Ranković was replaced by the actor Srđan Todorović, a former Disciplina Kičme became the new drummer, playing his first show on April 9, 1987, at the New Rock festival held at the La Locomotive club in Paris.
During spring of the same year, Ivan Ranković decided to leave EKV in order to form a new group Ulica Od Meseca with his old bandmates from Tvrdo Srce i Velike Uši. The band promoted the release of the live album in Belgrade during January 1987 and triumphed at Dom Omladine with six sold-out shows. With the hits “ Budi sam na ulici” (“Be Alone on the Street”), “ Ti si sav moj bol” (“You Are All My Anguish”), “ Novac u rukama” (“Money in the Hands”), and “ Kao da je bilo nekad” (“As If It Had Once Been”) came some lukewarm reviews from the critics complaining about the similarities to the works of the Simple Minds.Īfter the album release, the band toured extensively all over former Yugoslavia, and the recording of one of the five sold-out performances at the Zagreb club Kulušić, made on November 2, 1986, was released in early 1987 on the live album EKV 19LIVE!86. The album was produced by Milan Mladenović, Margita Stefanović and Dragan Čačinović, extensively using the E-mu Emulator II 8-bit sampler.
Towards the end of 1985, the new lineup released the third studio album S vetrom uz lice ( Faced Against the Wind), proving to be the breakthrough album that turned them into bona fide stars. Another memorable concert took place in Zagreb as part of Bolje vas našli Belgrade-Zagreb band exchange. Ekatarina Velika, featuring Massimo Savić and Karlowy Wary member Tomo in der Mühlen as guests, provided the band with its first hits, “ Oči boje meda” (“Honey Colored Eyes”), “ Modro i zeleno” (“Indigo and Green”) and “ Tattoo“.Īfter the album release, on March 22, 1985, they played outside of Yugoslavia for the first time, making a positive impression at Culture Days in Turin, Italy.
Due to constant SFR Yugoslavia-wide touring, with frequent stops in Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana, and occasional TV spots, the band’s popularity had gradually grown.Īt the beginning of the following year, the band recorded their second studio album, recorded at the Zagreb SIM studio and produced by Vladimir Smolec and the band members themselves.
Soon after the album release, the band went through more lineup changes. The tracks like “ Aut” (“Out”), “ Jesen” (“Autumn”), “ Radostan dan” (“A Joyful Day”), “ Treba da se čisti” (“It Ought To Be Cleaned”), “ Ja znam” (“I Know”) the band successfully linked Milan’s descriptive lyrical sensibility with the energetic New Wave sound. Katarina II debut album was eventually released in 1984, mostly featuring the lyrics written by Mladenović, except for the songs “ Vrt” (“The Garden”) and “ Platforme” (“The Platforms”) written by Mihajlović, while the music was a collaboration between the two. The following year in RTV Ljubljana studios, the band took the offer of fellow musician Srđan Marjanović, who was the label’s musical director at the time, to rerecord the material for the debut album. The recording sessions for the material were completed in the Druga Maca studio owned by Enco Lesić however, due to a variety of reasons, most of them having to do with the poor technical equipment, the material was unusable. Their material for the debut album material was recorded soon after, featuring guest appearance by the actor Svetislav Goncić on tin whistles. In the spring of 1983 the band took part in Zagreb Bienalle and received positive reviews. On early 1983, Bojan Pečar became the new band member. At the time, the rhythm section had changed, with Radomirović leaving to join Du Du A and Dejanović joining the heated rivals Disciplina Kičme.
During the late 1982, after the performance at the cinema Topčiderska zvezda, the band was joined by the classically trained pianist Margita Stefanović. Group was formed in 1982. The group’s core consisted of singer and guitarist Milan Mladenović, keyboardist Margita Stefanović and bassist Bojan Pečar, with other members mostly remaining for comparatively shorter periods.įollowing the disbandment of Šarlo Akrobata, in February 1982, Milan Mladenović (guitar, vocals) with Gagi Mihajlović (guitar), Dušan Dejanović (drums), and Zoran “Švaba” Radomirović (bass) formed the band Katarina II, named after Mihailović’s unrequited love, a girl named Katarina. EKV or EKATARINA VELIKA was a rock group in former Yugoslavija.ĮKV was one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia.