Novi fosili

Novi Fosili
Group members from 1981 left to right; Rajko Dujmić, Slobodan Momčilović, Đurđica Barilović, Marinko Colnago and Vladimir Kočiš Zec.
Background information
Also known as	The New Fossils
Genres	Pop rock
Years active	1969–2024
Labels	Jugoton, Croatia Records
Members	Vladimir Kočiš Zec, Marinko Colnago, Sanja Doležal
Past members	Đurđica Barlović, Nenad Šarić, Rajko Dujmić, Jelena Fošner, Vladimir Pavelić, Nataša Belšović, Slobodan Momčilović

Novi Fosili (English: The New Fossils) is a Croatian pop band, one of the most popular music acts in the former Yugoslavia.

Often regarded as: "The Croatian ABBA", because of their bright and fun songs for children and young people, love ballads with urban lyrics with sing-along choruses and contemporary arrangements, the group was phenomenon of Yugoslavian Pop music from late 70s until late 80s when they were at the peak of their fame.

As a group, they released 29 studio albums, which have sold millions of copies and they are considered one of the best selling musicians in former Yugoslavia.

History

Forming and naming (1969 – 1977)

The group was formed in Zagreb in 1969, when the drummer Slobodan Momčilović, who, after many years in the supporting bands of famous music stars of the time, invited his bassist (from then at the time band: "Kennedy Boys") Marinko Colnago, to join the new band. The name of the group, Novi fosili, was given by Croatian singer-songwriter and composer Arsen Dedić, who once told them: “Guys, you're already very old, call yourself New Fossils (Novi fosili)! ”. Along with Momčilović and Colnago, the original line-up also included keyboardist Slavomir Cvija and guitarist Milan Čale Čale, and they left behind 13 singles and one LP from 1974, simply called “Novi fosili”. At the turn of 1976 and 1977, the band, along with guitarist Zoran Vlaović, was joined by 22-year-old Rajko Dujmić. That same year, Novi Fosili played at the Split Festival, where their song "Diridonda" soon became a hit throughout the country. Their next several albums sold millions of copies and delivered many hits that are still aired on radios in Croatia today.

Novi fosili with Đurđica Barlović (1977 – 1982)

After several unsuccessful attempts with female vocalists, in 1976, the band was finally joined by a young singer from Split, Đurđica Barlović, with experience she had gained singing in the group "Batali". She was a student of construction school in Split, and was more interested in music. She took piano and guitar lessons by Croatian composer Đeki Srbljenović. In May 1977, Vladimir Kočiš Zec joined the band instead of Vlaović, although not everything went smoothly: - “Marinko, Moka and Rajko invited me to a café because they needed a singer and guitarist. I flatly refused their offer because they were known as a ‘corny band’. They had the hit ‘Sjedi, Ćiro, navrh grane’ and such nonsense, but, I needed money for my family and after a week I called them and confirmed that I was coming”, recalls Zec.

After the collaboration with Zdenko Runjić (“Diridonda”, Split, 1977), “Tko visoko diže nos” by composer Andrej Baša from Zagrebfest followed, on the B-side of which, despite the protests of Jugoton editors, Dujmić’s “Sanjaj me” (“Dream of me”) was founded, co-authored with Dea Volarić. In 1978, they released second album and first album with Đurđica Barilović as main vocalist: “Da te ne volim” (“That I don't love you”). The homonymous song from the album “Da te ne volim” has sold in 65,000 copies, while the album has reached the circulation of 170,000 copies. Dujmić, along with a number of collaborators, is responsible for the band's impressive string of hits, from the aforementioned “Sanjaj me” (“Dream of me”) to “Saša”, “Da te ne volim” (“That I don't love you”), “Najdraže moje” (“My dearest”), to “Šuti moj dječače plavi” (“Be quiet, my blue boy”), “Tonka” and others, earning the band comparisons to the Swedish ABBA. In 1980 they released the third album titled: “Nedovršene priče” (“Unfinished stories”), with hits like: “Nikad više staro vino” (“Never again old wine”), “Šuti moj dječače plavi” (“Be quiet, my blue boy”). They also had notable performances at foreign competitions in Dresden and Bratislava. They became one of the most popular bands in the former country, and were chosen as the band of the year on several occasions. Their concert repertoire consists exclusively of their own songs, mostly by Dujmić. During that time, they released about 15 singles and 6 LPs. This was followed by tours of the then Soviet Union, United States of America, Canada and the countries of Europe. In 1981, they released the album “Budi uvijek blizu” (“Always be close”), which has sold over 712,000 copies and is one of the best selling albums in Yugoslavia.

Hits include: "Za dobra stara vremena" ("For good old times"), "Milena", "Sanjaj me" ("Dream of me"), and others. The band represented Yugoslavia at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest. With their song "Ja sam za ples" ("I wanna dance") they finished fourth.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the group was disbanded, only to reconvene without Doležal and Zec. It was disbanded again in 2001. Members of the most memorable lineup gathered again in 2005 for some revival concerts. In 2014, scandals arose surrounding Dujmićs long time drug use, causing him to be expelled from the group. The remaining members still hold small revival concerts.

Albums

1. Novi fosili - 1974
2. Da te ne volim - 1978
3. Nedovršene priče - 1980
4. Budi uvijek blizu - 1981
5. Hitovi sa singl ploča - 1981
6. Za djecu i odrasle - 1982
7. Volim te od 9 do 2 i drugi veliki hitovi - 1983
8. Poslije Svega - 1983
9. Tvoje i moje godine - 1985
10. Za dobra stara vremena - 1986
11. Dijete sreće - 1987
12. Poziv na ples - 1987
13. Nebeske kočije - 1988
14. Obriši suze, generacijo - 1989
15. Djeca ljubavi - 1990
16. Druge Godine - 1995
17. Bijele suze padaju na grad - 1997
18. Ljubav koja nema kraj - 1998
19. Jesen - 1999
20. Za dobra stara vremena (kompilacija) (together with Srebrna krila) - 2001
21. Za dobra stara vremena (kompilacija) - 2005

Sources

• Novi fosili (in Croatian)