Džentlmeni

Džentlmeni (Serbian Cyrillic: Џентлмени; trans. The Gentlemen) were a Serbian beat band from Belgrade.

Džentlmeni
Background information
OriginBelgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia
GenresBeat music, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, rock
Years active1966 – 1972
LabelsPGP-RTB, PGP-RTS
Associated actsSiluete, Crni Biseri, Dah, Generacija 5, Gordi, Iskre, Opus, Pop Mašina, Rok Mašina, YU Grupa, Zdravo, Zlatni Dečaci
Past members

History

Band formation and split (1966–1967)

The band was formed in 1966 by Slobodan Todorović (guitar and vocals), Živorad "Žika" Jelić (bass guitar), Milan Buza (rhythm guitar) and Velibor "Boka" Bogdanović (drums), getting the name Džentlmeni on Todorović's idea, despite Jelić's suggestion of naming the band Žetoni (The Coins). The lineup performed until April 1967 when the band had split in two factions. Todorović did not continue working with any of the factions, moving to Siluete and then to the band CD.

Milan Buza, with Branko Stefanović (vocals), Đorđe Doksas (solo guitar), Moma Lukić (drums) and Dušan Ćućuz (bass guitar), performed under the moniker Džentlmeni for approximately a year at local parties before disbanding in 1968. The other faction, featuring Bogdanović and Jelić, continued working with the new Džentlmeni lineup, completed by Mihajlo Simikić (tenor saxophone, clarinet, piano and vocals), Branko Marušić "Čutura" (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Žika Jelić's brother Dragan "Dragi" Jelić (guitar).

The mainstay Džentlmeni (1967-1972)

During the Summer of 1967, the band had an Adriatic tour, performing for several months at the isle Hvar and several other resorts, basing their repertoire on cover versions of popular rhythm and blues hits, but also presenting their own material. The frequent live performances provided the band with a status of a leading live act in Belgrade. One of the song from the band performance at the 1968 Festival Omladina, "Veseli svet" ("Cheerful World"), written by Đorđe Uzelac, was released on the festival official compilation release, along with other bands who performed at the festival.

During the same year, the band performed at another major festival, Beogradsko Proleće (Belgrade Spring), with the song "To je tvoj stil" ("It Is Your Style"), written by Vojkan Borisavljević. The song was also included on the band debut 1968 extended play, Idi (Go), featuring the title track, a cover version of Sandie Shaw single "Today", "Naša mladost" ("Our Youth"), recorded at the Subotica Youth festival in 1968, and "Slatko" ("Sweet"), a cover version of the Drifters hit "Sweets for My Sweet". The song "Naša mladost" also appeared on the various artists compilation 20 godina festivala "Omladina" (20 years of Youth festival), released for the Festival Omladina 20th anniversary in 1981.

The following year, in 1969, the band performed again at the Beogradsko Proleće festival, with the song "Korak ka suncu" ("A Step towards the Sun"), released by PGP-RTB on the official festival compilation. The band also released their second EP, Slomljena srca (Broken Hearts), featuring the title track, a cover version of the Don Gibson single "Sea of Heartbreak", "Kraj snova" ("The End of Dreams"), written by Dragi Jelić, "Hellule, Hellule", originally performed by The Tremeloes, and Branko Marušić's song "Nisi došla" ("You Haven't Come").

The band released their final release in 1970, the single "Ona je moja" ("She Is Mine"), a cover version of the song "34-06", with "Da li su važne reči?" ("Do Words Matter?"), a cover version of the song "There's a Better Day Coming", both originally performed by The Dave Clark Five. After the single release, the Jelić brothers and Boka Bogdanović, with keyboard player Mive Okuglić formed the band YU Grupa. Marušić continued working with Džentlmeni in the lineup: Zlatko Manojlović (guitar), Robert Nemeček (bass guitar), and Dušan Banović (drums), but the band had frequent lineup changes, and some of the musicians performing with the band were guitarist Zoran Božinović, and bassists Dušan Petrović and Slađana Milošević, before disbanding in 1972.

The song "Slomljena srca" appeared on the various artists compilation YU retrospektiva - Sjaj izgubljene ljubavi (Yu Retrospective - A Lost Love Spark), released by Komuna in 1994,[1] and the box set various artists compilation Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane (1956-1970) (When Rock Was Young - East Side Stories (1956-1970)), released by Croatia Records in 2005. During 2006, the entire band discography was remastered and reissue on the compact disc compilation album Antologija (Anthology), as a part of the PGP-RTS Retrologija series, featuring a live recording of an early career television performance as well as a part of Marušić's 1994 unplugged performance.

Legacy

The song "Slomljena srca" was covered by Serbian pop punk band RNDM on their 2016 album Deo mene (Part of Me).[2]

Discography

Extended plays
  • Idi (1968)
  • Slomljena srca (1969)

Singles
  • "Ona je moja" (1970)

Compilation albums
  • Antologija (2006)

Other appearances
  • "Veseli svet" (Omladina '68; 1968)
  • "Korak ka Suncu" (Beogradsko proleće '69; 1969)
  • "Naša mladost" (20 godina festivala "Omladina"; 1981)
  • "Slomljena srca" (YU retrospektiva - Sjaj izgubljene ljubavi; 1994)
  • "Slomljena srca" (Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane (1956-1970); 2005)

References
  1. "YU retrospektiva - Sjaj izgubljene ljubavi". Dsssound.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. "RNDM 42 - Srca [Official audio 2016.]". YouTube. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

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