Mijo Popović, founder and guitarist of the cult Slovenian heavy metal band Pomaranča, has died at the age of 67!
The sad news was first posted on social media by his bandmate and the group’s keyboardist Tomaž Žontar, who wrote: “Pomaranča is no more. Mijo, rest in peace! Say hi to Bob and Mare.” A little later the band confirmed it too, stating in a public statement, among other things, that “Pomaranča died along with Mijo” (the originals of both official statements are below).
The legendary Slovenian guitarist got into music back in the early seventies, when he first picked up a guitar. His first band was TNT (Trije Norci Tolčejo, “Three Fools Pounding”), after which he joined the lineup of Grive.
In 1979 he founded Pomaranča with vocalist Zlatko Magdalenič, and the lineup was rounded out by keyboardist Tomaž Žontar, bassist Marko Herak and drummer Franc Teropšič. 1981 turned out to be a watershed for Slovenian and Yugoslav rock and metal. That year Pomaranča released their debut “Peklenska pomaranča” and, with their musical vision at the time, brought the Slovenian scene and the scene of the former common country right up to speed with what was happening on the international scene! “Peklenska pomaranča” can be seen as the foundation of Slovenian heavy metal, which got its wings with it and shaped the interest in the genre and its development here through the eighties. The breakthrough debut quickly opened the door to bigger stages across the former common country, and that very same year they warmed up the crowd for the famous Gillan at Hala Pionir in Belgrade. The following year they played a powerhouse two-day festival in Zagreb, keeping company with rock giants like Motörhead, Uriah Heep, Gillan, Budgie, Atomic Rooster, PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi)… In 1983 Pomaranča released their second studio album “Madbringer” and toured heavily on numerous stages across the then common country.
In 1985 most of the original lineup left the band, but Mijo managed to rebuild the group, and the album “Orange III” came out that same year. A pause followed, but towards the end of the eighties the band returned to the stage, and in 1990 they opened for the legendary Alice Cooper at Dom sportova in Zagreb. In 1993 came the compilation “Nekaj peklenskih”, featuring unreleased tracks and mostly songs taken from the first two albums. In 1995 Pomaranča were revived with drummer Franc Teropšič, Boris Krmac took over on vocals, and that same year the album “Takoj se dava dol” came out, which got the band more active on stage again too. The band kept playing in the new millennium and, despite having no new original material, stayed active live.
In 2017 the first documentary about the rise of heavy metal in Slovenia, titled “Železne stopinje”, was released. All members of the band’s first lineup took an active part in it, led by Mijo Popović.
After last year’s hugely successful show on June 6, 2024 at the sold-out CUK Kino Šiška in Ljubljana, where Pomaranča celebrated their 40th anniversary, which set off a chain reaction of approval among the band’s battalion of followers and all fans of the metal-clad sounds of “din and racket” in our region, guitarist and bandleader Mijo Popović decided to get the band back together and reactivate it!
This year they had already started confirming shows, and among other things Pomaranča were supposed to play in Kranj in mid-July 2025 before former Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell and his band, but fate had other plans.
Pomaranča played their last show on April 18, 2025, at a sold-out Orto bar in Ljubljana.
With his legacy, Mijo Popović remains one of the fundamental figures who brought current trends in heavy metal and hard rock to our region, and whose activity contributed massively to popularizing heavy metal and sparking interest in it here, shaping the development and boom of heavy metal both in Slovenia and across the territory of the former common country. With Pomaranča, Mijo left his mark on the craggy mountain range of Slovenian rock, carving his legacy into it forever in big letters!
On behalf of the Rockline editorial team, we offer our sincere condolences to his family, relatives and closest friends!
In the photo: Mijo Popović during Pomaranča’s performance on June 6, 2024 at CUK Kino Šiška in Ljubljana (RockLine photo archive 2006-2025, all rights reserved). You can read the full RockLine review of that concert HERE.
