Ipe Ivandic
Encyclopedia
Goran "Ipe" Ivandić was a former Yugoslav rock
drummer, famous for his work with the band Bijelo Dugme
.
. He moved to Sarajevo
as a young boy. While in elementary school, Ivandić also attended violin
classes on the side, but after final exam abruptly decided he didn't want to "bother with the instrument any longer".
His next musical engagement of note came in 1970 when, along with some friends, Ivandić founded a music section within the Boško Buha youth centre simply because it was willing to provide free instruments. They named their band Crossroads with Ivandić playing the drums. With the band taking up most of his free time, he started neglecting school and as a result flunked the second grade of gymnasium
and had to repeat it. He soon switched to part-time secondary education.
as part of the band called Moby Dick.
After getting back to Sarajevo, he started receiving plenty of offers from groups looking for a drummer and decided to join the band called Rock. They also featured organist Gabor Lenđel who would later in 1974 found the hard rock
band Teška Industrija on the ashes of Rock.
bandleader Goran Bregović
became aware of him during late summer 1973. Seeking a replacement for Šento Borovčanin, Bregović immediately invited Ivandić to join Jutro, which Ivandić accepted. Ivandić thus began the first of his three stints with what would soon become the most popular band in SFR Yugoslavia. Several months later, on New Year's Eve 1974, Jutro changed its name to Bijelo Dugme
.
After recording two hugely successful albums Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme
and Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu
, as well as playing the accompanying tours, Ivandić received an early call up to serve the mandatory Yugoslav People's Army
stint in October 1976. The call up came at the most inopportune time as the band was getting ready to start recording their third album
, but Ivandić had to go nonetheless. Still 20 years old at the time, he was assigned to a unit stationed in capital city Belgrade
. His replacement in the band was Bregović's old companion Milić Vukašinović
. Ivandić rejoined the band immediately after getting back from the army in mid 1977 (he was actually discharged early due to being pronounced "temporarily unable to serve").
He rejoined the band at the time when it was mired in deep personality clashes in the middle of a disastrous tour featuring problems with equipment, sound and organizational issues.
serving his army stint, Ivandić and Bijelo Dugme keyboardist Laza Ristovski
started working on their own project - the album titled Stižemo with their act named Laza i Ipe. The material composed by Ristovski, arranged by Ipe, with lyrics written by Ranko Boban was recorded in London
throughout February and March 1978 featuring Ivandić, his sister Gordana Ivandić and Goran Kovačević on vocals, Leb i Sol
leader Vlatko Stefanovski
on guitar, Zlatko Hold on bass, and Ristovski on keyboards. However, the release date kept getting pushed back due to financing issues as they had problems convincing the record label Jugoton
to cover their expenses.
Simultaneously, when Bregović would come home to Sarajevo on his army leaves, the duo along with Bijelo Dugme singer Željko Bebek
initiated many discussions as they wanted things inside the band to be handled differently going forward. Most of the issues they brought up boiled down to writing credits and subsequent revenue sharing. Dissatisfied with Bregović's flat rejection of their demands, the two abandoned the band altogether in late July 1978 in order to fully commit to their new project.
Back on the side project front, the money issues with Jugoton were solved by taking the material over to ZKP RTLJ
label while some of the money was obtained through Bijelo Dugme bandmate Zoran Redžić
. The album Stižemo ended up being promoted very ambitiously with high quality press material. It was also the first time in Yugoslavia that an album's release date was publicly announced in advance - a widely used practice at the time was to release an album and then promote it when it is already in stores.
Then on September 10, 1978, the day of the album release, while entering his apartment building in Sarajevo, coming back from a walk with his girlfriend, 22-year-old Ivandić was arrested by a plain clothes policeman who said he is taking him in for some questions. In a couple of hours Ivandić was set to leave for Belgrade where Laza was waiting so they can do promotional activities for the album. Ivandić was charged with a series of drug offenses along with other individuals. He thus began a long court battle and most of his musical activities got pushed to the back burner. He even sold his drum kit and went back to studies, passing a few exams at the University of Sarajevo
's Faculty of Political Sciences where he had been enrolled in the journalism program. However, he soon came back to play drums on the 1979 album Gorim od želje da ubijem noć by 22-year-old debutante Slađana Milošević - the recording sessions were held in PGP-RTB
's studios in Belgrade.
Eventually, Ivandić was sentenced by the three-person council of the District Court in Sarajevo presided over by judge Husein Hubijer to 3 and a half years in prison for "possession of hashish
and enabling others to use narcotics". Also sentenced by the council on the same occasion for the same charge were Goran Kovačević to year and a half, Ranko Boban to 1 year, as well as Zlatko Hold to six months for obstruction of justice. Ivandić appealed the verdict, and his sentence was reduced to 3 years by the Supreme Court of SR Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He began serving his punishment at the Zenica correctional facility. On February 17, 1981, he got transferred to another prison, in Foča
, before getting pardoned some year and a half later for Republic Day 1982 (November 29).
in late December 1982 thus beginning his third stint with the band that lasted until 1989, when the band dissolved.
During mid 1980s he also recorded two albums, Kakav divan dan and Igre slobode, with his long-time girlfriend Amila Sulejmanović. After the albums' recording Amila moved to London while Ivandić stopped all side projects and devoted fully to Bijelo Dugme.
It is unclear where he lived after the war started. Most say that he lived in Belgrade
but in a 1994 interview for Croatian weekly Globus (conducted days after Ivandić's death), Željko Bebek
states Ivandić lived in Vienna
, at least at the time they last talked.
On January 13, 1994, Ivandić fell from the 6th floor of Belgrade
's Metropol Hotel
and died. It is generally believed that it was a suicide, but Bebek in the same interview says he has trouble believing it based on his prior knowledge of Ivandić and his habits.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
drummer, famous for his work with the band Bijelo Dugme
Bijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
.
Early years
Ivandić was born in the central Bosnian town of VarešVareš
Vareš is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, famous for the local mining activities and production of iron. It is part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-About Vareš:...
. He moved to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
as a young boy. While in elementary school, Ivandić also attended violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
classes on the side, but after final exam abruptly decided he didn't want to "bother with the instrument any longer".
His next musical engagement of note came in 1970 when, along with some friends, Ivandić founded a music section within the Boško Buha youth centre simply because it was willing to provide free instruments. They named their band Crossroads with Ivandić playing the drums. With the band taking up most of his free time, he started neglecting school and as a result flunked the second grade of gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and had to repeat it. He soon switched to part-time secondary education.
Early career
In June 1972, Ivandić went on a three-month summer gig in TrpanjTrpanj
Trpanj , is a town and municipality of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in south-eastern Croatia. According to the 2001 census, Trpanj has a population of 871. Croats make up 93.11% of the population.-Etymology:...
as part of the band called Moby Dick.
After getting back to Sarajevo, he started receiving plenty of offers from groups looking for a drummer and decided to join the band called Rock. They also featured organist Gabor Lenđel who would later in 1974 found the hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Teška Industrija on the ashes of Rock.
Jutro and Bijelo Dugme
Ivandić was still the drummer in Rock when JutroJutro
Jutro was a Sarajevo-based rock band most notable as the immediate predecessor to Bijelo dugme. It existed from late 1971 to the very end of 1973 when it transformed into probably the most popular rock band to come out of former Yugoslavia – Bijelo dugme.Jutro was formed on the initiative by Ismet...
bandleader Goran Bregović
Goran Bregovic
Goran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...
became aware of him during late summer 1973. Seeking a replacement for Šento Borovčanin, Bregović immediately invited Ivandić to join Jutro, which Ivandić accepted. Ivandić thus began the first of his three stints with what would soon become the most popular band in SFR Yugoslavia. Several months later, on New Year's Eve 1974, Jutro changed its name to Bijelo Dugme
Bijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
.
After recording two hugely successful albums Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme
Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme
Kad bi bio bijelo dugme is the 1974 debut studio album from influential former Yugoslav rock band Bijelo dugme. Together with their second album, Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu, Kad bi bio bijelo dugme is considered the most Heavy metal-oriented album of their 16 year career...
and Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu
Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu
Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu is the second studio album from influential former Yugoslav rock band Bijelo dugme, released in 1975. The album is a continuation of the band's early folkish hard rock sound that was featured on their debut album Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme, again incorporating folk...
, as well as playing the accompanying tours, Ivandić received an early call up to serve the mandatory Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
stint in October 1976. The call up came at the most inopportune time as the band was getting ready to start recording their third album
Eto! Baš hocu!
Eto! Baš hoću! is the third studio album released by Yugoslav rock band Bijelo dugme.Eto! Baš hoću! continues Bijelo dugme's early folkish hard rock style, although it is on this album that Goran Bregović began to react to changing trends in rock music by slowly shedding the band's heavy metal...
, but Ivandić had to go nonetheless. Still 20 years old at the time, he was assigned to a unit stationed in capital city Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. His replacement in the band was Bregović's old companion Milić Vukašinović
Milic Vukašinovic
Milić Vukašinović, a.k.a. Mitch Valiant is a musician from Serbia of Yugoslavian ethnicity. He was the founder of the rock band Vatreni Poljubac and drummer of the famous Yugoslav band Bijelo dugme.Born in Belgrade, he moved with his family to Peć when he was 6 years old...
. Ivandić rejoined the band immediately after getting back from the army in mid 1977 (he was actually discharged early due to being pronounced "temporarily unable to serve").
He rejoined the band at the time when it was mired in deep personality clashes in the middle of a disastrous tour featuring problems with equipment, sound and organizational issues.
Side project with Laza Ristovski, leaving Bijelo Dugme, and drug bust
In 1978 while Bijelo Dugme was on hiatus because band leader Bregović was away in NišNiš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
serving his army stint, Ivandić and Bijelo Dugme keyboardist Laza Ristovski
Laza Ristovski
Laza Ristovski was a Serbian and former Yugoslav keyboardist, best known for his involvement with Smak and Bijelo Dugme rock bands, as well as for his eclectic solo work that spawned many different musical genres.-Biography:Laza Ristovski was born in Novi Pazar as his father, a JNA officer, was...
started working on their own project - the album titled Stižemo with their act named Laza i Ipe. The material composed by Ristovski, arranged by Ipe, with lyrics written by Ranko Boban was recorded in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
throughout February and March 1978 featuring Ivandić, his sister Gordana Ivandić and Goran Kovačević on vocals, Leb i Sol
Leb i sol
Leb i sol is a Macedonian rock group founded in the 1970s by Vlatko Stefanovski , Bodan Arsovski , Nikola Kokan Dimuševski and Garabet Tavitjan . Tavitjan ceded the drumwork to Dragoljub Đuričić for some of the albums, while Kiril Džajkovski replaced Kokan on Kao Kakao and Putujemo...
leader Vlatko Stefanovski
Vlatko Stefanovski
Vlatko Stefanovski is Macedonian ethno-rock jazz fusion guitar player.-Biography:Born in Prilep in 1957, he started playing guitar at the age of 13. Stefanovski was one of the founding members of Leb i sol with whom he recorded 13 albums between 1978 and 1991...
on guitar, Zlatko Hold on bass, and Ristovski on keyboards. However, the release date kept getting pushed back due to financing issues as they had problems convincing the record label Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
to cover their expenses.
Simultaneously, when Bregović would come home to Sarajevo on his army leaves, the duo along with Bijelo Dugme singer Željko Bebek
Željko Bebek
Želimir "Željko" Bebek is a popular Bosnian Croat singer most notable for being the lead vocalist of Bijelo dugme from 1974 to 1984....
initiated many discussions as they wanted things inside the band to be handled differently going forward. Most of the issues they brought up boiled down to writing credits and subsequent revenue sharing. Dissatisfied with Bregović's flat rejection of their demands, the two abandoned the band altogether in late July 1978 in order to fully commit to their new project.
Back on the side project front, the money issues with Jugoton were solved by taking the material over to ZKP RTLJ
ZKP RTLJ
Založba kaset in plošč RTV Ljubljana or Založba kaset in plošč Radiotelevizije Ljubljana , was a major record label based in Ljubljana, Socialist Republic of Slovenia, during the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
label while some of the money was obtained through Bijelo Dugme bandmate Zoran Redžić
Zoran Redžic
Zoran Redžić is a Bosnian musician, best known for playing the bass guitar in the popular Yugoslav rock band Bijelo Dugme....
. The album Stižemo ended up being promoted very ambitiously with high quality press material. It was also the first time in Yugoslavia that an album's release date was publicly announced in advance - a widely used practice at the time was to release an album and then promote it when it is already in stores.
Then on September 10, 1978, the day of the album release, while entering his apartment building in Sarajevo, coming back from a walk with his girlfriend, 22-year-old Ivandić was arrested by a plain clothes policeman who said he is taking him in for some questions. In a couple of hours Ivandić was set to leave for Belgrade where Laza was waiting so they can do promotional activities for the album. Ivandić was charged with a series of drug offenses along with other individuals. He thus began a long court battle and most of his musical activities got pushed to the back burner. He even sold his drum kit and went back to studies, passing a few exams at the University of Sarajevo
University of Sarajevo
The University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
's Faculty of Political Sciences where he had been enrolled in the journalism program. However, he soon came back to play drums on the 1979 album Gorim od želje da ubijem noć by 22-year-old debutante Slađana Milošević - the recording sessions were held in PGP-RTB
PGP-RTB
PGP-RTB was a major record label and chain record store in the former SFR Yugoslavia based in Belgrade, Socialist Republic of Serbia. PGP-RTB was established in 1958...
's studios in Belgrade.
Eventually, Ivandić was sentenced by the three-person council of the District Court in Sarajevo presided over by judge Husein Hubijer to 3 and a half years in prison for "possession of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
and enabling others to use narcotics". Also sentenced by the council on the same occasion for the same charge were Goran Kovačević to year and a half, Ranko Boban to 1 year, as well as Zlatko Hold to six months for obstruction of justice. Ivandić appealed the verdict, and his sentence was reduced to 3 years by the Supreme Court of SR Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He began serving his punishment at the Zenica correctional facility. On February 17, 1981, he got transferred to another prison, in Foča
Foca
Foča is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, in the Foča Region of the Republika Srpska entity.-Early history:...
, before getting pardoned some year and a half later for Republic Day 1982 (November 29).
Return to Dugme
After being freed, he rejoined Bijelo DugmeBijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
in late December 1982 thus beginning his third stint with the band that lasted until 1989, when the band dissolved.
During mid 1980s he also recorded two albums, Kakav divan dan and Igre slobode, with his long-time girlfriend Amila Sulejmanović. After the albums' recording Amila moved to London while Ivandić stopped all side projects and devoted fully to Bijelo Dugme.
It is unclear where he lived after the war started. Most say that he lived in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
but in a 1994 interview for Croatian weekly Globus (conducted days after Ivandić's death), Željko Bebek
Željko Bebek
Želimir "Željko" Bebek is a popular Bosnian Croat singer most notable for being the lead vocalist of Bijelo dugme from 1974 to 1984....
states Ivandić lived in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, at least at the time they last talked.
On January 13, 1994, Ivandić fell from the 6th floor of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
's Metropol Hotel
Metropol Hotel Belgrade
The Hotel Metropol Palace is one of Belgrade's tourist symbols and architectural monuments. It opened in 1961 on Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, the longest street in the urban part of the city, designed by Serbian architect Dragiša Brašovan...
and died. It is generally believed that it was a suicide, but Bebek in the same interview says he has trouble believing it based on his prior knowledge of Ivandić and his habits.
External links
- Web Site set up in his honour
- U pripremi dokumentarni film o članu „Bjelog dugmeta“, Blic, January 17, 2009