Thompson is a Croatian ethno hard rock band, founded by songwriter and lead vocalist Marko Perković ("Thompson"), who is often identified with the band itself. The lineup consists of Tomislav Mandarić, Ivan Ivanković, Duje Ivić, and Ivica Bilić Ike. The band name originates from the Thompson submachine gun, a nickname given to Perković while he fought in the Croatian War of Independence. Although predominantly formed in Čavoglave, Thompson is currently based in Zagreb. The band came to prominence during the Croatian War of Independence with the release of their first single "Bojna Čavoglave". In 1992, Thompson gained further popularity in Croatia with the release of the band's first album Moli mala. They later regained popularity with the popular hit "Prijatelji" in 1998. In 2002, Thompson began their first major tour to promote the album E, moj narode. This tour continued sporadically until 2005, and included concerts at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and Melbourne's Vodafone Arena. In May 2005, the album was declared a Diamond Record with more than 60,000 copies sold. Touring continued in 2006 with Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj, again performing internationally with concerts in Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Thompson features annually at Victory Day celebrations in Perković's hometown of Čavoglave. The band has garnered controversy for its alleged glorification or promotion of the World War II Ustaše fascist regime in its songs and concerts. History Marko Perković, the founder of the group, was born 27 October 1966 in the village of Čavoglave in the rural Dalmatian hinterland of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He first gained prominence in 1991 at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars, most specifically the Croatian War of Independence, with the song "Bojna Čavoglave" (). Perković was not a professional singer, nor had the band yet been formed. It was reportedly composed as an anthem for the territorial defence unit hastily formed by natives of Čavoglave, at that time under JNA and Serb paramilitary attacks. He released it under his own battle name, Thompson. In 1992, Perković published his first album, Moli mala (). By this time he had left active service in the Croatian Army, and toured with other performers of the Rock za Hrvatsku in a humanitarian concert, but he returned to military service for a short time in 1995 to participate in Operation Storm. As time passed, Perković lost his early popularity and through the 1990s