The Dubrovniks were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1986 as The Adorable Ones. Early in 1987 they changed their name to The Dubrovniks in acknowledgement to the birthplace of two founding members, Roddy Radalj, and Boris Sujdovic. Dubrovnik is a town in Croatia. Both Radalj and fellow founder James Baker had previously founded Hoodoo Gurus in 1981. All three had earlier associations in the Perthpunk scene of the late 1970s. The group issued four albums, Dubrovnik Blues, Audio Sonic Love Affair, Chrome, and Medicine Wheel, before disbanding in 1995.
History
The Dubrovniks were established in August 1986 as The Adorable Ones with the line up of James Baker on drums ; Roddy Radalj on guitar and vocals ; Peter Simpson on guitar and vocals ; and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar. Early in the next year The Adorable Ones renamed themselves as The Dubrovniks to honour the birthplace of Radalj and Sujdovic – the historical Croatian city of Dubrovnik. They had to change their name due to a Brisbane band of that name. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their sound as "clattering, yet accessible rock'n'roll was drawn along the lines of The Troggs meets T-Rex by way of New York Dolls". Citadel Records issued the group's debut single, "Fireball of Love", in April 1988. It was produced by Rob Younger. Their second single was a cover version of Alvin Stardust's "My Coo Ca Choo" in November. A third single, "Speedway Girls" appeared in June 1989, followed by their debut album, Dubrovnik Blues, in August. It was produced by Chris Masuak for Timberyard Records. By that time Radalj had left and formed a new band, The Punjabbers, with Brett Ford on drums ; Tony Robertson on bass guitar ; and Tony Thewlis on guitar. Chris Flynn on guitar and vocals replaced Radalj and the band signed to Mushroom Records. The band's first album on Mushroom, Audio Sonic Love Affair appeared in September 1990. It was produced by Kevin Shirley and was preceded by the single, "She Got no Love" in June. Another single, "Love Is on the Loose", followed in October. In between albums, Baker and Sujdovic toured and recorded with Beasts of Bourbon. In early 1991 they severed their commitments to that group to concentrate on The Dubrovniks. Also in that year Glenn Armstrong replaced Simpson on guitar. The band issued their third album, Chrome in June 1992, which was also produced by Shirley. The album provided two singles, "Saigon Rose" and "French Revolution". McFarlane noted that both albums with Mushroom "maintained the revved-up, trashy rock'n'roll tradition". However, Mushroom dropped the group in 1993. German label, Normal, issued their fourth album, Medicine Wheel in Europe, while Mushroom Distribution Services distributed it in Australia. The Dubrovniks broke up in 1995. Afterwards Baker returned to Perth, where he joined a power pop band, Satellite 5. Flynn and Sujdovic formed a new band, Black Dirt, together with Chris Collins and Paul Loughhead. The Dubrovniks reformed in 2015 to play a series of shows in Australia, Greece, Spain and Austria.
