Rambo Amadeus

Rambo Amadeus (born June 14, 1963 in Kotor, Montenegro) is a pseudonym for the Serbian-Montenegrin rock singer-songwriter Antonije Pušić, popular all over the ex-Yugoslavia. A self-titled musician, poet and media manipulator continues to be one of the most interesting phenomena on music scene(s) of the former Yugoslavia.

His songs combine satirical lyrics on the nature of common people and silliness of local politics. He uses a mixture of musical styles (converging towards drum and bass in later works, but involving a lot of turbo-folk elements in earlier songs), and self-conscious ironic wit (for example, one of his aliases is "Rambo Amadeus Svjetski Mega Car" (RASMC) -- "Rambo Amadeus World Mega Emperor"). His scene name itself is made from John Rambo and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Known also as a "charming king of jovial pop", his concerts are never mere repetitions of recorded songs, but a mixture of musical improvisation and humor exploiting all aspects of human nature in a crude manner. Some fans compare his style and career path with those of Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart.

He had completed six grades of elementary music school for piano before dropping out.

Before taking up music as a career choice, Rambo was an accomplished competitive sailor. Between 1972 and 1984, he represented Yugoslavia in numerous international regattas. During this period he was champion of Montenegro several times, an 8-time South-Adriatic champion, national title winner in the junior category, as well as International Đerdap Cup winner in 1980.

He began to sing and compose during first year of high school (gymnasium) which soon led to involvement with various local bands in Herceg Novi and Podgorica. One of his first performances saw him play the mandolin in an orchestra that entertained guests of Herceg Novi's Plaza hotel.

In 1985, he moved to Belgrade in pursuit of higher education. Parallel to his studies, he also played with various struggling bands and musicians.