Biography:

Borisav “Bora” Đorđević (Serbian Cyrillic: Борисав, Бора Ђорђевић; 1 November 1952 – 4 September 2024), also known as Bora Čorba (Serbian Cyrillic: Бора Чорба), was a Serbian singer, songwriter, and poet. He was best known as the frontman of the rock band Riblja Čorba. Renowned for his brand of poetic lyrics and husky baritone voice, Đorđević is widely considered one of the top and most influential authors of the Serbian rock scene.

Early life

Čačak years

Đorđević was born in Čačak in 1952 to machinist father Dragoljub[1] and mother Nerandža, who taught Serbo-Croatian and Russian.[1][2]

At the age of thirteen, he formed his first band, Hermelini (“The Ermines“), with Borko Ilić (lead guitar), Prvoslav Savić (rhythm guitar), and Aca Dimitrijević (drums). Đorđević played bass guitar, and the band’s sound was influenced by the Zagreb-based beat band Roboti [hr].

Two years later, Đorđević switched to rhythm guitar and began writing song lyrics and poetry. One of his earliest poems, “Moje tuge”, would later be recorded as a song and released on the band Suncokret‘s debut single “Kara Mustafa” / “Moje tuge”, as well as included on their debut album Moje bube. After Hermelini, Đorđević played with numerous Čačak-based bands: Vesnici Ljubavi, Safiri, Dečaci sa Morave, and Čačanski Plemići. For a time, he was a member of PORS (Poslednji Ostatak Romantičnog Sveta, “The Last Remnant of a Romantic World”) with Radomir Mihailović Točak on guitar.

Simultaneously, along with a group of friends, teenage Đorđević began breaking and entering into apartment units around his hometown of Čačak, looking to steal money and other valuables. Some of the money he obtained by stealing was later used for purchasing musical equipment. After three years of committing burglaries, the group was arrested and charged as juvenile delinquents. Đorđević spent seven days in prison detention before being released to await sentencing. The court gave the teenager no jail time, ordering him to undergo “enhanced parental supervision and occasional future assessment by the social services”. Upon being released from prison detention, teenage Đorđević was promptly expelled from the gymnasium he had been attending.

Move to Belgrade

Đorđević’s parents decided to move the family to Belgrade, where he enrolled at the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium [sr]. For the first three years upon arriving in Belgrade, he didn’t participate in any music-related activities.

At the time of his matriculation, nineteen-year-old Đorđević auditioned for the Atelje 212 staging of the Jesus Christ Superstar rock opera, landing one of the apostle roles.[3] Featuring Korni Grupa singer Zlatko Pejaković in the lead role of Jesus Christ, Branko Milićević as Pontius Pilate, and acoustic singer-songwriter Srđan Marjanović as one of the priests, the show premiered in June 1972. It would be performed 21 times over the following twelve months until its final show in June 1973.

Đorđević would continue acting in theatre, mostly as an extra, appearing in Atelje 212 plays Purpurno ostrvo,[4] Tom Pejn,[5] and Caca u metrou.

Credits: