VIS Idoli
Encyclopedia
Idoli were a new wave
band from Belgrade
, SR Serbia. They are considered to be one of the greatest and most influential Yugoslav rock bands and their 1982 album Odbrana i poslednji dani
was voted by the critics as the greatest Yugoslav rock album.
) and then Zvuk Ulice consisting of Vlada Divljan on guitar and vocals, bassist Zdenko Kolar
, keyboard player Dragan Mitrić, drummer Kokan Popović
, Bora Antić on saxophone and Dragana Milković on piano and vocals. The band played a combination of jazz and pop rock. Besides performing cover versions of notable foreign bands from the sixties, the band wrote their own songs. In 1978, the band performed at the Novi Sad
BOOM festival and the following year at the Zaječar
Gitarijada
feastival. Even though the band had several recording sessions in Radio Belgrade
, none of the material was released. Mitrić went to Bulevar
and Popović went to Slađana Milošević's band.
walls were ornamented with graffiti announcing the formation of the band. "Margita je dečak" ("Margita is a boy", the first ever graffiti in Belgrade dedicated to Margita Stefanović
who later became Katarina II keyboardist.), "Dečaci ne plaču" ("Boys Don't Cry") or "Srđane budi čovek" ("Srđan, be a man") are only a few examples. Having created a media campaign and gained the public's attention, the band had to prove their existence and start playing.
VIS Idoli was officially formed on March 1, 1980 when the band had their first rehearsal. The first lineup consisted of primary school friends Vlada Divljan
(guitar, vocals), Zdenko Kolar (bass), Boža Jovanović (drums) and Divljan
's high school friends Srđan Šaper (percussion, vocals) and Nebojša Krstić
(percussion). At that time the band collaborated with Dragan Papić who was a kind of media activist. The band manipulated the media very well. For example, they were to announce a change to the band's name on several occasions and the new names would be "Apoloni 5" (Appoloniouses 5) or "Idoli plus bradonje" ("The Idols plus the bearded") because of Kolar and Jovanović's wearing beards.
On June 1980, the band made their first live appearance at Belgrade's SKC (Student's Cultural Center) with the leading Serbia
n new wave
acts. After a month of existence, the band released their first single with a magazine called "Vidici" and it consisted of two tracks, "Pomoć, pomoć" ("Help, help") and "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" ("I Rarely See You With Girls"), a song with a gay-hint. Already parting ways with Papić, the band recorded another version of the track as a B-side of Maljčiki single, but this time in Zagreb
with the producer Goran Bregović
. At the 1980 Subotica
Youth Festival, where new wave
bands from Zagreb
and Belgrade
met for the first time, they appeared with the track "Zašto su danas devojke ljute?" ("Why Are The Girls Angry Today?") and got one of the prizes.
Idoli, with Električni Orgazam
and Šarlo Akrobata
participated in the project called Paket aranžman
with four tracks, "Schwule Über Europa" (German for "Boredom Over Europe") (a parody on the attitude towards Germans) "Plastika" ("Plastic"), "Maljčiki
" (Russian for "Boys", a parody on Russians) and "Amerika" ("America"). The promotional video for "Maljčiki
" was banned on national television and some radio stations after the Soviet embassy responded.
's SKC. The scalpers sold the tickets four times the original price. The opening acts were Bezobrazno Zeleno
, VIA Talas
, Marko Brecelj and Feo Volarić.
The next release was a self-titled EP
or mini LP as it was called in former Yugoslavia
, featuring six tracks including a cover version of Chuck Berry
's "Come On
" ("Hajde") and Darko Kraljić's "Devojko mala". Film members Mladen Juričić (also known as Max Wilson) playing harmonica and Jurij Novoselić (also known as Kuzma Videosex) who played organ made guest appearances. The record was produced by another Film member, Ivan Stančić Piko. The cover of the album is the Red Nude by Amedeo Modigliani
. Jugoton
later re-released the EP with Film's live EP in Kulušić
as a compilation album Zajedno. A tour with Film came in 1981 when they traveled in a boat and played in sea side resorts. In the summer of 1981, a new drummer became Kokan Popović
who previously played with Divljan and Kolar in Merlin and Zvuk Ulice.
The band started recording their first album in autumn 1981 with Goran Vejvoda
and Dušan Mihajlović Spira who ought to have been the assistant producer as they wanted to produce the record by themselves. After a short period Mihajlović left and the only assistance was Mile Miletić Pile. The recording of the album took more than four hundred hours which was a record in former Yugoslavia still to be broken. Guests on the album were Bebi Dol who did backing vocals on "Odbrana" ("Defence"), and Vuk Vujačić, Goran Grbić and Slobodan Grozdanović were a brass section on "Senke su drugačije" ("The Shadows Are Different"). Odbrana i poslednji dani
came out in early 1982. It got the name from a Borislav Pekić
book with the same title on which the whole album is based. It is a complex concept album dealing with an anthropological approach towards orthodoxy. The track "Poslednji dani" ("The Last Days") originally entitled "Maršal" ("Marshall"), dedicated to former Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito
, did not include the last verse due to the record company disapproval. A detail from a cloth on a Saint Nicholas
icon was used as the cover and the font used on the record was a Cyrillic font similar to the one used in the Miroslav's Gospel
. The band won the best album and the best cover award in 1982. In 1986 Yugoslav rock critics voted Odbrana i poslednji dani
the best Yugoslav rock album of the 20th century.
On July 1982, Zdenko Kolar
went to serve in the army and his replacement was Bulevar
bassist Branko Isaković
. The band started recording a new album in London
with producer Bob Painter. Even though they changed their style to pop/rock, Čokolada
went platinum and the title track became their greatest commercial hit. There was a slight scandal about the track being composed by Dušan Gerzić for the band Via Talas and Šaper presenting it as an Idoli track. However, Gerzić was credited co-author on "Bambina" which was released as a single. For this record Divljan wrote only "Radostan dan", "Vetar i zastave" and "Ja sam tu" (for which Divljan added a verse from Mišo Kovač
track "Plakat će zora" written by Drago Britvić) because he was about to graduate mining and geology at the University of Belgrade
. At the same time Šaper graduated from his studies in movie directing. Guest appearances on the album were reporter Vivien Goldman who was a guest vocalist and producer Bob Painter who played the keyboards. The original idea was to release a double EP called "U gradu bez sna", but Jugoton
refused and released it as a long play album.
, in March 1984, due to conflicts between the members, the band ceased to exist. The last Idoli release was a soundtrack for the movie Šest dana juna directed by Dinko Tucaković. Most of the soundtrack was written by Divljan, while other members took part in the recording process. Šaper did the vocals, Kolar and Isaković did the bass, Piko Stančić and Boban Đorđević did the drums, keyboards were recorded by Đorđe Petrović and Dragan Ilić and guitars by Katarina II member Dragomir Mihajlović "Gagi"
and saxophone by Vuk Vujačić. Guest vocalists were Mišo Kovač
on "Da je duži moj dan" ("If my day was longer") and folk singer Jahija Gračanlić (also known as the Cosmic Bosnian) on "Ja je zovem meni da se vrate" ("I Am Calling Her To Come Back") appearing instead of a Divljan's gay-themed folk song "Zaljubljen sam u svog jarana" ("I am in love with my buddy") that remains unreleased to this day.
Following the breakup, Krstić
and Šaper wrote music for the singer Biljana Krstić
, they also recorded an album called Poslednja mladost u Jugoslaviji with the band Unutrašnja Imperija (consisting of Dragomir Mihajlović "Gagi"
(guitar), Branko Isaković (bass) and Dragoljub Đuričić (drums)). In 1995 the two recorded one more album this time forming a band Dobrovoljno Pevačko Društvo with Zoran Kiki Lesendrić
from Piloti
. The CD was called "Nedelja Na Duhove and was released through Eastfield Music. The album was recorded in Budapest
and produced and arranged by Kiki Lesendrić
. As studio musicians appeared Nenad Stefanović Japanac (bass and guitar), Milan Đurđević (keyboards), Istvan Alapi (guitar) and Zoltan Hetenyi (drums). Backing vocals were done by Aleksandra and Kristina Kovač.
After the album release, the two quit their musical careers. Šaper started a marketing business with his firm "Idols & Friends", worked as a creative director in "Saachi & Saachi" and "Ogilvy & Mather" and lately is the head of "McErricson". He acted and wrote the theme for "Davitelj protiv davitelja" and directed music videos and worked on TV and movie soundtracks. He is also active in politics and is head of the Serbia
n Democratic Party
. Krstić
became a physician at Vis isle and then at the "Hajat" hotel in Belgrade
. He also acted in the film "Šest dana juna". After his medical career he took up marketing until he became president Boris Tadić
's advisor. He is also a member of the Democratic Party
.
Divljan
started a solo career in 1988 when he released his first solo album Tajni život A. P. Šandorova and with Srđan Gojković Gile from Električni Orgazam
released two rock albums for children, Rokenrol za decu ("Rock 'n' Roll for Children) in 1989 and Rokenrol bukvar ("Rock 'n' Roll Alphabet") in 1990. In 1991 he moved to Australia
only to return in 1995 when he formed the Old Stars Band. The recordings of two shows, on January 18 and 24 in M Studio in Novi Sad
, was released on live album Odbrana i zaštita (B 92, 1996). In 1999 he moved to Vienna
. His next two albums were released with Old Stars Band. In the meantime he collaborated with Kiril Džajkovski
and worked on several movie soundtracks. At the moment he is recording a new solo album with the work title Esperanto, with a new backing band called Nevladina Organizacija.
Zdenko Kolar worked as a driver of a trolley car and acted in TV commercials. He formed Zona B in 1987, the band recorded five albums featuring covers of blues classics and their own songs. He was a member of the Old Stars Band and currently works in Nevladina Organizacija beside Zona B.
Kokan Popović and Dragan Mitrić (who played keyboards in Zvuk Ulice, but was not a member of Idoli) were also in a band called Propaganda
which released only one album in 1982, partially featuring material from the Zvuk Ulice period. Popović now lives in Johannesburg
and in 2006 he presented to the Belgrade
audience with his band Kokan and the Traitors which consists of Serbian
musicians living in Johannesburg
.
In 2007 Croatia Records released a four-CD box set VIS Idoli
consisting of all studio works except the first Vidici single. The same record label released a box set consisting of Paket aranžman
, Električni Orgazam
and Šarlo Akrobata
debut albums.
, Ništa Ali Logopedi
, Euforia, Kristali
, Spiritual Pyrotechnics and others recorded cover versions of their songs. Even rap/hip hop acts such as Gru and Wikluh Sky
made versions of Idoli songs.
The album Odbrana i poslednji dani
was polled in 1998 as the greatest Yugoslav popular music album in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike
(YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music). In the same book Čokolada
was ranked #46, and VIS Idoli
was ranked #71. The B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs List features three idoli songs: "Maljčiki
" (ranked #18), "Rusija" (ranked #25), and "Moja si" (ranked #52).
Various artist project Yugoton
consisting of Polish
rock bands recorded a tribute to Yugoslav popular new wave
bands including Idoli tracks "Maljčiki
" (Pol. "Malcziki") and "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" (Pol. "Rzadko widuję cię z dziewczętami"). "Maljčiki
" was even released as a first single from the record.
Yugoslav New Wave
New Wave in Yugoslavia was the New Wave music scene of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
band from Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, SR Serbia. They are considered to be one of the greatest and most influential Yugoslav rock bands and their 1982 album Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by former Yugoslavn New Wave band Idoli released in 1982....
was voted by the critics as the greatest Yugoslav rock album.
Merlin and Zvuk Ulice
The roots of Idoli can be found in a band called Merlin (not to be confused with the Sarajevo pop rock band of the same nameDino Merlin
Edin Dervišhalidović , stage name Dino Merlin, , is a prominent Bosnian singer-songwriter and musician. He is a popular singer/songwriter in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is also popular in the other countries of the former Yugoslavia such as Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia and...
) and then Zvuk Ulice consisting of Vlada Divljan on guitar and vocals, bassist Zdenko Kolar
Zdenko Kolar
Zdenko Kolar is a Serbian bass guitarist, most notable as the member of Idoli and Zona B.-Biography:Kolar was born in Zemun in 1956 where he lived until 1963 when he moved to inner town in Belgrade. He moved to a building where two of his future bandmates lived, Vlada Divljan and Boža Jovanović...
, keyboard player Dragan Mitrić, drummer Kokan Popović
Kokan Popovic
Kokan Popović is a Serbian drummer notable for playing in bands Idoli and Propaganda.- Getting interested in music, first bands :Popović was born in Belgrade and lived at Alekse Nenadovica street connecting "Slavija" and "Metropol" hotel, inhabited by people from highest social positions, such as...
, Bora Antić on saxophone and Dragana Milković on piano and vocals. The band played a combination of jazz and pop rock. Besides performing cover versions of notable foreign bands from the sixties, the band wrote their own songs. In 1978, the band performed at the Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
BOOM festival and the following year at the Zaječar
Zajecar
Zaječar is a city and municipality in the eastern part of Serbia. According to the 2011 census the town has a population of 36,830, and its coordinates are 43.91° North, 22.30° East...
Gitarijada
Gitarijada
Gitarijada is a musical festival held in Zaječar, Serbia in order to promote demo bands. Held since 1969, Gitarijada is one of the longest lasting festivals in Serbia and in South Eastern Europe and the largest festival of young and unsinged bands in South Eastern Europe...
feastival. Even though the band had several recording sessions in Radio Belgrade
Radio Belgrade
Radio Belgrade is a state-owned and operated radio station in Belgrade, Serbia.The predecessor of Radio Beograd, Radio Beograd-Rakovica, started its program in 1924 and was a part of a state wireless telegraph station. Radio Beograd, AD started in March 1929...
, none of the material was released. Mitrić went to Bulevar
Bulevar (band)
Bulevar were a Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave band from Belgrade.-Band formation:The band history dates from the days of the group Tilt consisting of young highschool attendants Dejan Cukić , Nenad Stamatović , Dušan Bezuha , Miroslav Cvetković and drummers at different times,...
and Popović went to Slađana Milošević's band.
VIS Dečaci and formation of the band
The first ideas of forming Idoli came up in 1979 when a youth magazine published photos of a band called Dečaci which were actually photos of the first Idoli lineup. The photos featured witty remarks like, for example on March 8, 1979, a photo signed "Dečaci emancipuju žene" ("The Boys emancipate women"). At the same time BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
walls were ornamented with graffiti announcing the formation of the band. "Margita je dečak" ("Margita is a boy", the first ever graffiti in Belgrade dedicated to Margita Stefanović
Margita Stefanovic
Margita "Magi" Stefanović was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician best known as a keyboardist for the Serbian rock band Ekatarina Velika.Born in Belgrade as the only child of well-known theatre and television director Slavoljub Stefanović-Ravassi and Desanka Nikolić...
who later became Katarina II keyboardist.), "Dečaci ne plaču" ("Boys Don't Cry") or "Srđane budi čovek" ("Srđan, be a man") are only a few examples. Having created a media campaign and gained the public's attention, the band had to prove their existence and start playing.
VIS Idoli was officially formed on March 1, 1980 when the band had their first rehearsal. The first lineup consisted of primary school friends Vlada Divljan
Vlada Divljan
Vladimir "Vlada" Divljan , is a Serbian singer and songwriter. He is known as the frontman for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Idoli, as well as for his solo works.-Early activity:...
(guitar, vocals), Zdenko Kolar (bass), Boža Jovanović (drums) and Divljan
Vlada Divljan
Vladimir "Vlada" Divljan , is a Serbian singer and songwriter. He is known as the frontman for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Idoli, as well as for his solo works.-Early activity:...
's high school friends Srđan Šaper (percussion, vocals) and Nebojša Krstić
Nebojša Krstic
Nebojša Krstić is an Advisor of the President of Serbia for public relations appointed by Boris Tadić. He was also a member of the Serbian rock band Idoli.- Biography :...
(percussion). At that time the band collaborated with Dragan Papić who was a kind of media activist. The band manipulated the media very well. For example, they were to announce a change to the band's name on several occasions and the new names would be "Apoloni 5" (Appoloniouses 5) or "Idoli plus bradonje" ("The Idols plus the bearded") because of Kolar and Jovanović's wearing beards.
On June 1980, the band made their first live appearance at Belgrade's SKC (Student's Cultural Center) with the leading Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
acts. After a month of existence, the band released their first single with a magazine called "Vidici" and it consisted of two tracks, "Pomoć, pomoć" ("Help, help") and "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" ("I Rarely See You With Girls"), a song with a gay-hint. Already parting ways with Papić, the band recorded another version of the track as a B-side of Maljčiki single, but this time in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
with the producer Goran Bregović
Goran Bregovic
Goran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...
. At the 1980 Subotica
Subotica
Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
Youth Festival, where new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
bands from Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
met for the first time, they appeared with the track "Zašto su danas devojke ljute?" ("Why Are The Girls Angry Today?") and got one of the prizes.
Idoli, with Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of New Wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed their style, becoming a mainstream rock act.- New Wave years :...
and Šarlo Akrobata
Šarlo Akrobata
Šarlo Akrobata were a seminal Yugoslav rock band often categorized as late punk or New Wave, particularly art-oriented. Short-lived but extremely influential, in addition to being one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav New Wave scene, the three piece left an indelible mark on the entire...
participated in the project called Paket aranžman
Paket aranžman
Paket aranžman is a New Wave music compilation album released in 1980 by Jugoton and its one of the most important and influential records ever made in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It features the eminent Belgrade artists: Šarlo Akrobata, Električni Orgazam and Idoli...
with four tracks, "Schwule Über Europa" (German for "Boredom Over Europe") (a parody on the attitude towards Germans) "Plastika" ("Plastic"), "Maljčiki
Maljciki
"Maljčiki" is the second single by the Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave music band Idoli. It also appeared on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation Paket aranžman which is one of the most important Yugoslav rock releases.- History :Vlada Divljan, the member of Idoli wanted to create a song which...
" (Russian for "Boys", a parody on Russians) and "Amerika" ("America"). The promotional video for "Maljčiki
Maljciki
"Maljčiki" is the second single by the Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave music band Idoli. It also appeared on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation Paket aranžman which is one of the most important Yugoslav rock releases.- History :Vlada Divljan, the member of Idoli wanted to create a song which...
" was banned on national television and some radio stations after the Soviet embassy responded.
Commercial success
The band had its first independent concert on June 25 at the garden of BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
's SKC. The scalpers sold the tickets four times the original price. The opening acts were Bezobrazno Zeleno
Bezobrazno Zeleno
Bezobrazno Zeleno were a former Yugoslav New Wave/pop rock band from Belgrade. The band was notable as the participant of the Artistička radna akcija project as well as for their later works....
, VIA Talas
VIA Talas
VIA Talas were a former Yugoslav New Wave band notable as one of the participants of the Artistička radna akcija project...
, Marko Brecelj and Feo Volarić.
The next release was a self-titled EP
VIS Idoli (EP)
VIS Idoli was the first and only EP by the Serbian new wave band Idoli. The cover of the EP is the Red Nude, an act by Amedeo Modigliani.- History :...
or mini LP as it was called in former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, featuring six tracks including a cover version of Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's "Come On
Come On (Chuck Berry song)
"Come On" is a song written and first released by Chuck Berry in 1961. The Rolling Stones released a version as their debut single in 1963.According to the liner notes from the Berry compilation album The Great Twenty-Eight, the performers on the record were as follows:* Chuck Berry: Guitars and...
" ("Hajde") and Darko Kraljić's "Devojko mala". Film members Mladen Juričić (also known as Max Wilson) playing harmonica and Jurij Novoselić (also known as Kuzma Videosex) who played organ made guest appearances. The record was produced by another Film member, Ivan Stančić Piko. The cover of the album is the Red Nude by Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
. Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
later re-released the EP with Film's live EP in Kulušić
Kulušić
Kulušić was a Yugoslav Concert Club in Zagreb, Croatia, which hosted many famous international acts and all the important acts from the region. It is particularly associated with the Yugoslav New Wave acts of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many Live albums which today are part of the Ex-Yugoslav...
as a compilation album Zajedno. A tour with Film came in 1981 when they traveled in a boat and played in sea side resorts. In the summer of 1981, a new drummer became Kokan Popović
Kokan Popovic
Kokan Popović is a Serbian drummer notable for playing in bands Idoli and Propaganda.- Getting interested in music, first bands :Popović was born in Belgrade and lived at Alekse Nenadovica street connecting "Slavija" and "Metropol" hotel, inhabited by people from highest social positions, such as...
who previously played with Divljan and Kolar in Merlin and Zvuk Ulice.
The band started recording their first album in autumn 1981 with Goran Vejvoda
Goran Vejvoda
Goran Vejvoda is an English-born, French-based, media artist ....
and Dušan Mihajlović Spira who ought to have been the assistant producer as they wanted to produce the record by themselves. After a short period Mihajlović left and the only assistance was Mile Miletić Pile. The recording of the album took more than four hundred hours which was a record in former Yugoslavia still to be broken. Guests on the album were Bebi Dol who did backing vocals on "Odbrana" ("Defence"), and Vuk Vujačić, Goran Grbić and Slobodan Grozdanović were a brass section on "Senke su drugačije" ("The Shadows Are Different"). Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by former Yugoslavn New Wave band Idoli released in 1982....
came out in early 1982. It got the name from a Borislav Pekić
Borislav Pekic
Borislav Pekić was a Serbian writer. He was born in 1930, to a prominent family in Montenegro, at that time part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From 1945 until his immigration to London in 1971, he lived in Belgrade...
book with the same title on which the whole album is based. It is a complex concept album dealing with an anthropological approach towards orthodoxy. The track "Poslednji dani" ("The Last Days") originally entitled "Maršal" ("Marshall"), dedicated to former Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, did not include the last verse due to the record company disapproval. A detail from a cloth on a Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
icon was used as the cover and the font used on the record was a Cyrillic font similar to the one used in the Miroslav's Gospel
Miroslav's Gospel
Miroslav Gospels is a 362-page illuminated manuscript Gospel Book on parchment with very rich decorations. It is one of the oldest surviving documents written in Old Church Slavonic, along with the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja...
. The band won the best album and the best cover award in 1982. In 1986 Yugoslav rock critics voted Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by former Yugoslavn New Wave band Idoli released in 1982....
the best Yugoslav rock album of the 20th century.
On July 1982, Zdenko Kolar
Zdenko Kolar
Zdenko Kolar is a Serbian bass guitarist, most notable as the member of Idoli and Zona B.-Biography:Kolar was born in Zemun in 1956 where he lived until 1963 when he moved to inner town in Belgrade. He moved to a building where two of his future bandmates lived, Vlada Divljan and Boža Jovanović...
went to serve in the army and his replacement was Bulevar
Bulevar (band)
Bulevar were a Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave band from Belgrade.-Band formation:The band history dates from the days of the group Tilt consisting of young highschool attendants Dejan Cukić , Nenad Stamatović , Dušan Bezuha , Miroslav Cvetković and drummers at different times,...
bassist Branko Isaković
Branko Isakovic
Branko Isaković is a Serbian bass player born in Valjevo in 1958. He was a member of notable rock bands active in former Yugoslavia. He closely collaborates with Dejan Cukić and Bilja Krstić and has his own projects TeodulIja and Divine Sound, focusing on ambiental, ethno and spiritual music.-...
. The band started recording a new album in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with producer Bob Painter. Even though they changed their style to pop/rock, Čokolada
Cokolada
Čokolada is the second studio album by Serbian rock band Idoli. It is considered to be one of the best selling Yugoslav records.- History :...
went platinum and the title track became their greatest commercial hit. There was a slight scandal about the track being composed by Dušan Gerzić for the band Via Talas and Šaper presenting it as an Idoli track. However, Gerzić was credited co-author on "Bambina" which was released as a single. For this record Divljan wrote only "Radostan dan", "Vetar i zastave" and "Ja sam tu" (for which Divljan added a verse from Mišo Kovač
Mišo Kovac
Mišo Kovač is a Croatian singer who was one of the most popular musical icons of the former Yugoslavia, and still popular today in Croatia.-Biography:...
track "Plakat će zora" written by Drago Britvić) because he was about to graduate mining and geology at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
. At the same time Šaper graduated from his studies in movie directing. Guest appearances on the album were reporter Vivien Goldman who was a guest vocalist and producer Bob Painter who played the keyboards. The original idea was to release a double EP called "U gradu bez sna", but Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
refused and released it as a long play album.
Breakup and post-breakup
After performing in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, in March 1984, due to conflicts between the members, the band ceased to exist. The last Idoli release was a soundtrack for the movie Šest dana juna directed by Dinko Tucaković. Most of the soundtrack was written by Divljan, while other members took part in the recording process. Šaper did the vocals, Kolar and Isaković did the bass, Piko Stančić and Boban Đorđević did the drums, keyboards were recorded by Đorđe Petrović and Dragan Ilić and guitars by Katarina II member Dragomir Mihajlović "Gagi"
Dragomir Mihajlović
- Musical career :Mihajlović started his career as a guitarist in a progressive rock group Limunovo Drvo, which, formed in 1978 by himself and Milan Mladenović , after performing for two years moved towards New Wave, with the arrival of Dušan Kojić "Koja" and Ivan Vdović "VD" . In April 1980,...
and saxophone by Vuk Vujačić. Guest vocalists were Mišo Kovač
Mišo Kovac
Mišo Kovač is a Croatian singer who was one of the most popular musical icons of the former Yugoslavia, and still popular today in Croatia.-Biography:...
on "Da je duži moj dan" ("If my day was longer") and folk singer Jahija Gračanlić (also known as the Cosmic Bosnian) on "Ja je zovem meni da se vrate" ("I Am Calling Her To Come Back") appearing instead of a Divljan's gay-themed folk song "Zaljubljen sam u svog jarana" ("I am in love with my buddy") that remains unreleased to this day.
Following the breakup, Krstić
Nebojša Krstic
Nebojša Krstić is an Advisor of the President of Serbia for public relations appointed by Boris Tadić. He was also a member of the Serbian rock band Idoli.- Biography :...
and Šaper wrote music for the singer Biljana Krstić
Bilja Krstic
Biljana "Bilja" Krstić is a Serbian singer. She was born on November 9, 1955 in Niš and brought up on the folk traditions of central Serbia. Biljana first studied music in Niš at the music school "Dr. Vojislav Vučković", after graduating she continued her education by travelling to Belgrade to...
, they also recorded an album called Poslednja mladost u Jugoslaviji with the band Unutrašnja Imperija (consisting of Dragomir Mihajlović "Gagi"
Dragomir Mihajlović
- Musical career :Mihajlović started his career as a guitarist in a progressive rock group Limunovo Drvo, which, formed in 1978 by himself and Milan Mladenović , after performing for two years moved towards New Wave, with the arrival of Dušan Kojić "Koja" and Ivan Vdović "VD" . In April 1980,...
(guitar), Branko Isaković (bass) and Dragoljub Đuričić (drums)). In 1995 the two recorded one more album this time forming a band Dobrovoljno Pevačko Društvo with Zoran Kiki Lesendrić
Kiki Lesendric
Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić is a Serbian rock musician, most notable as the founding member of the band Piloti....
from Piloti
Piloti (band)
Piloti is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Formed in 1981, and initially immersed in the Yugoslav New Wave scene, the band later moved towards mainstream pop rock, they came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s as one of the leading pop rock acts in former Yugoslavia...
. The CD was called "Nedelja Na Duhove and was released through Eastfield Music. The album was recorded in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and produced and arranged by Kiki Lesendrić
Kiki Lesendric
Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić is a Serbian rock musician, most notable as the founding member of the band Piloti....
. As studio musicians appeared Nenad Stefanović Japanac (bass and guitar), Milan Đurđević (keyboards), Istvan Alapi (guitar) and Zoltan Hetenyi (drums). Backing vocals were done by Aleksandra and Kristina Kovač.
After the album release, the two quit their musical careers. Šaper started a marketing business with his firm "Idols & Friends", worked as a creative director in "Saachi & Saachi" and "Ogilvy & Mather" and lately is the head of "McErricson". He acted and wrote the theme for "Davitelj protiv davitelja" and directed music videos and worked on TV and movie soundtracks. He is also active in politics and is head of the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
. Krstić
Nebojša Krstic
Nebojša Krstić is an Advisor of the President of Serbia for public relations appointed by Boris Tadić. He was also a member of the Serbian rock band Idoli.- Biography :...
became a physician at Vis isle and then at the "Hajat" hotel in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. He also acted in the film "Šest dana juna". After his medical career he took up marketing until he became president Boris Tadić
Boris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
's advisor. He is also a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
.
Divljan
Vlada Divljan
Vladimir "Vlada" Divljan , is a Serbian singer and songwriter. He is known as the frontman for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Idoli, as well as for his solo works.-Early activity:...
started a solo career in 1988 when he released his first solo album Tajni život A. P. Šandorova and with Srđan Gojković Gile from Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of New Wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed their style, becoming a mainstream rock act.- New Wave years :...
released two rock albums for children, Rokenrol za decu ("Rock 'n' Roll for Children) in 1989 and Rokenrol bukvar ("Rock 'n' Roll Alphabet") in 1990. In 1991 he moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
only to return in 1995 when he formed the Old Stars Band. The recordings of two shows, on January 18 and 24 in M Studio in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, was released on live album Odbrana i zaštita (B 92, 1996). In 1999 he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. His next two albums were released with Old Stars Band. In the meantime he collaborated with Kiril Džajkovski
Kiril Dzajkovski
Kiril Džajkovski , often credited as simply Kiril, is an internationally acclaimed Macedonian electronic musician and music composer.-Biography:...
and worked on several movie soundtracks. At the moment he is recording a new solo album with the work title Esperanto, with a new backing band called Nevladina Organizacija.
Zdenko Kolar worked as a driver of a trolley car and acted in TV commercials. He formed Zona B in 1987, the band recorded five albums featuring covers of blues classics and their own songs. He was a member of the Old Stars Band and currently works in Nevladina Organizacija beside Zona B.
Kokan Popović and Dragan Mitrić (who played keyboards in Zvuk Ulice, but was not a member of Idoli) were also in a band called Propaganda
Propaganda (Serbian band)
Propaganda was a former Yugoslav New Wave band from Belgrade, consisting of former Zvuk Ulice and Bulevar members. The band released only one album, Apatija javnosti, and disbanded.- Zvuk Ulice :...
which released only one album in 1982, partially featuring material from the Zvuk Ulice period. Popović now lives in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and in 2006 he presented to the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
audience with his band Kokan and the Traitors which consists of Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
musicians living in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
In 2007 Croatia Records released a four-CD box set VIS Idoli
VIS Idoli (box set)
VIS Idoli is a collection of four albums by Serbian rock band Idoli. The albums included in the set are:* 1981 VIS Idoli * 1982 Odbrana i poslednji dani* 1983 Čokolada...
consisting of all studio works except the first Vidici single. The same record label released a box set consisting of Paket aranžman
Paket aranžman
Paket aranžman is a New Wave music compilation album released in 1980 by Jugoton and its one of the most important and influential records ever made in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It features the eminent Belgrade artists: Šarlo Akrobata, Električni Orgazam and Idoli...
, Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of New Wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed their style, becoming a mainstream rock act.- New Wave years :...
and Šarlo Akrobata
Šarlo Akrobata
Šarlo Akrobata were a seminal Yugoslav rock band often categorized as late punk or New Wave, particularly art-oriented. Short-lived but extremely influential, in addition to being one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav New Wave scene, the three piece left an indelible mark on the entire...
debut albums.
Legacy
Idoli are one of the most influential and most covered Yugoslav and Serbian rock bands. Bands like Eva BarunEva Braun (band)
Eva Braun is a britpop/pop rock band from Bečej, Serbia, notable as one of the most important bands of the Vojvodina pop-rock scene of the 1990s...
, Ništa Ali Logopedi
Ništa Ali Logopedi
Ništa Ali Logopedi were a Serbian alternative rock band from Šabac.- History :...
, Euforia, Kristali
Kristali
Kristali are a Serbian britpop/pop rock band from Belgrade.- 1990s :The band was formed on January 1993, by bassist and vocalist Dejan Gvozden and guitarist Željko Markuš, whom, having performed blues and rock standards in Belgrade cafes, were joined by drummer Dejan Kostić...
, Spiritual Pyrotechnics and others recorded cover versions of their songs. Even rap/hip hop acts such as Gru and Wikluh Sky
Wikluh Sky
Wikluh Sky is a Serbian musician, rapper, and producer.Best known for being a member of Bad Copy hip-hop trio, he is also a part of Marčelo's accompanying Filter Crew, and raggamuffin group/project Shappa...
made versions of Idoli songs.
The album Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani
Odbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by former Yugoslavn New Wave band Idoli released in 1982....
was polled in 1998 as the greatest Yugoslav popular music album in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike
YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike
YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike is a book by Duško Antonić and Danilo Štrbac...
(YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music). In the same book Čokolada
Cokolada
Čokolada is the second studio album by Serbian rock band Idoli. It is considered to be one of the best selling Yugoslav records.- History :...
was ranked #46, and VIS Idoli
VIS Idoli (EP)
VIS Idoli was the first and only EP by the Serbian new wave band Idoli. The cover of the EP is the Red Nude, an act by Amedeo Modigliani.- History :...
was ranked #71. The B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs List features three idoli songs: "Maljčiki
Maljciki
"Maljčiki" is the second single by the Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave music band Idoli. It also appeared on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation Paket aranžman which is one of the most important Yugoslav rock releases.- History :Vlada Divljan, the member of Idoli wanted to create a song which...
" (ranked #18), "Rusija" (ranked #25), and "Moja si" (ranked #52).
Various artist project Yugoton
Yugoton
Yugoton is a tribute album to the former Yugoslav rock scene released in Poland by ZIC ZAC Music Company and BMG Poland in 2001.It features cover versions of eminent ex-Yugoslav artists performed in Polish language by the cover band named Yugoton, composed of several notable Polish...
consisting of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
rock bands recorded a tribute to Yugoslav popular new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
bands including Idoli tracks "Maljčiki
Maljciki
"Maljčiki" is the second single by the Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave music band Idoli. It also appeared on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation Paket aranžman which is one of the most important Yugoslav rock releases.- History :Vlada Divljan, the member of Idoli wanted to create a song which...
" (Pol. "Malcziki") and "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" (Pol. "Rzadko widuję cię z dziewczętami"). "Maljčiki
Maljciki
"Maljčiki" is the second single by the Serbian and former Yugoslav New Wave music band Idoli. It also appeared on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation Paket aranžman which is one of the most important Yugoslav rock releases.- History :Vlada Divljan, the member of Idoli wanted to create a song which...
" was even released as a first single from the record.
Discography
- VIS IdoliVIS Idoli (EP)VIS Idoli was the first and only EP by the Serbian new wave band Idoli. The cover of the EP is the Red Nude, an act by Amedeo Modigliani.- History :...
(1981) - Odbrana i poslednji daniOdbrana i poslednji daniOdbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by former Yugoslavn New Wave band Idoli released in 1982....
(1982) - ČokoladaCokoladaČokolada is the second studio album by Serbian rock band Idoli. It is considered to be one of the best selling Yugoslav records.- History :...
(1983) - Šest dana junaŠest dana juna (album)Šest dana juna is the soundtrack album for the movie with the same title. It was the last Idoli release.- History :After the Ljubljana show Idoli decided to split up. In the meantime Jugoton asked Vlada Divljan to work with Idoli on the soundtrack album for Dinko Tucaković's movie Šest dana juna...
(1985)