Rock 82 (1982)
Rock first appeared in April 1982 as Rock 82. Initially, Rock 82 was a supplement of NIP Politika's comic magazine Strip 82, the back cover of Strip 82 being the front cover of Rock 82 and vice versa, printed in an unusual 11x30cm magazine format, appearing on the newsstands every Wednesday. Rock 82's first editor-in-chief as well as its initiator was rock critic Petar "Peca" Popović [sr]. In an interview for the Rockovnik documentary series, Popović recalled:
I believed that the generation that had already been introduced to MTV, [...] the generation of young, curious people that had already witnessed the video killing the radio star, deserved a bit of a different magazine. A publication that's a bit more visual, a magazine with a different sensibility, featuring a different generation of authors, just as Džuboks in the 1970s had a great generation of talented and brave writers. I believed that there were more people who, unfortunately, weren't being published. It turned out they were good too.
Rock (1982–1988)
The magazine began being published as an independent periodical with its 50th issue. Printed in tabloid newspaper format, the first independent issue appeared on 29 December 1982.
Popović was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Vladislav Bajac, who in turn got succeeded by Dragan Todorović. The magazine published, alongside interviews with Yugoslav musicians and international artists touring Yugoslavia, exclusive interviews and photographs of British music stars by the magazine's London corespondents Svetislav Stojanović and Branislav "Brian" Rašić. The magazine featured columns by veteran rock singers Dušan Prelević and Branko Marušić "Čutura". In March 1985, Rock started getting printed in magazine format.
The magazine played a pivotal role in YU Rock Misija, a Yugoslav contribution to Live Aid campaign. The 7-inch single with the charity song "Za milion godina", recorded by top acts of the Yugoslav rock scene, was distributed with the 75th issue of Rock magazine, published on 22 May 1985. The issue was printed in 150,000 copies, thus the initial number of the singles sold was 150,000.
With the 1986 discontinuation of another Yugoslav music magazine, Džuboks, most of its journalists moved to Rock.
Pop Rock (1988–1990)
From October 1988, the magazine was edited by Saša Gajević, and published under the name Pop Rock. With the new name, the magazine got a new graphic design and concept, publishing, alongside texts on music, articles on fashion and popular culture in general, as well as puzzles. With the launch of the teen magazine Ćao in December 1988, a number of Rock contributors moved to the new publication. The last, 161st issue of Pop Rock was released on 13 December 1990.
