Opus ( sr-cyr, Опус) was a Yugoslav

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band formed in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1973. Opus was a prominent act of the 1970s

Yugoslav rock scene Popular music in Yugoslavia includes the pop and rock music of the former SFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included the constituent republics: SR Slovenia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Montenegr ...

. Formed and led by former YU Grupa keyboardist Miodrag "Mive" Okrugić, the band went through several lineup changes, its various lineups featuring notable musicians like guitarist Miodrag "Bata" Kostić, vocalist

Dušan Prelević Dušan Prelević "Prele" (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Прелевић Преле; 11 November 1948 – 28 July 2007) was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer, journalist and writer. Prelević was widely known for his raspy voice, his transgressive p ...

and guitarist Vidoja "Džindžer" Božinović. The band released only one studio album, ending their activity in 1979.

Band history

The band's leader, keyboardist Miodrag "Mive Okrugić", started his career in the 1960s, playing in the bands Beduini (''The Bedouins'' ), Beat Quintet, and Duka i Čavke (''Duka and the Jackdaws''), before being invited to join the newly-formed YU Grupa in 1970."Zaboravljeni albumi: Opus - 'Opus 1' (Diskos 1975.), super-grupa koja je uglavnom bila 'na čekanju'", Goran Živanović, Telegraf.rs
/ref> After only a year spent with the band, Okrugić left YU Grupa to form his own group. However, his plans were interrupted as he was drafted to serve his mandatory stint in the Yugoslav army. After serving his army stint, in 1973, Okrugić formed Opus with guitarist Miodrag "Bata" Kostić (a former Terusi and YU Grupa member), bass guitarist Dušan Ćućuz (a former

Džentlmeni Džentlmeni ( sr-Cyrl, Џентлмени, lit=The Gentlemen) were a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1966. A year after the formation, the band split into two factions. The first faction featured original rhythm guitarist Milan Buza, a ...

member) and drummer Velibor "Boka" Boganović (a former YU Grupa member). The band chose their name after the song "Opus No. 1", which was written by Okrugić's during his work with YU Grupa. The song was often performed live by YU Grupa, but never recorded. The band had only one performance in this lineup, on 11 November 1973, on the concert which was a part of the radio show ''Veče uz radio'' (''Evening by the Radio'') fifth anniversary celebration. Kostić returned to YU Grupa only several weeks after Opus live debut, and was replaced by Ljuba Sedlar, a former member of the bands Plamenih 5, Vizije (''The Visions''),

Siluete Siluete ( sr-cyr, Силуете, trans. ''The Silhouettes'') were a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1961. They were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav rock scene. Soon after the formation, Siluete, fronted by charismatic ...

, 3UP and Super Grupi (''Super Groupie''). The new lineup recorded the

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

single "Veče" ("Evening") and "Sam" ("Alone"). However, the group soon disbanded, Ćućuz forming the

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

band Tako. In 1975, Okrugić reformed Opus. The new lineup featured bass guitarist Slobodan Orlić, formerly of Plamenih 5, Siluete, Bitnici (''The Beatniks'') and Moira, drummer Ljubomir Jerković and vocalist

, formerly of

Korni Grupa Korni Grupa ( sr-cyr, Корни Група, trans. ''Korni Group'') was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1968. Launched and led by, as well as named after, the keyboardist Kornelije Kovač, the band was one of the first Yugoslav ro ...

. This lineup released the album '' Opus 1''. The album, released in luxurious sleeve designed by Dragan S. Stefanović, featured

-oriented songs. It featured "Opus No. 1", renamed to "Opus \ Žena tame" ("Opus \ Woman of Darkness"), the songs "Dolina bisera" ("Valley of Pearls") and "Viđenje po Grigu" ("Seeing by

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

"), released on a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

, and the song "Memento Mori", which featured

Dah Dah or DAH may refer to: * Morse code symbol * Dah, Ivory Coast, a village in Montagnes District * Dah, Ladakh, a village in Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dah, Mali, a town in Ségou Region * Dah (band), former Yugoslav/Belgian band * Air Algérie (IC ...

frontman

Zlatko Manojlović Zlatko Manojlović ( Serbian Cyrillic: Златко Манојловић; born 1951), also known internationally as Zed Mitchell, is a Serbian and Yugoslav guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, currently based in Germany. Manojlović rose to prom ...

as guest vocalist. However, the album was not well received, as Yugoslav music critics expected more from the band on the basis of their live performances, and Opus disbanded once again. In 1977, Okrugić once again reformed Opus. The lineup featured Okrugić, Orlić, Želimir Vasić (drums) and Milan Matić (guitar). After the reunion, the band released the single "Ne dam da budeš srećna" ("I Won't Let You Be Happy") and went through numerous lineup changes. The last lineup featured Okrugić, Orlić, Vladan Dokić (drums), Zoran Dašić (guitar), Vidoja "Džindžer" Božinović (a former

Pop Mašina Pop Mašina ( sr-cyr, Поп Машина; trans. ''Pop Machine'') was a SFRY, Yugoslav progressive rock band formed in Belgrade in 1972. The group blended hard rock sound with blues, psychedelic rock, psychedelic and acid rock elements and is co ...

member, guitar), and Dragan Baletić (a former

Crni Biseri Crni Biseri ( sr-cyr, Црни Бисери, trans. ''The Black Pearls'') were a SFRY, Yugoslav rock music, rock band formed in Belgrade in 1963, notable as one of the pioneers of the Popular music in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, ...

member, vocals). The last lineup of the band recorded three songs for the needs of

Radio Belgrade Radio Belgrade (, ) is a state-owned and operated radio station in Belgrade, Serbia. It has four different programs (Radio Belgrade 1, Radio Belgrade 2, Radio Belgrade 3, and Radio Belgrade 202), a precious archive of several hundreds of thousa ...

, Okrugić's compositions "Vizionar" ("Visionary") and "Imala je sive i poštene oči" ("She Had Grey and Honest Eyes") and a cover of

traditional song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has been ...

"Poji Mile volove na reci" ("Mile Is Watering the Oxen on the River"). The band finally ended their activity in 1979. In 2013, ''Opus 1'' was reissued on both CD and vinyl by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n record label Atlantide.''Opus 1'' at Discogs
/ref>

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Opus 1'' (1975)

Singles

*"Veče" / "Sam" (1974) *"Dolina bisera" / "Viđenje po Grigu" (1975) *"Ne dam da budeš srećna" / "Ona je dama" (1977)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Opus
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Opus
at Prog Archives Serbian progressive rock groups Yugoslav progressive rock groups Musical groups from Belgrade Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1979