Idoli | |
|---|---|
 Idoli Photo: Goranka Matić | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | VIS Idoli |
| Origin | Belgrade,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia |
| Genres | New wave,art punk,post-punk,experimental,pop rock |
| Years active | 1980–1984 |
| Labels | Izgled,Jugoton,Croatia Records,City Records,PGP RTS |
| Past members | Vlada Divljan Nebojša Krstić Srđan Šaper Boža Jovanović Kokan Popović Zdenko Kolar Branko Isaković Goran Vejvoda |
Idoli (Serbian Cyrillic:Идоли; trans. The Idols) were aSerbiannew wave band fromBelgrade. They are considered to be one of the most notable acts of theYugoslav rock scene, and their 1982 albumOdbrana i poslednji dani was on several occasions voted by the music critics as the greatest Yugoslav rock album.[1][2]
The roots of Idoli are found in a Belgrade-based band called Merlin (not to be confused with theSarajevo-based pop rock band of the same name that would appear later and achieve Yugoslavia-wide popularity) and then jazz and pop rock band Zvuk Ulice consisting ofVlada Divljan on guitar and vocals, bassistZdenko Kolar, keyboard player Dragan Mitrić, drummerKokan Popović, Bora Antić on saxophone and Dragana Milković on piano and vocals.[3]
Besides performing covers of various 1960s Anglo-American hits, Zvuk Ulice also wrote their own songs. In 1978, they performed at theBOOM Festival inNovi Sad andGitarijada festival inZaječar.[4] Despite completing several recording sessions in aRadio Belgrade studio, none of the recorded material was ever released. Mitrić moved on toBulevar and Popović joinedSlađana Milošević's backing 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 timeBelgrade walls were ornamented with graffiti announcing the formation of the band.[5] "Margita je dečak" ("Margita is a boy", the first ever graffiti in Belgrade dedicated toMargita Stefanović who later becameKatarina II keyboardist), "Dečaci ne plaču" ("Boys Don't Cry") or "Srđane budi čovek" ("Srđan, be a man") are only a few examples.[6] 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 friendsVlada Divljan (guitar, vocals), Zdenko Kolar (bass), Boža Jovanović (drums) andDivljan's high school friendsSrđan Šaper (percussion, vocals) andNebojša Krstić (percussion). At that time the band collaborated withDragan 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" (Appolos 5) or "Idoli plus bradonje" ("The Idols plus the bearded") because of Kolar and Jovanović's wearing beards.
In June 1980, the band made their first live appearance at Belgrade's SKC (Student's Cultural Center) with the leadingSerbiannew 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.[7] Already parting ways with Papić, the band recorded another version of the track as a B-side of Maljčiki single, but this time inZagreb with the producerGoran Bregović. At the 1980Festival Omladina, which had been delayed from May to the autumn due toTito's passing, new wave bands fromZagreb andBelgrade met for the first time. Idoli appeared with the track "Zašto su danas devojke ljute?" ("Why Are The Girls Angry Today?") and won one of the prizes.[8]
Idoli, withElektrični Orgazam andŠarlo Akrobata participated in the project calledPaket aranžman with four tracks, "Schwule Über Europa" (German for "Gays Over Europe", a parody on the attitude towards Germans) "Plastika" ("Plastic"), "Maljčiki" (Russian for "Boys", a parody on Social-Realist art and propaganda) and "Amerika" ("America"). The promotional video for "Maljčiki" was banned on national television and some radio stations after the Soviet embassy responded.[9]
The band had its first independent concert on June 25 at the garden ofBelgrade's SKC. The scalpers sold the tickets four times the original price. The opening acts wereBezobrazno Zeleno,VIA Talas,Marko Brecelj and Feo Volarić.
The next release was aself-titled EP or mini LP as it was called in formerYugoslavia, featuring six tracks including a cover version ofChuck Berry's "Come On" ("Hajde") andDarko Kraljić's "Devojko mala", with two different music videos.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 anotherFilm member, Ivan Stančić Piko. The cover of the album is the Red Nude byAmedeo Modigliani.Jugoton later re-released the EP withFilm's live EP inKulušić as a compilation albumZajedno. A tour withFilm came in 1981 when they traveled in a boat and played in sea side resorts. In the summer of 1981, a new drummer becameKokan Popović who previously played with Divljan and Kolar in Merlin and Zvuk Ulice.
The band started recording their first album in autumn 1981 withGoran 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 wereBebi 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 aBorislav 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 presidentJosip Broz Tito, did not include the last verse due to the record company disapproval. A detail from a cloth on aSaint Nicholas icon was used as the cover and the font used on the record was aCyrillic font similar to the one used in theMiroslav's Gospel. The band won the best album and the best cover award in 1982. In 1986 Yugoslav rock critics votedOdbrana i poslednji dani the bestYugoslav rock album of the 20th century.
In July 1982,Zdenko Kolar went to serve in the army and his replacement wasBulevar bassistBranko Isaković. The band started recording a new album inLondon 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 fromMišo Kovač track "Plakat će zora" written by Drago Britvić) because he was about to graduate mining and geology at theUniversity 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", butJugoton refused and released it as a long play album.
After performing inLjubljana, in March 1984, due to conflicts between the members, the band ceased to exist. The last Idoli release was a soundtrack for the movieŠest 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 byKatarina II memberDragomir Mihajlović "Gagi" and saxophone by Vuk Vujačić. Guest vocalists wereMišo 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 singerBiljana Krstić, they also recorded an album calledPoslednja mladost u Jugoslaviji with the band Unutrašnja Imperija (consisting ofDragomir 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 withZoran Kiki Lesendrić fromPiloti. TheCD was called "Nedelja Na Duhove and was released throughEastfield Music. The album was recorded inBudapest and produced and arranged byKiki 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 "Saatchi & Saatchi" 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 theSerbianDemocratic Party.Krstić became a physician, working at the island ofVis and then at the Hyatt Regency hotel inBelgrade. He also acted in the filmŠest dana juna. After his medical career he took up marketing until he became presidentBoris Tadić's advisor. He is also a member of theDemocratic Party.
Divljan started a solo career in 1988 when he released his first solo albumTajni život A. P. Šandorova and with Srđan Gojković Gile fromElektrični 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 toAustralia 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 inNovi Sad, was released on live album Odbrana i zaštita (B 92, 1996). In 1999 he moved toVienna. His next two albums were released with Old Stars Band. In the meantime he collaborated withKiril Džajkovski and worked on several movie soundtracks. At the moment he is recording a new solo album with the work titleEsperanto, with a new backing band called Nevladina Organizacija. Divljan died in Vienna in 2015.[10]
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 calledPropaganda which released only one album in 1982, partially featuring material from the Zvuk Ulice period. Popović now lives inJohannesburg and in 2006 he presented to theBelgrade audience with his band Kokan and the Traitors which consists ofSerbian musicians living inJohannesburg.
In 2007 Croatia Records released a four-CD box setVIS Idoli consisting of all studio works except the first Vidici single. The same record label released a box set consisting ofPaket aranžman,Električni Orgazam andŠarlo Akrobata debut albums.
Vlada Divljan died inVienna on March 5, 2015, after a long illness.[11]
Idoli are one of the most influential and most covered Yugoslav and Serbian rock bands. Bands likeEva Braun,Ništa Ali Logopedi, Euforia,Kristali, and others recorded cover versions of their songs. Even rap/hip hop acts such as Gru andWikluh Sky made versions of Idoli songs. Various artist projectYugoton consisting ofPolish 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 released as a first single from the record.
In 1998, the albumOdbrana i poslednji dani was polled as the greatest Yugoslav popular music album in the bookYU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).[12] In the same bookČokolada was ranked No. 46,[13] andVIS Idoli was ranked No. 71.[14] In 2015,Odbrana i poslednji dani was pronounced the greatest Yugoslav album in the special issue ofCroatian edition ofRolling Stone.[2] On the same listVIS Idoli was pronounced No. 20[15] andPaket aranžman was pronounced No. 38.[16]
TheRock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times list featured two songs by Idoli: "Maljčiki" (polled No. 32) and "Kenozoik" (polled No. 66).[17] TheB92 Top 100 Domestic Songs List features three idoli songs: "Maljčiki" (ranked No. 18), "Rusija" (ranked No. 25), and "Moja si" (ranked No. 52).[18] In 2011, the song "Maljčiki" was polled, by the listeners ofRadio 202, one of 60 greatest songs released byPGP-RTB/PGP-RTS during the sixty years of the label's existence.[19]
The lyrics of 11 songs by the band were featured inPetar Janjatović's bookPesme bratstva, detinjstva & potomstva: Antologija ex YU rok poezije 1967 - 2007 (Songs of Brotherhood, Childhood & Offspring: Anthology of Ex YU Rock Poetry 1967 - 2007).[20]
In 2016, analley in Novi Sad was officially named Vlada Divljan Alley.[21]
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