For Zdravko Čolić anew this spring

The most popular pop singer in Serbia today and during the heyday of the former Yugoslavia, Zdravko Čolić, continues to fill stadiums, halls and auditoriums in cities around the world.

By Vanja Savić
Photo by Milan Melka

The appeal of Zdravko Čolić is best seen through his tours which, after nearly four decades of Čolić’s singing career, are still as popular as they ever were. To put his popularity into perspective, Čolić is the only vocalist from the region who is more easily compared with bigger names on the international music scene in terms of the number of concert performances over the course of his career. After his February 21^st concert in Frankfurt, concert was next welcomed with wild applause on March 8^th at an overcrowded, even if newly opened, arena in Zagreb. In March he also held a number of performances in Australia, including in Perth, Melbourne and Sidney. Concerts in Osijek and Zenica are planned for this month and on May 2^nd he will perform at a major concert in Paris.

Once again, this spring will be marked with plenty of concerts, both broadcast and live?

- Yes, not exactly like April in Belgrade, but pretty good nevertheless. After a pause of several years, I am happy to have once again had the opportunity to perform in Australia, where I also saw some friends living down under. Apart from emigrants from all parts of the former "Yugoslavia", there were also many Russians, Bulgarians and Greeks at the concert. It seems that they like my music because, like myself and the complete team of musicians, they really enjoyed every song.

There was a time when you served as a Jat promoter, and Jat Airways will also be the sponsor of your concert in the Olympia in Paris, whose stars have included the Beatles, the Stones and among former Yugoslav singers Olivera Katarina, Goran Bregović and Kusturica with his orchestra. It seems there is a special relationship between you and Jat?

- Jat helped me at the beginning of my career and helps me now as well, which pleases me very much. Somehow everything is easier when you know you have true friends around. Thanks to Jat AirLift, which organises group visits to the concert, we know that at the Paris concert we will be surrounded by fans from all parts of Europe and the Balkans. This really makes things easier and creates a relaxing atmosphere. Actually this is one of the characteristics of Jat that sets it apart from other companies.

What does this concert in Paris mean to you and what do you expect from it?

- For me all concerts are professional affairs but the concert in the Olympia will take me and the 35-member team on stage, from stringers to dancers, to a higher level and stimulate us, although Paris as a city is certainly inspiring. We will probably have something in the programme in the chamber style but also something more spectacular because only very few artists are invited to perform in this hall. Those who can have a concert in the Olympia must have acquired a career worthy of its image and I am really happy to be placed on the list of the famed artists who have performed there.

You frequently fly with Jat privately as well. Why so?

- Considering that my generation grew up parallel with Jat, my camaraderie with the company is simply indestructible. Whenever I fly, even if there is a cheaper flight than one on Jat, I choose Jat. I cannot forget that I have been flying with Jat since the 70s and that we were companions during my flights across Yugoslavia, Europe, and the world. Jat will always remain my air company regardless if new ones emerge, and certainly there will probably be new companies in in our skies in the future.

You perform in all the states of the former SFRY and in the Diaspora as well. Everywhere the public greets you with enthusiasm. How do you feel as someone who breaks all political and national barriers?

- It is simply my mission. I am happy that during all these years I have kept away from politics and remained my self. Indeed, why shouldn’t I? The same has been true with basketball players, football players, with films and other artists. Art, culture and sport always break barriers and I am just one among these people. I have performed in Zagreb three times and several times in other cities of the former Yugoslavia and everywhere the public has greeted me warmly, because they, like myself, are not interested in politics. It is of no importance that I live in Belgrade, because they know that I come with my songs and an honest performance. I also had a concert in Tirana, where I was welcomed in the best way. The same is true with the diaspora where I see people enjoying themselves together regardless of their nationality or political orientation. Simply, where there are no politics, I feel splendid and I manage to, let’s say, erase some negative barierrs.

What song would you single out as your favourite and which musicians do you find special?

- If I have to choose, then let it be You Weren’t Here Last Night, a song that affirmed me as an independent and professional singer. Of authors, besides Kemal Monteno, there are Arsen Dedić, Goran Bregović and Kornelije Kovač.

What were the bands and performers who in your opinion marked the pop-rock scene of the former Yugoslavia and left a permanent mark?

- I have a ready answer to this question. They are: the Korni Grupa, Indeksi, Bijelo Dugme, Buldožer, Parni Valjak, Atomsko Sklonište, Riblja Čorba, Ekaterina Velika, Bajaga and Instruktori and Leb and Sol. The singers include: Đorđe Balašević, Mišo Kovač, Arsen Dedić, Tereza Kesovija and Kemal Monteno.

When this concert spring is over, what do you plan to do?

- Already from May 8^th -24^th, we are on tour in the U.S. and Canada, and the last performance this year is planned for Mostar, in June. After that we have a pause, then we begin work on a new record. In a year, year and a half, we will be going on a new tour across Serbia. We will perform in cities in which we haven’t toured for quite some time. There will probably be a Belgrade concert, though the impressions from the last one, the third concert at Marakana in 2007, still lives in my mind and, I hope, also in the minds of those who were there.

Jat AirLift takes you to the concert in Paris   Jat AirLift offers four-day group arrangements (departures on April 30th and May 1st) for May 1st in Paris, with accommodation in hotels in the city centre at a walking distance from the Olympia, where on May 2nd 3,000 people will enjoy listening to Zdravko Čolić. The net costs of an arrangement range from Euro 385 and include three nights with breakfast, air transport, transfers from airport-hotel-airport, and organised sightseeing of landmarks in the city on the Seine. Jat’s Tour Operator offers a limited number of tickets for the concert in Paris at prices from Euro 35 to 55. For further information and booking pl.call +381 (0) 11 32 32 179/ 33 49 151 or contact us via e-mail airlift@jat.com or directly at the Air Lift Office near the St. Marko Church in Belgrade.