Living to be a hundred used to be a terrible hassle. Is that no longer the case? “When you're young, you don't have that sense of transience like we do now. I remember when they an- nounced that the Olympics would be held in Sarajevo and I calculated that I would be 37/38 at the time. I though “God, I'm going to be old, what do I care about that?’ And now, at this age, you start thinking, oh well – I guess those who knew how to live will also know how to die, that’s easier.” You don’t like celebrations, yet you decided to celebrate Bijelo Dugme’s 50 th birthday. Why? “In these times when everything is so short-lived and passes at lightning speed, something that still has value after 50 years deserves to be celebrated. Even if it wasn’t Bijelo Dugme, I’d still be happy to celebrate it. But as things stand, I’m glad to have created something that’s still alive after 50 years. That’s pretty rare in music. This achievement should be celebrated; we should take advantage of every opportunity to celebrate.” Bijelo Dugme, spiritual and film music, sym- phony orchestras, Cannes awards etc. Is there anything you didn’t manage to do over the past 50 years that you really wish for? “I think it would be arrogant to desire more than I’ve already miraculously received. I continue to work well, write well, even better than before. I try to write in such a way that my children are not ashamed.” We are bidding farewell to the year 2024 with this issue of Elevate. What would you wish for everyone who reads us while flying to some new adventures? What would you wish for yourself and your family? “To fly! There’s nothing more beautiful than flying. That pleasant feeling that you’ve managed to outfox grav- ity; that you've succeeded in leaving the earth beneath you. Despite the fact that I fly so much and have always flown a lot, that feeling doesn’t dissipate and brings me joy time and again. I wish for as much joy as possible for myself and others.”
following year. Philosophy teachers lectured on Marxism back then. And it was during that fourth year of stud- ies that I recorded the first Bijelo Dugme record. Fortu- nately! It’s better to be a star than to teach philosophy in secondary school (laughs).” The Hajduk’s Fountain concert, hits that are still sung today, the album cover at MoMA, your name on a plane... Is it possible for you to answer the question of what makes you feels the most pride? “I was very proud when I became president of Saraje- vo’s Boxing Club Željezničar. That was a huge honour for me, because those battlers, who fight according to strict rules and look each other in the eye, accepted me among their ranks. That was great recognition and I was extreme- ly proud of myself. I’m also proud of the hundreds of or- chestras from Serbia that head out to perform at wed- dings and parties every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I know that most of them, and perhaps all of them, play a few of my songs that will earn them some extra tips. And those tips will help a family and improve the lives of their children a little. I am sometimes proud of that.” How do you recall that young Goran of 50 years ago? “No one lived from music back then and we all played to an extent because girls liked guitarists. We were meant to deal with more serious matters sometime later. And it turned out that we were probably the first to demonstrate that it was possible to make a living playing rock’n’roll.” Did you ever dream of this kind of future? “Who could possibly have dreamt that all this would happen? The war changed the lives of all of us and di- vided them into pre- and post-war lives. I was given an opportunity to make a second fresh start. I remember when some Roma woman from Macedonia looked at my coffee cup and told me that I would be a star. By then I was already a major star in Yugoslavia, and it occurred to me that even Roma women no longer knew how to predict the future. However, I experienced a new career. I found myself in a new world because of the war and had to start over again. That was perhaps the best thing that happened to me, because every routine is still a routine, no matter how good it is. New beginnings are what’s beau- tiful, and I got the chance to begin again twice. And mir- acles happened in that second career just as they had in the first. My records went gold in ten European countries immediately. I sometimes think that I’m probably lucky”. The band’s original rock lineup embarked on the jubilee tour, with only Bebek and the members who’ve passed away missing. How’s the atmosphere backstage? Are there both tears and laughter? “We decided to play 50 concerts and everyone is re- ally looking forward to it. We might not play as well as we used to, but I sometimes have a strong sense that our class shines through and is audible. It’s like celebrating a graduation anniversary – there’s always someone with something to recount.”
Interview » Intervju | 33
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