Bajaga i Instruktori, a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band

Bajaga i Instruktori (Serbian Cyrillic: Бајага и Инструктори; trans. Bajaga and the Instructors) are a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Founded in Belgrade in 1984 by composer, lyricist and guitarist Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga", the group possesses a rich discography and a plethora of hit songs that placed them at the top of the former Yugoslav rock scene, alongside other mega-selling bands such as Bijelo Dugme and Riblja Čorba.

The band's history begins in 1983. At the time Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" was the guitarist for the hard rock band Riblja Čorba. During his work with Riblja Čorba, Bajagić wrote music and both music and lyrics for several Riblja Čorba hits, but also wrote a large number of humorous pop-oriented songs that did not fit into Riblja Čorba's sound. He decided to release these songs on a solo album, and he started working on the album with a group of Belgrade musicians: vocalist Dejan Cukić (a former Dizel, Tilt, and Bulevar member, and at the time a journalist working in the magazine Rock), bass guitarist Miroslav Cvetković "Cvele" (a former Tilt, Pop Mašina, and Papatra member), guitarist Nenad Stamatović (a former Tilt, Zebra, Suncokret, and Bulevar member), and drummer Vladimir Golubović (a former Tilt and Suncokret member, at the time temporarily replacing Vicko Milatović in Riblja Čorba).

During the work on the album, Bajagić wanted only to record a large number of songs he wrote on an album and to remain a member of Riblja Čorba. The songs for the album were recorded in a rented apartment and in Radio Television Belgrade Studio V and produced by Kornelije Kovač.^[1] The album, beside mentioned musicians, featured Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" on bass guitar, a former Generacija 5 member Dragan "Krle" Jovanović on guitar, Kire Mitrev on trombone, Ivan Švager on clarinet, and Suzana Petričević on vocals in the song "Papaline" ("Sprats").^[1] The album, entitled Pozitivna geografija (Positive Geography) was released at the end of January 1984 and was well received by the audience, bringing hits "Berlin", "Mali slonovi" ("Little Elephants"), "Poljubi me" ("Kiss Me"), "Limene trube" ("Brass Trumpets"), "Tekila gerila" ("Tequila Guerrilla"), "Marlena", and "Tamara". The album also featured the anti-drug song "Znam čoveka" ("I Know a Man"), dedicated to Dragan Đerić "Đera", Bajagić's former bandmate from the bands Ofi and Glogov Kolac. Initially, Bajagić had no intention of promoting Pozitivna geografija in concert, but eventually decided to listen to the advice of some and hold several concerts. Bajagić and musicians working on the album held their first concert in Zagreb club Kulušić on April 12, 1984.^[2] Beside the musicians that worked on the album, the concert also featured vocalist Žika Milenković (Bajagić's former bandmate from the band Ofi, and a former Mačori member and an actor in the amateur theatre Teatar levo), keyboardist Dragan Mitrić (a former Bulevar member) and Kornelije Kovač, Milenković soon becoming an official member of the band.^[3] During their staying in Zagreb Bajagić and Cukić appeared as guests on the recording of Parni Valjak album Uhvati ritam, singing backing vocals on the title track,^[4] which was the sign of gratitude to Parni Valjak for lending them a piece of drum kit for their first concert. The band held the official album promotion, organized by the Rock magazine, in Belgrade Dom Sindikata on April 21, and on this concert the band appeared under the name Bajaga i Instruktori, chosen after the idea of the journalist Peca Popović, for the first time. The concert featured Valentino and Bezobrazno Zeleno as the opening bands. The concert was well visited (mostly by teenagers) and the band's performance was well received.
The success of Bajagić's solo album caused conflicts inside Riblja Čorba, and on July 19, 1984, he was excluded from the band. During that summer Bajaga i Instruktori went on a tour, with Rade Radivojević on keyboards, playing mostly at youth work actions. At the end of the year, in the Rock magazine, Bajagić was proclaimed the Rock Musician of the Year, and Pozitivna geografija was voted the Album of the Year by musicians. At the beginning of 1985, the band recorded the album Sa druge strane jastuka (On the Other Side of the Pillow), produced by Kornelije Kovač and Saša Habić. The album featured a large number of guests: Branko Mačić on jazz guitar, Stjepko Gut on trumpet and flugelhorn, Sava Medan on double bass, Jovan Maljoković on saxophone, Mića Marković on saxophone, Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" on bass guitar, Dragan "Krle" Jovanović on guitar, and others.^[5] The album brought hits "220 u voltima" ("220 Volt"), "Vidi šta mi je uradio od pesme, mama" (a Serbian language cover of the Melanie Safka song "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma"), "Ti se ljubiš (Na tako dobar način)" ("You Kiss (In a great Manner)"), "Dvadeseti vek" ("Twentieth Century"), and ballads "Dobro jutro, džezeri" ("Good Morning, Jazzers"), "Sa druge strane jastuka" and "Zažmuri" ("Close Your Eyes"). For the first time Milenković was an author of a song, co-writing the song "Francuska ljubavna revolucija" ("French Love Revolution") with Bajagić. At this time the band's manager became a former U Škripcu manager Saša Dragić.