''Soldatski bal'' (translation: ''The Soldiers' Ball'') is the first studio album by the Yugoslav band

Plavi orkestar Plavi orkestar () is a Bosnian and former Yugoslavian pop rock band from Sarajevo. The band was formed in 1983 by Saša Lošić, who is the lead singer and songwriter of the group. The band has remained popular with seven albums and more than ...

, released in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. With over 500,000 copies sold, it is the best-selling debut album in Yugoslavia and its successor states. Recorded during January 1985 and released a few months later, the album was a huge commercial success, spawning numerous hits. It catapulted a band of 21-year-olds to nationwide fame, making them into instant teenage stars. The album's lyrics are mostly inspired by

Saša Lošić Saša Lošić "Loša" (; born 19 July 1964) is a Bosnian recording artist. He initially rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the Bosnian-based music act Plavi orkestar, which is one of the most popular music bands of the former Yugoslav Pop ...

's compulsory

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

service, which he served in Bitola from September 1983 until September 1984. The album features numerous guest appearances, including Nada Obrić, Aki Rahimovski of

Parni valjak Parni Valjak (; "steamroller") is a Croatian and former Yugoslav rock band. They were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav rock scene, and one of the top rock bands in Croatia. Biography Parni Valjak was founded in 1975 in Zagreb. Unl ...

, Jura Stublić of Film,

Peđa D'Boy Predrag Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Јовановић) (born 14 April 1950, Kruševac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian musician and entertainer. He is known as a former frontman of the Yugoslav group D' Boys by his stag ...

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, Ivan "Firchie" Fece of EKV, Marina Perazić,

Dragoš Kalajić Dragoš Kalajić ( sr-Cyrl, Драгош Калајић; 22 February 1943 – 22 July 2005) was a Serbian painter, philosopher and writer. Early life and education Dragoš Kalajić was born on 22 February 1943 in Belgrade. Dragoš's father Velimi ...

, and

Jovan Ćirilov Jovan Ćirilov (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Ћирилов; ; 30 August 1931 – 16 November 2014) was a Serbian theatrologist, philosopher, writer, theatre selector, and poet. Biography Ćirilov was born in Kikinda. the only son of Milivoj � ...

. The album sleeve was designed by Bojan Hadžihalilović. In a replica of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', it shows the four band members flanked by the seven Yugoslav Youth Communist League (SKOJ) secretaries, in addition to 49 individuals from Yugoslav history and public life such as

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered ...

Ivo Lola Ribar Ivan Ribar (23 April 1916 – 27 November 1943), known as Ivo Lola or Ivo Lolo, was a Yugoslav communist politician and military leader of Croatian descent. In the 1930s, he became one of the closest associates of Josip Broz Tito, leader of the ...

, Bata Živojinović,

Lepa Brena Fahreta Živojinović (; ; born 20 October 1960), known by her stage name Lepa Brena (), is a folk singer, actress, and businesswoman. She is the best-selling female recording artist from the former Yugoslavia. Lepa Brena grew up in Brčko, Bosni ...

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Slavko Štimac Slavko Štimac ( sr-cyrl, Славко Штимац; born 15 October 1960) is a Serbian actor. Born in a village near Perušić in modern-day Croatia, he later graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. Štimac made his screen debut ...

Miroslav Krleža Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...

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Mirza Delibašić Mirza Delibašić (9 January 1954 – 8 December 2001) was a Bosnian professional basketball player and coach. Delibašić was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2008, he w ...

, etc. In 2015 the album cover was ranked 58th on the list of 100 Greatest Album Covers of Yugoslav Rock published by

web magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer mag ...

Balkanrock."100 najboljih omota YU rocka", Balkanrock.com
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Track listing

Personnel

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

— Ćera I * Drums — Ćera II *Drums,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

— Firči *Engineer — Vladimir Smolec * Executive producer — Malcolm Muharem *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, arranged by — Pava * Keyboards — Zoran Kraš *Photography — Mehmed Akšamija *Producer —

Husein Hasanefendić Parni Valjak (; "steamroller") is a Croatian and former Yugoslav rock band. They were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav rock scene, and one of the top rock bands in Croatia. Biography Parni Valjak was founded in 1975 in Zagreb. Unlik ...

*Vocals, voice, arranged by —

*Guest vocal on "Šta će nama šoferima kuća" — Nada Obrić *Guest vocals on "Stambol, Pešta, Bečlija" — Aki Rahimovski, Jura Stublić, and

*Backing vocals on "Bolje biti pijan nego star" —

and

Sound-alike

Song "Bolje biti pijan nego star" use melody as in "Dok palme nijšu grane" by Dubrovački trubaduri.

References

External links

''Soldatski bal''
at Discogs {{Authority control 1985 debut albums Plavi orkestar albums