Milan Mladenović
From Unearthing The Music
Milan Mladenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Младеновић; 21 September 1958 – 5 November 1994) was a Serbian musician best known as the frontman of the Yugoslav art rock band Ekatarina Velika.
Contents
Early life
Born to a Serbian father, Spasa, from Kruševac and a Croatian mother, Danica, from Makarska, Milan's first years were spent in Zagreb, PR Croatia, where his father, an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, was stationed at the time. Consequently, Milan grew up wherever his dad's job took the family.
When he was six, Milan's family moved to Sarajevo where he spent a notable part of his childhood.
Eventually in 1970, they moved to Belgrade just short of his 12th birthday. Once in Belgrade, Milan attended the Eleventh Belgrade Gymnasium in the Lekino Brdo neighbourhood while simultaneously entering a circle of young people involved with music and arts.
Musical career
Limunovo Drvo and Šarlo Akrobata
With his schoolmate Gagi Mihajlović, Mladenović formed a band called Limunovo drvo (Lemon Tree) that dabbled in melodic hard rock. The group changed line-ups frequently, until the arrival of bassist Dušan Kojić Koja and drummer Ivan Vdović Vd. Soon afterwards, they adopted a new musical direction (new wave) and changed the name to Šarlo akrobata. During this time Milan was musically very fond of and inspired by Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, and Andy Partridge of XTC.
Šarlo akrobata released only one album, Bistriji ili tuplji čovek biva kad... in July 1981 and broke up soon afterward due to creative differences between Milan and Koja. The record is considered to be one of the best and most important albums of the Yugoslav new wave music scene.
Katarina II and Ekatarina Velika
In late 1981 Milan and his former bandmate from Limunovo drvo, Gagi Mihajlović (guitar) came together again to form Katarina II. In 1982 Margita Stefanović (keyboards), Bojan Pečar (bass) and Ivan Vdović Vd joined the band. After the self-titled, new wave coloured debut album, Vd and Gagi left the band. Since Gagi claimed ownership of the "Katarina II" name, the band was forced to choose another one. They eventually settled on Ekatarina Velika and released a self-titled album in 1985. The album was widely critically acclaimed and brought them wider attention. Their next album S' vetrom uz lice launched them to the very top of the Yugoslav music scene, where they stayed for a long time, releasing a series of successful records. The concerts were jam packed and finally their music even made it on the state radio.
Final works
In 1992, Mladenović joined other Serbian musicians to form the Rimtutituki project dedicated to the anti-war campaign. They released one single titled "Slušaj 'vamo".[1] In the spring of 1994, Mladenović recorded and released an album called Angel's Breath in Brazil together with his old friend Suba (Mitar Subotić).
Death
In August 1994, Mladenović discovered that he had pancreatic cancer. He died on November 5 in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia and was buried at Novo groblje cemetery.
Legacy
Three streets in the capital cities of former Yugoslav republics bear Mladenović's name. A street in the Belgrade neighborhood Zemun Polje was named after him in 2004,[2][3] a street in the Podgorica neighborhood of Zabjelo in 2007,[4] as well as a street in Zagreb (Croatia) in 2012.[5]
Since 14 July 2011 the forecourt of the Belgrade Youth Center bears the name "Milan Mladenović Place".[6]
Studio discography
With Šarlo Akrobata
- Paket aranžman (1980) - with Električni orgazam and Idoli
- Bistriji ili tuplji čovek biva kad... (1981)
With Katarina II/Ekatarina Velika
- Katarina II (1984)
- Ekatarina Velika (1985)
- S' vetrom uz lice (1986)
- Ljubav (1987)
- Samo par godina za nas (1989)
- Dum Dum (1991)
- Neko nas posmatra (1993)
With Angel's Breath
- Angel's Breath (1994)
References
- Rimtuti Tuki at Discogs
- [1][dead link]
- "Neobavešteni, Kurir, Dec. 8, 2007". KJurir-stil.rs. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- "Ulica Milana Mladenovića - u Podgorici, MTSMondo, Dec. 29, 2007". Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- "Milan Mladenović dobit će ulicu u Zagrebu". Hot.net.hr. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Napokon, Trg Milana Mladenovića". Rts.rs. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
External links
- Ekatarina Velika On-Line - fansite (in Serbian)
- A friend from Osijek (in Croatian)
- Mladenović's grave at Belgrade Graveyards' website
- Mladenović's grave at Finde a grave' website
- Danas 13 godina od smrti Milana Mladenovića, Blic, November 5, 2007
- PRIČA O LIMUNOVOM DRVETU
- PRIČA O LIMUNOVOM DRVETU II
Text adapted from Wikipedia