Piloti (band)
Encyclopedia
Piloti is a Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

n rock
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...

 band from 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...

. Formed in 1981, and initially immersed in the Yugoslav New Wave scene, the band later moved towards mainstream pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...

, they came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s as one of the leading pop rock acts in former Yugoslavia. The band disbanded in 1997, only to be reformed in 2009 under the name Kiki Lesendrić
Kiki Lesendric
Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić is a Serbian rock musician, most notable as the founding member of the band Piloti....

 & Piloti
.

New Wave years (1981—1982)

The band was formed in 1981, by the former members of Kako, a band whose greatest claim to fame was appearing as one of the seven opening acts for 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...

 spectacular concert at the 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...

 JNA stadium in 1979. The inaugural lineup of Piloti was: Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić
Kiki Lesendric
Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić is a Serbian rock musician, most notable as the founding member of the band Piloti....

 (vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Dragan Andrić (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

), Goran Bogićević (guitar) and Nenad Antanasijević
Nenad Antanasijević
Nenad Antanasijević ANTANAS is a Serbian Multimedial Artist and Vintage Synthesizers Designer, most notable as first drums player of the band Piloti....

 (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

).
Their debut album Piloti (The Pilots) was released on August 27, 1981 by 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...

 and produced by the former Generacija 5
Generacija 5
Generacija 5 is a Serbian and former Yugoslav hard rock band from Belgrade.-1977—1982:...

 guitarist Dragan Jovanović. All of the tracks were composed and written by Lesandrić, with the exception of "Imam diplomu", "Svi smo mi ponekad anđeli" and "Veseli momci", co-written by Lesandrić and Goran Bogićević. Song "Ne veruj u idole" ("Don't Believe in Idols") became an instant hit, and was included on several New Wave compilation records.

After the success with their debut album, the followup, entitled Dvadeset godina (Twenty Years) was released on April 20, 1982 by PGP-RTB, and was produced by Saša Habić. All tracks were composed and written by Lesandrić including the minor hits "Dvadeset godina" ("Twenty Years"), "Noć u gradu" ("A Night in the City"), "Džoni je krenuo u rat" ("Johnny Went to War") and "Ja sam jurio za vetrom" ("I Have Chased the Wind"). During the late 1982, the band started working on their third album, Zvuci civilizacije (The Sounds of Civilisation), which was never released because of Lesandrić's army obligations, and the band went on hiatus.

Mainstream rock years (1984-1991)

Piloti re-assembled during the late 1984 with the entirely new line-up, featuring Kiki Lesendrić, as the only returnee from the original lineup, and the newly arrived Zoran "Ćera" Obradović (drums), Safet "Saja" Petrovac (guitar), and Miško Plavi, formerly of D' Boys
D' Boys
-1982 - 1985:The band was formed in 1982, consisting of two musicians: Peđa D'Boy and Miško Mihajlovski, who reportedly "played the drum machine" and percussion...

 (bass guitar).

The band's third album Kao ptica na mom dlanu (Like a Bird on My Palm) was released on May 25, 1987 by PGP-RTB and produced by Dušan Petrović "Šane". The author of all songs was Lesendrić, except for "Noć čeka nas" ("The Night Is Waiting for Us") which he co-wrote with Bogićević and "Pišem po zidu" ("I'm Writing on the Wall") with Ilija Stanković. A larfe number of musicians contributed to the album recording: Dejan Grujić (bass guitar), Darko Grujić (keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...

), Vlada Negovanović (guitar), Enco Lesić (keyboards), Valdet Šaćiri (keyboards), Jovan Maljoković (saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

), Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" (bass guitar), Bane Lesendrić (backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

), Oliver Mandić
Oliver Mandic
Oliver Mandić is a Serbian pop musician, composer, and producer - very prominent and popular throughout the 1980s.-Early biography:...

, Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga"
Momcilo Bajagic
Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" is a highly popular Serbian rock musician born in Bjelovar. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the hard rock band Riblja Čorba.-Early career:Bajagić started his musical career as a...

, Kornelije Kovač
Kornelije Kovac
Kornelije "Bata" Kovač is a famous Serbian composer. He is a father of Aleksandra Kovač and Kristina Kovač, both successful Serbian singers.-Early life:...

, Zana Nimani
Zana Nimani
Zana Nimani is a former singer from Serbia. She is an ethnic Albanian born in Belgrade. Throughout her carrier she sang in Serbian language and resided in Belgrade, and she was the first frontress of the prominent Yugoslav band Zana from 1980 to 1985 as well as a successful solo artist...

 and others. The greatest hit from this album was the title track, and other hit songs were "Kada sanjamo" ("When we Dream"), "Rekla je da u mojoj glavi čuje gitare i bubnjeve" ("She Said She Heard Guitars and Drums in My Head") and "Devojka bez imena" ("A Girl with no Name").

The fourth album Osmeh letnje noći (A Midsummer Night Smile) was published on May 11, 1988 by PGP-RTB, and produced by the band themselves for the first time. The author of all the songs was Lesandrić. Musicians who contributed to this album were Saša Lokner (keyboards), Bane Lesendrić (backing vocals), Viktorija
Viktorija
Snežana Mišković , better known by her stage name Viktorija , is a Serbian female rock singer known for her husky voice.-Biography:Snežana Mišković was born in Vučitrn. She came to Belgrade as a student in 1976, where she started performing with Society of Culture and Arts Branko Krsmanović and the...

 (backing vocals in song "Sa tvoje strane ulice") and Zoran Vračević (percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

). The greatest hit from this album was "Leto" ("Summer") and minor hits were "Ako misliš da sam tužan" ("If You Think I'm Sad") and "Ona" ("She"). During 1989, guitarist Petrovac left the band and Bane Lesandrić, Kiki's brother joined.

The fifth album Neka te Bog čuva za mene (May God Save You for Me) was published on March 29, 1990 for PGP-RTB in band's production. The author of songs was Kiki, except for "Jedino što nam ostaje" ("The Only Thing Left") (a cover of Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...

) and "Tiho, tiho" ("Silently, Silently") by Bane Lesandrić. 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...

 contributed to this album by playing the keyboards on two songs. The special guests were 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...

 (Guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...

 on "Tiho, tiho"), Jovan Maljoković (saxophone), Darko Grujić (backing vocals) and Zana
Zana (band)
Zana is a popular music group from Belgrade, Serbia, which was especially successful during the 1980s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Early years:...

 vocalist Jelena Galonić (backing vocals). The greatest hit from the album was "Tajna je u tebi skrivena" ("The Secret Is Hidden inside You") and minor hits were "Tiho, tiho" and "Neka te bog čuva za mene". The following year, on August 22, 1991 PGP-RTB published Piloti's Greatest Hits album.

Commercial peak, disbandment (1993-1997)

In 1993 Piloti published the soundtrack for the movie Zaboravljeni (The Forgotten Ones) for PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS is a major record label based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a successor of PGP-RTB which was established in 1958 in Belgrade, then capital of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

. The songs were written by Lesandrić, Marina Tucaković
Marina Tucaković
Marina Tucaković is a Serbian songwriter who has composed several hit albums in former Yugoslavia. She is a known collaborator with Ceca, Lepa Brena, Jelena Karleusa among others...

, Goran Bregović (the track "Spavaju li oči nebeske" ("Do the Eyes in the Sky Sleep")) and Laza Ristovski (the title track). Guests on the album were Goran Bregović, Marko Nafta, Nenad Stefanović "Japanac", Bata Božanić and others. The album brought their greatest hit "Zaboravljeni", and other two hits were "Čini mi se da" ("It Seems to Me") and "Kao da je mesec stao za nas dvoje" ("As if the Moon Had Stopped for Us Two").

Between 1993 and 1996, Piloti were on hiatus while Kiki Lesendrić worked with many Serbian artists. The band was back on stage in 1996 for the Budva Summer Festival with the song "Neverna si" ("You Are Unfaithful") and in November 1996 Komuna
Komuna Belgrade
Komuna is a Serbian record label and media production house. Established in 1985, its headquarters are in Belgrade, Serbia with a branch office Budva, Montenegro...

 published their last album Dan koji prolazi zauvek (A Day which Is Passing Forever) produced by Kiki Lesendrić and Igor Borojević. All songs were composed by Kiki and Zoran Babović. Guests were Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" (bass guitar), Nenad Jelić (percussions, vocal), Ana Popović
Ana Popovic
Ana Popović is a Serbian blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:Ana Popović's father first introduced her to the blues, through an extensive record collection and sessions hosted at the family home. Popović founded her first band at age nineteen...

 (guitar), Goran Bregović, Maksa Ćatović
Maksa Catovic
Maksa Catovic is a film producer who used to be the President of Komuna Belgrade, Serbia.Maksa Catovic was born October 9, 1950 in Despotovac, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia....

, Aca Milenković, Miša Amadeus and others. Minor hits from this album were "Neverna si" and "Dan koji prolazi zauvek". The band was dissolved in 1997, and Bread Ventures Records published the greatest hits album Ne veruj u idole the same year.

Kiki Lesendrić & Piloti (2009-present)

Having released his debut solo album, the 2008 Mesec na vratima (The Moon at the Door), Lesendrić started a promotional tour, Svet je lep kada sanjamo (The World Is Beautiful when We Dream), during which he started performing as Kiki Lesendrić & Piloti. During the same year, PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS is a major record label based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a successor of PGP-RTB which was established in 1958 in Belgrade, then capital of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

 released the greatest hits compilation album Najveći hitovi.

The band performed a 22-date tour of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The recordings of the 2009 Belgrade Beer Fest
Belgrade Beer Fest
Belgrade Beer Fest is an annual festival of beer in Belgrade, Serbia. Started in 2003, the festival is held annually over 4 to 5 days as a showcase event for various beer producers. In addition to domestic and foreign brews, the festival features live music performances each evening...

 and Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

 Spens Sports Center
Spens Sports Center
SPC Vojvodina , commonly referred to as SPENS, is a multi-purpose venue located in Novi Sad, Serbia. It operates under publicly owned company JP "Sportski i poslovni centar Vojvodina", which in addition to SPENS also has "Sajmište Sports Center" under its umbrella...

 performances were released on a live album and DVD released in 2010 as Svet je lep kada sanjamo - turneja 2009

Studio albums

  • Piloti (1981)
  • Dvadeset godina (1982)
  • Kao ptica na mom dlanu (1987)
  • Osmeh letnje noći (1988)
  • Neka te bog čuva za mene (1990)
  • Zaboravljeni (1993)
  • Dan koji prolazi zauvek (1996)

Compilation albums

  • Najveći hitovi 1981-1991 (1991)
  • Ne veruj u idole - Kompilacija (1997)
  • Najveći hitovi (2009)

Video albums

  • Svet je lep kada sanjamo - turneja 2009 (as Kiki Lesendrić & Piloti, 2010)

External links

  • Kiki Lesendrić & Piloti official site
  • Piloti at Discogs
    Discogs
    Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...

  • Lyrics on Svaštara
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