| Amajlija | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Novi Sad, Serbia |
| Genres | Hard rock (early period), pop rock, rock |
| Years active | 1979–1985 1987 – present |
| Labels | Diskoton, PGP-RTB, PGP-RTS, Komuna Belgrade |
| Associated acts | Love Hunters |
| Website | amajlija.com |
| Members | |
| Bogoljub Banjac Dejan Starčević Zoran Aničić Petar Banjac |
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| Past members | |
| Slobodan Većalkov Tomislav Milei Boško Plaćkov Predrag Čoka Petar Krsić Zoran Bojčevski Zoran Gerić Zoran Petrić Petar Krstić Julije Dondo Zoran Marjanović Miroslav Maletić Milan Ljubenković |
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Amajlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Амајлија; trans. Amulet) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band.
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The band was formed in 1979 by Bogoljub "Čombe" Banjac (vocals), Boško "Čvaja" Plaćkov (bass guitar) and Predrag "Čole" Čoka (drums), all three being 'Oćeš-Nećeš members, with Slobodan "Veća" Većalkov (solo guitar) and Tomislav "Čvaja" Milei (rhythm guitar). At first the band performed cover versions by acts such as The Rolling Stones, Riblja Čorba and Azra, and slowly prepared their own material. The band had rehearsals at the Zlatibor construction firm, where, in late 1979, they had their debut live appearance, and earned the first payment performing at a party organized by the union of the deaf people.
During 1980 the band rehearsed intensely, and occasionally performed at elementary schools. During the same year, the band was joined by Petar "Pera Gumeni" Krsić, who had the reputation of a showman, and the new lineup, on the invitation by Radio Novi Sad producer Jovan Adamov, recorded four demo songs. The following year, the band performed at the Subotica Youth Festival. Before the band went on hiatus, as the members went to serve the Yugoslav People's Army, the band had another lineup change as the new members became Zoran Bojčevski (bass guitar) and Vojislav "Voja Ušar" Vilić (solo guitar).
The band reunited in 1985, this time featuring Banjac on vocals and rhythm guitar and Većalkov switched to bass guitar. At a studio in Bukovac the band recorded material consisting of ten songs, intending to release them, which did not happen due to the low quality of the recordings. During the same year, the band performed as an opening act on the Bajaga i Instruktori Yugoslav tour. Due to the positive reaction by the audience and Bajaga i Instruktori themselves, the band also performed on the Jahači magle tour, during which, due to a quarrel, the band disbanded.
On June 1987, Banjac, as guitarist and vocalist, reformed Amajlija with bassist Zoran "Gera" Gerić and drummer Zoran "Petrija" Petrić. Owing to the band manager Dragan Veljkovski, the band performed as an opening act on the Vojvodina tours of the bands Film, Kerber and Griva. At the time, the band wrote their first hit songs, "Požuri druže" and "Dobar drug", recorded at the Bukovac Barbaro studio by Banjac, who previously dissolved the current Amajlija lineup, with guitarist Zoran "Anka" Ančić and sound engineer Milan Ćirić, a former Čista Proza member.
The band released their debut album Samo ti (Only You) in 1989 through Diskoton. The album was produced by Aničić. The band, now consisting of Petar Krstić (vocals), Bogoljub Banjac (guitar), Zoran Aničić (guitar), Slobodan Većkalov (bass guitar), Dejan Starčević (keyboard) and Julije Dondo (drums), promoted the album, mainly on television and radio appearances. Aničić also produced the band's following album Zašto si tako blesava i luda (Why Are You so Weird and Crazy) which was released in 1990 through PGP-RTB. Since Aničić decided to devote himself completely to a career as a producer, Većkalov switched to playing guitar, and the new bassist became the former Arena member Zoran "Zobma" Marjanović. While previous Amajlija album was mostly hard rock-oriented, Zašto si tako blesava i luda presented the band in a melodic pop rock sound, with the songs "To je bio dan", "Čeznem da te zeznem", and "Veruj u ljubav" being the album's main hits. Like on the previous album, Zašto si tako blesava i luda music was composed by Banjac who, with Predrag "Srba" Srbljanin, wrote all the lyrics. After the album release, the new band members became Miroslav "Kića" Maletič (solo guitar), and former Love Hunters member Milan "Mićko" Ljubenković (drums)
Amajlija's third album, Vruće + hladno (Hot + Cold), was recorded in London in 1991 by Banjac and Aničić only. On the album, Aničić played all the instruments. Andy Kershaw appeared on the album as special guest, playing acoustic guitar. The album brought more guitar-oriented sound than on the previous release, and the only hit from the album was the acoustic ballad "Ume biti gadno", which the band had considered not to release at all. Due to the intense live performances after the album release, including the 1992 and 1993 Gitarijada festival in Zaječar , Vruće + hladno became the band's greatest commercial success.
The band's fourth studio album, Čista zabava (Pure Fun) was released through PGP-RTB successor PGP-RTS. The album, recorded with Bajaga i Instruktori member Saša Lokner on keyboards, featured an electronic music-oriented sound, resulting negative album critics. The tracks "Dala si mi" and the cover of the Đorđe Balašević song "Prva ljubav" were distinguished as hits on the album, and, due to their frequent radio broadcasts, the band got the opportunity to perform at the Music Festival Budva. After the album release, on May 13, 1994, the band performed at the Novi Sad Danube park handball playground, which was one of the most successful concerts the band had throughout their career.
In 1995, with the help of Nenad "Japanac" Stefanović, the band recorded the album Nikad više kao pre (Never Again Like Before), released in 1996 and recorded at the Novi Sad Dum Dum studio, where, for the first time, all the album tracks were recorded by the band themselves. In 1996, after the album release, the band had more than seventy live appearances, mainly at the Zeppelin Club, and the Ujvideki Sinhaz theatre. The band also performed at the 1995 and 1996 Novi Sad Koncert Godine. In 1998, Većalkov left the band, being replaced by Miroslav Maletić, but, soon after, the band went on hiatus and performed occasionally only. In 1999, the band performed at the Štrand festival with Banjac's son Petar on drums for the first time.
The band continued their activity in the mid 2000s. On July 5, 2008, the band performed as an opening act for Status Quo at the Rock Bastion Festival in Novi Sad.[1] They released their fifth studio album Prosula si sake na kimono (You Spilled Sake on Your Kimono) in 2009 through Komuna Belgrade. The album featured nine songs, including the rerecorded version of the song "Dobar drug", and the bonus track "Kišne kapljice", recorded with the tamburitza orchestra Zorule.[2]
On May 26, 2009 Amajlija performed, alongside The Answer, as the opening act for AC/DC on the concert held at Partizan Stadium in Belgrade.[3]
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