crvena jabuka would end with their work.