Dʼ Boys

D' Boys (pronounced as The Boys) were a former Yugoslav synthpop/pop rock band from Belgrade.

Biography

1982 - 1985

The band was formed in 1982, consisting of two musicians: Peđa D'Boy (real name Predrag Jovanović, vocals, guitar) and Miško Mihajlovski, who reportedly "played the drum machine" and percussion. Jovanović was previously a vocalist for Lutalice, performed in cafes in France, spent some time on Goa beaches performing with jazz and rock musicians from all over the world, and was a vocalist for the German progressive/krautrock band Jane,^[1] with which he recorded their 1980 self-titled album.^[2] Mihajlovski was previously a member of the new wave/art rock band Kozmetika,^[3] and was one of the artists gathered around Izgled magazine.

In 1982 Jovanović returned to Belgrade, and decided to start performing. After a jam session, held during the art exhibition of the comic book artist Igor Kordej, Jovanović and Mihajlovski decided to start collaborating. Initially, their joint act was known as Peđa i Miško, and later Oksižen (Oxygen, after Peđa D'Boy's dyed hair), until they finally adopted the name D' Boys, suggested by the host of a popular music TV-show Hit meseca Dubravka Marković and her then-boyfriend Srđan "Gile" Gojković of Električni Orgazam.

The band initially performed minimalist music-influenced songs about parties and girls, such is their debut 7" single "Mi smo D'Boys" ("We Are D'Boys"), which led to them being booked as a support act at concerts of some prominent Yugoslav groups at the time such as Film, Boa and Aerodrom. The duo was initially often misperceived as a gay act and was frequently lampooned by the music critics because of their kitschy and frivolous lyrics dealing with nightlife, parties and girls, flavoured with typical Belgrade humorous slang. In the autumn of 1982, two new musicians joined the band: guitarist Goran Vejvoda and bass guitarist Miško Petrović, also known as Miško Plavi (Miško the Blond), previously a member of the new wave band VIA Talas. Having two members named Miško often led to confusion among their fans and in the media. Soon, Goran Vejvoda left and was replaced by Miško Plavi on guitar, while Dragan "Gagi" Ilić, who previously worked with Slađana Milošević, became the new bass player.

The band released their debut album Ajd' se zezamo (Let's Fool Around) in the spring of 1983, which was recorded in the Tetrapak studio in Split, with the former Miss Yugoslavia Ana Sasso on backing vocals.^[4] The album cover was designed by Igor Kordej. Beside "Mi smo D' Boys", the album featured an English language version of the song, entitled "We Are D' Boys".^[5]

During the spring 1984, D' Boys released their second album Muvanje (Hitting On), produced by Oliver Mandić and featuring members of the hard rock band Generacija 5, Dragan Jovanović (on guitar) and Dragan Ilić (on keyboards, arrangements, rhythm machine programming), as guests.^[6] The album featured a cover of Roy Orbison song "Oh, Pretty Woman" entitled "Lepe žene" ("Pretty Women"),^[7] a cover of starogradska muzika song "Što (Ima dana)" ("Why (There Are Days)"), and the track "Jugoslovenka" ("Yugoslav Girl"), which would soon go on to become the band's biggest hit. During the summer of the same year, the group performed in Greece. In this period two new members joined the group: drummer Zoran "Cole" Miljuš, and Belgian guitarist of Zaire origin Jean-Jacques Roscam.

After the band returned from Greece, Mihajlovski left and started performing as Miško D' Boys, while the remainder of the group changed its name to Peđa D'Boy Band.

Post-breakup

In 1985 Peđa D'Boy Band released the album Avantura (Adventure).^[8] Later, Jean-Jacques Roscam left the band to join Galija, while Dragan Ilić died of health complications. Peđa D'Boy Band released the album Laku noć ti, mala (Goodnight, Baby) in 1986,^[9] after which Peđa D'Boy performed alone for a short time, and then left the country. Miško Plavi formed the short-lived group Fantazija, which disbanded after only a year. After that he moved to Piloti, where he played bass guitar. Peđa D' Boy appeared in Yugoslavia once more in 1992 at a retro-concert of former Yugoslav pop and rock music in Belgrade. In 1997, in London, Peđa D' Boy recorded some new material, produced by Mark Evans, including a remix of "Jugoslovenka". In 2006, he returned to Serbia, where he still performs.

On December 2, 2011, Miroslav Mihajlovski died.^[10]

Legacy

Serbian rock singer Viktorija recorded a cover of the song "Jugoslovenka" on her 2000 album Nostalgija (Nostalgia).^[11]

In 2006, the song "Mi smo D' Boys" was ranked No. 100 on the B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list.^[12]

Discography

Studio albums

• Ajd' se zezamo (1983)
• Muvanje (1984)

Singles

• "Mi smo D' Boys" / "Crne oči, plava ljubav" (1983)

References

• EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; ISBN 978-86-905317-1-4