Bijelo dugme

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Bijelo dugme

Bijelo dugme at the 2005 Sarajevo farewell concert, from left to right: Alen Islamović, "Điđi" Jankelić, Milić Vukašinović, Goran Bregović, Željko Bebek, Zoran Redžić and Vlado Pravdić
Background information
Origin Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Genres Progressive rock
Hard rock
Folk rock
Years active 1974-1989
Brief reunion: 2005
Labels Jugoton
Diskoton
Radio Kruševac
Associated acts Divlje jagode
Kodeksi
Jutro
Former members
Goran Bregović
Željko Bebek
Mladen Vojičić - Tifa
Alen Islamović
Zoran Redžić
Jadranko Stanković
Ljubiša Racić
Sanin Karić
Ipe Ivandić
Điđi Jankelić
Milić Vukašinović
Vlado Pravdić
Laza Ristovski

Bijelo dugme ("White Button") was a highly influential rock band stationed in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the country was still a part of Yugoslavia. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav Rock scene.

Contents

[edit] History

Bijelo Dugme was founded by Goran Bregović who was born in Sarajevo. He spent much of his childhood in music school, studying violin, but he was expelled for "lack of talent". Soon after his expulsion, his mother bought him a guitar, and years later that investment paid off handsomely when Bijelo Dugme was born. Goran Bregović often admitted that his main motivation for forming the band was because "girls were more receptive to musicians". Bregović was the band's sole composer and wrote most of the lyrics, although some of the most popular Bijelo Dugme lyrics were written by others, for example: Ima neka tajna veza, Glavni junak jedne knjige, Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestuand Pristao sam biću sve što hoće were written by Duško Trifunović, Da sam pekarand Selma were written by Vlado Dijak, Loše vino by Arsen Dedić etc.

After recruiting the band's first line up, Bijelo Dugme under the name Jutro (translation: "Morning") were turned down by Slobodan Vujović from the Sarajevo based record company Diskoton, but another record company, Radio Kruševac, signed the band to record a single. The first single was named Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme (translation: "If I were a white button"). After the single was released, the band's manager talked Bregović into changing the band's name to Bijelo Dugme.

Soon after the name change, Goran Bregović and legendary music producer and talent scout Nikola Borota Radovan were able to record and release the first hit single under the Jugoton label. The single comprised song "Top" with "Ove cu noći naći blues" on the B side. The songs were recorded at the seminal "Studio one" of the state-owned Radio Sarajevo and were the first stereo recordings made with mono recording equipment. The man responsible for this innovation was again Nikola Borota Radovan with the assistance of the extremely patient 'official' audio engineer tonmaister (in the white coat) Antun Marković.

With its charismatic singerŽeljko Bebek, the band soon reached super stardom in the former Yugoslavia, and, as one newspaper put it, sold more records than there were record players in the country. The pinnacle of the band's career was 1979's Bitanga i princeza, an album often heralded as their most mature with vocalist Željko Bebek. They were often referred to as the Yugoslav Beatles.

The turn of the decade brought the rise of numerous Yugoslav New Wave artists, including Azra, and Bijelo Dugme soon found their popularity sinking. They reacted by reinventing themselves for their 1980 release Doživjeti stotu, featuring a much more New Wave sound. The chorus of their ska song "Ha, Ha, Ha" was used as the title of a compilation album by various artists Svi marš na ples! which was released by Jugoton in 1981.

In 1984 Željko Bebek left to pursue a solo career and Mladen Vojičić - Tifa was recruited to replace him for their 1984 self-titled release. He in turn left the band because of personal conflicts and was replaced by Alen Islamović, the former singer of heavy metal bands Divlje Jagode and Srčani Udar.

The band disbanded in 1989 when Alen Islamović checked into a hospital with chest pains during their last tour. He had not told anyone he was ill. The real reasons remain unknown, but most people suspect the dissolution of Yugoslavia caused the breakup of the band. At the time the band was often seen as a symbol of unity among the peoples of Yugoslavia.

Bijelo dugme's biggest hits were: Lipe cvatu, A i ti me iznevjeri, Đurđevdan, Ne spavaj mala moja muzika dok svira, Ipak poželim neko pismo, Ima neka tajna veza, Pristao sam biću sve što hoće, Selma, Loše vino, Jer kad ostariš, Lažeš, Kad zaboraviš juli, Hajdemo u planine, Napile se ulice, Ružica si bila, sada više nisi, Bitanga i princeza, Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo, Sanjao sam noćas da te nemam, Te noći kad umrem, Nakon svih ovih godina...

The band reunited for three concerts in Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade in 2005 with all three vocalists, but without the drummer Goran "Ipe" Ivandić who died in Belgrade, Serbia in 1994.

[edit] Legacy

Bijelo dugme laid the groundwork for the Yugoslav rock scene, and the epitome for the Sarajevo rock school. Inspiring many artists from different musical genres, from all countries of former Yugoslavia. In the 2003 rock documentary Sretno dijete, the guitarist and lead songwriter for Prljavo Kazalište said that "whatever Bijelo dugme did, everyone else did".

They still enjoy a huge fanbase; their 2005 concerts in Sarajevo at Koševo stadium and Zagreb at Maksimir stadium) sold out within hours. Their 2005 concert in Belgrade at the hippodrome drew more than 250,000 fans, while more than 20,000 fans stayed outside of hippodrome.

There is a tour of the Canada, United States of America and Australia planned for fall of 2006.[1],
in Europe - Vienna (25 November)

Bregovic reconstruced the band, and they toured from 20 March 2008 to 21 September 2008. Cities covered include Canada, Australia, a majority of eastern and southern Europe, and some parts of the USA. Drum duties were by Hari mata Hari's Izudin Kolecic and bass was done by Srdan Serberdia.

[edit] Members

[edit] Timeline

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[edit] Albums

[edit] Studio albums

  1. Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme - 1974 ("If I Were a White Button")
  2. Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu - 1975 ("What Would you Give to be in My Place")
  3. Eto! Baš hoću! - 1976 ("There! I Will!")
  4. Bitanga i princeza - 1979 ("The Brute & the Princess")
  5. Doživjeti stotu - 1980 ("Live to be 100")
  6. Uspavanka za Radmilu M. - 1983 ("Lullaby for Radmila M.")
  7. Bijelo dugme (Kosovka djevojka) - 1984 ("White Button" aka "Kosovo Maiden")
  8. Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo - 1986 ("Spit and Sing, My Yugoslavia")
  9. Ćiribiribela - 1988

[edit] Live albums

  1. Koncert kod Hajdučke česme - 1977
  2. 5. april '81 - 1981
  3. Mramor, kamen i željezo - 1987
  4. Turneja 2005 - Sarajevo, Zagreb, Beograd - 2005

[edit] Compilations and other works

  1. Iz sve snage - 1975
  2. Ipe Ivandić i Bijelo Dugme - 1976
  3. Svi marš na ples! - 1981
  4. Singl ploče (1974-1975) - 1982
  5. Singl ploče (1976-1980) - 1982
  6. A milicija trenira strogocu! (i druge pjesme za djecu) - 1983
  7. Sanjao sam noćas da te nemam (Velike rock balade) - 1984
  8. Rock & Roll - 1988
  9. Nakon svih ovih godina - 1990
  10. Ima neka tajna veza - 1994

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijelo_dugme"