VIA Talas ( sr-cyr, ВИА Талас; trans. ''VIE The Wave'') was a

former Yugoslav Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

new wave band, notable as one of the participants of the '' Artistička radna akcija'' project. The band name featured the prefix ''VIA'' added to the former Yugoslav 1960s rock bands, which stands for 'vokalno-instrumentalni ansambl' ('vocal-instrumental ensemble').

History

The band was formed in the early 1980s by former BG 5 member

Bojan Pečar Bojan Pečar (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Печар) (22 March 1960, in Belgrade – 13 October 1998, in London) was a SFRY, Yugoslav and Serbian musician, best known as Bassist, bass player of the cult band, cult Yugoslav rock band Ekatarina V ...

(vocals, bass, guitar, synthesizer, percussion), Mira Mijatović (the daughter of the Yugoslav politician

Cvijetin Mijatović Cvijetin "Majo" Mijatović ( sr-cyr, Цвијетин Мајо Мијатовић; 8 January 1913 – 15 November 1993) was a Yugoslav communist politician who served as President of the Collective Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1980 until 19 ...

, vocals), Dušan Gerzić "Gera" (saxophone, drums) and Miško Petrović "Plavi" (bass, guitar, backing vocals). The band participated the '' Artistička radna akcija'' (''Artistic Work Action'') various artists compilation, featuring the second generation of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

new wave and punk rock bands, with two songs, "Hawai (najljepši kraj)" (" Hawai (The Most Beautiful Place)") and "Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop)", the later being a cover version of a

Millie Small Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit "My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...

song "

My Boy Lollipop "My Boy Lollipop" (originally "My Girl Lollypop") is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in 1956 by American s ...

". The band also performed as an opening act for

Idoli Idoli ( sr-cyr, Идоли; trans. The Idols) were a Serbian new wave band from Belgrade. They are considered to be one of the most notable acts of the Yugoslav rock scene, and their 1982 album ''Odbrana i poslednji dani'' was on several occas ...

at their first concert. By the time the band had released their debut album ''

Perfektan dan za banana ribe ''Perfektan dan za banana ribe'' (trans. '' A Perfect Day for Bananafish'') is the first and the only album by the Serbian rock band Talas. The album was printed in 3000 copies, and is available on LP only, since the album has not been reissued o ...

'' (''A perfect day for bananafish''), in 1983, under the name Talas, which got the title by the

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

's short-story '' A Perfect Day for Bananafish'', Pečar and Mijatović were the only band members. The album featured eight songs, and the album's opening track "Sama" ("Alone") became a nationwide hit and appeared on the Svetislav "Bata" Prelić's ''Šećerna vodica'' movie soundtrack. The album, recorded at the Belgrade MS studio, was produced by Pečar and Boban Petrović and released through Sarajevo Disk in 3000 copies only. As guests on the album appeared Milan "Mića" Bubalo (drum machine), Ivan Vdović "Vd" (drums),

Milan Mladenović Milan Mladenović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Младеновић; 21 September 1958 – 5 November 1994) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian musician best known as the frontman of the Yugoslav art rock band Ekatarina Velika. Early life Born to Serbian f ...

(guitar) and Vuk Vujačić (saxophone). The band's song "Ti" appeared on the ''Ventilator 202 - Demo top 10''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

but, soon after, the band ceased to exist.

Post-breakup

Mira Mijatović died of a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

. Gerzić worked as a designer and graphic artist and collaborated with Yugoslav new wave bands like

Haustor Haustor ( hr, Hallway or front door) was a Yugoslav rock band from Zagreb, SR Croatia, a member of the new wave movement, and an important act of the former Yugoslav rock scene. History The basis of the band was formed in 1977, when singer ...

Električni orgazam Električni Orgazam ( sr-cyr, Електрични Оргазам, lit=Electric Orgasm, translit=) is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of new wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed th ...

D' Boys D' may resemble: * D' (''D'' + apostrophe), the contracted form of words in several languages (for example, a French indefinite article); for a full list, see the Wiktionary entry * Dʼ (''D'' + modifier apostrophe), Slavic notation for palata ...

and

Ekatarina Velika Ekatarina Velika ( sr-Cyrl, Екатарина Велика, en, Catherine the Great), sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential Yugoslav music acts. Initia ...

. In 1986, he finished the Applied Arts studies in

and held numerous exhibitions in

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

and abroad. He worked in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, and, in 1997, he returned to

where he died the following year.

joined Katarina II, which, after the release of their self titled album, was renamed to

, with whom he released four more studio and one live album. In early 1990 he left the band and moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and played in a band called Mission. He also wrote poetry and was a painter. On October 16, 1998, Pečar died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. The only surviving member of the band is Petrović. He joined

as guitarist and bass guitarist, until 1986, when he joined

Piloti Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in elev ...

. In 1990 he joined

and released the song "Zvezde" on the compilation ''S' one strane duge''. He also started playing accordion and worked on several movie soundtracks and solo projects, and, in 2003, he formed the Miško Plavi Band with musicians from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He also participated in the ''Kao da je bilo nekad... Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću'' tribute to

and, with Miško Plavi Band, released two studio albums and a live album. He is the member of the

Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM) is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Founded ...

and Association of Composers of Serbia and the owner of two golden and one platinum record. In 2005, "Ti" was reissued on a

PGP-RTS PGP-RTS ( sr, Produkcija gramofonskih ploča Radio televizije Srbije) is a major record label based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a successor of PGP-RTB which was established in 1959 in Belgrade, then capital of Socialist Republic of Serbia and So ...

compilation ''Specijal 2: Dan zaljubljenih'' In October 2020, “Perfektan Dan Za Banana Ribe” was reissued.

Legacy

In 1998, the various artists compilation '' Ventilator 202 vol. 1'', featuring the band's song "Ti", appeared on the 100th place on the 100 greatest Yugoslav popular music albums list, released in the book '' YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike'' (''YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music''). In 2006, the song "Sama" was ranked No. 65 on the

B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs 100 najboljih domaćih pesama (''Top 100 Domestic Songs'') was a list compiled by the Serbian Radio B92. In 2006, Radio B92 organized the poll for the selection of top 100 Yugoslav songs. The whole list was presented on radio B92 on November 5, 200 ...

list.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1983)

Other appearances

* "Hawai (najljepši kraj)" / "Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop)" ('' Artistička radna akcija'', 1981) * "Ti" ('' Ventilator 202 vol. 1'', 1983) * "Ti" (''Specijal 2: Dan zaljubljenih'', 2005)

References

Bibliography

* ''EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006'', Janjatović Petar;

External links

VIA Talas
at Myspace
VIA Talas
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

VIA Talas
at

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