Azra was a rock band from Zagreb (Croatia) that was popular across Yugoslavia in the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were Mišo Hrnjak (bass) and Boris Leiner (drums). The band is named after a verse ^[2] from "Der Asra" by Heinrich Heine. They are considered to be one of the most influential bands from the former Yugoslav New Wave rock era and the Yugoslav Rock scene in general.

They released their first single in 1979 with songs "Balkan" and "A šta da radim". The first album named Azra was published in 1980 and achieved commercial success and popularized Azra in former Yugoslavia. Azra recorded its last studio album Između krajnosti (Between the extremes) in 1987. In 1988 the band recorded 4LP live album under the name Zadovoljština (Satisfaction), after which Štulić disbanded the band. Štulić recorded three more solo albums since moving to Houten, Netherlands, where he currently lives in seclusion. A 2003 rock documentary, Sretno dijete depicts Azra as the locus of the rock scene in the former Yugoslavia during the 1980s, along with Bijelo dugme. Even today, Azra remains very popular among youth in the countries of former Yugoslavia.

In 1998, the music critics compiled a list of 100 best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music. Five Azra albums were included, three of them in top 10. On the Radio B92's list of 100 greatest songs of former Yugoslavia, four Azra songs were included, all of them in top 20.

Members [link]

• Branimir "Johnny" Štulić - vocals, guitar
• Branko Matun - bass (1977)
• Paolo Sfeci - drums (1977)
• Mladen Jurčić - guitar (1977–1978)
• Branko Hromatko - drums (1977–1978)
• Marino Pelajić - bass (1977–1978)
• Jura Stublić - vocals (1978)
• Boris Leiner (ex Haustor) - drums, vocals (from 1979)
• Mišo Hrnjak - bass (1979–1987)
• Jurica Pađen - guitars (1983–1984, from 1987)
• Stephen Kipp - bass (from 1987) ^[1]

Discography [link]

Singles [link]

• "Balkan" (The Balkans) / "A šta da radim" (What am I Gonna Do) - (Jugoton 1979)
• "Lijepe žene prolaze kroz grad" (Pretty Women Passing Through the Town), "Poziv na ples" (The Invitation to Dance) / "Suzy F".- (Jugoton, 1980)
• "Džoni, budi dobar" (Johnny Be Good) / "Teško vrijeme" (The Difficult Time) - (Jugoton 1982)
• "E, pa što" (So What) / "Sloboda" (The Freedom) / "Gluperde lutaju daleko" (Jerks Wander Far) - (Jugoton 1982)
• "Nemir i strast" (Restlessness and Passion) / "Doviđenja na Vlaškom drumu" (Farewell on the Valachian Road) - (Jugoton 1983)
• Klincek stoji pod oblokom/Flash (26.12.83.Jugoton) sa albuma "Krivo srastanje"
• Mon Ami/ Duboko u tebi (16.04.84. Jugoton) sa albuma "Krivo srastanje"

Albums [link]

• Azra - (Jugoton, 1980)
• Sunčana strana ulice (The Sunny side of the street) - (Double - Jugoton, 1981)
• Ravno do dna (Straight to the bottom) - (Triple Live - Jugoton, 1982)
• Filigranski pločnici (The Filigree Sidewalks) - (Double - Jugoton, 1982)
• Kad fazani lete (When pheasants fly) - (Jugoton, 1983)
• Krivo srastanje (The Mistaken Sublimation) - (Jugoton, 1984)
• It Ain't Like the Movies At All - (Triple - Diskoton, 1986)
• Između krajnosti (In Between Extremes) - (Jugoton, 1987)
• Zadovoljština (Satisfaction) - (Quadruple Live, 1988)

Compilation albums [link]

• Single Ploče 1979-1982 - (Jugoton, 1982)
• Kao i jučer - Single Ploče 1983-1986 - (Jugoton, 1987; remastered rerelease by Croatia Records, 2003)
• Azra: The Ultimate Collection - (Croatia Records, 2007)

Videography [link]

• Zadovoljština (Zagreb, Live Concert, 1988)
• Klincek stoji pod oblokom (Video compilation, 1990)
• Das Ist Johnny (Sarajevo, Live Film, 1991)

References [link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

External links [link]

• www.azraweb.com - Azra HomePage (Croatian)
• Azra song lyrics