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. Thompson came to prominence during the Croatian war in 1991, with the release of the first single "Bojna Čavoglave", which proclaims the Croatian resistance to the Serb intervention and was included in the compilation album "Rock za Hrvatsku". This song, with slightly modified lyrics, named "Branitelji Sarajeva", was sung by the BiH Army during the Siege of Sarajevo ("Sarajevo zaboravit neće nikada"). During the 1990s Thompson gained popularity in Croatia with the release of the first album "Moli mala" in 1992. They later regained popularity with the popular hit "Prijatelji" in 1998.