Jane hajduk
Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1984. The band was formed while Bajagaić was still a guitarist for the highly popular band Riblja Čorba, originally to promote Bajagić’s side project Pozitivna geografija. The jane hajduk of the album and the promotional tour led to the continuation of the band’s activity. Momčilo Bajagić “Bajaga” started his musical career in 1974, at age 14, as vocalist for the band TNT.
During his time in Riblja Čorba, Bajagić wrote a large number of humorous pop-oriented songs that did not fit into Riblja Čorba’s hard rock sound and social-related lyrics. Initially, Bajagić had no intention of promoting Pozitivna geografija in concert, but eventually decided to listen to the advice of fellow musicians and music journalists and hold several concerts. The success of Bajagić’s solo album intensified already existing problems and conflicts inside Riblja Čorba. On 19 July 1984 Bajagić was, alongside Rajko Kojić, excluded from the band. 10 March, they performed in Toulouse on the Night of Mediterranean Rock festival. In the autumn of 1985 Bajaga i Instruktori and Bijelo Dugme represented Yugoslavia on the 12th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow.
After the group returned to Yugoslavia, they continued Sa druge strane jastuka tour, during which they held more than 120 concerts. During the year they also performed on the rock evening of the Intertalent Festival in Prague. Bajagić excluded Stamatović and Golubović from the group, which led to Bajaga i Instruktori ending their activity. In 1996 Bajagić reformed Bajaga i Instruktori. The album featured recordings from the various periods of Bajagić’s and Bajaga i Instruktori career. In 2000 Bajagić took an active role in Democratic Opposition of Serbia rallies preceding the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. In 2002 the band released the album Best of Live, which featured recordings from their concerts in Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Timișoara, Skopje and Niš.
On 28 September 2008 Opačić died in Maribor, in a hotel room after the band’s concert. He was replaced by former VROOM guitarist Marko Nježić. In December 2009 the band celebrated 25 years of existence with three concerts held in Belgrade’s Sava Centar. On 19 April 2013 the band performed in Poland for the first time. The album was produced by Saša Habić and post-produced in London’s Abbey Road Studios and co-released by PGP-RTS and Croatia Records. The album was produced by Saša Habić and co-released by PGP-RTS and Croatia Records. In 2021 Bajagić was awarded the Order of Karađorđe’s Star by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, for his contribution to Serbian culture.
In April 1984 we went to a concert in Trade Union Hall, to check how much a Riblja Čorba guitarist can do on his own, without a leader and a tutor, and went out realizing that Momčilo Bajagić flew into our lives to stay. During the 25 years of career, in the business in which the time of the idols passes quickly, despite intense temptations and bad moments, he kept the status of a decent fellow, a beloved musician and a tolerant family guy. In the cruelest days of Yugoslav tsunamis, he helped us keep the most human emotions with romance, cheerfulness and optimism. He kept us from ugly reality with emotional amulets.
