Pankrti

Pankrti
Pankrti performing at the 2009 Nisomnia festival.
Background information
Origin	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1977–1987, 2007–present

Pankrti (The Bastards in Slovene) are a punk rock band from Ljubljana, Slovenia, active in the late 1970s and 1980s. They were known for provocative and political songs. They billed themselves as The First Punk Band Behind The Iron Curtain (one of their songs was titled, Behind the iron curtain old broads pull red beet). They are one of the most important former Yugoslav punk groups and one of the first punk rock bands ever formed in a communist country.

Gregor Tomc and Peter Lovšin, two young men from the Ljubljana suburb of Kodeljevo, came up with the idea of forming a band in 1977. From the start, the band was heavily influenced by the UK punk scene. Tomc and Lovšin were the primary songwriters. Lovšin was the lead singer in the band, while Tomc came up with the band name and was the band's manager.

The band started playing in the fall of 1977, practicing in the basement of Kodeljevo's music school, and held their first concert at Moste High School. Initially, they played covers of established punk bands including the Sex Pistols, The Clash and New York Dolls. Some of the first original songs by the band that became popular were: "Za železno zaveso" (Behind The Iron Curtain), "Anarhist" (Anarchist), and "Lublana je bulana" (Ljubljana is Sick). They were included in the Novi Punk Val compilation album. They released their first album "Dolgcajt" (Boredom) in 1980 and gained the status of a cult band all over former Yugoslavia.