Bosnian Pop-Rock Fronts Yugoslavia in Dublin

MAY 15 1981 · 12:15

Seid Memić Vajta · "Lejla" · Yugoslavia · 1981 Placement: 15 · Score: 35 · Language: Serbo-Croatian · Composers: Đorđe Novković · Venue: RDS Simmonscourt · Host: Dublin, Ireland · Type: deep cut · Broadcast: color analog Vajta — Sarajevo rock singer with long dark hair and a white suit — delivers a Yugoslav pop-rock ballad with visible guitar and full band. He sings in Serbo-Croatian without subtitles, another assertion that Yugoslav pop has international competitive value. 15th place is mid-table but Đorđe Novković's composition is admired by music critics. Context Novković was Yugoslavia's foremost pop composer. Vajta was a Bosnian pop-rock singer with several hit albums. The federation chose him over multiple Croatian and Serbian candidates, a carefully balanced selection among the republic's cultural centers. Legacy Vajta continued recording through the 1980s. The breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 scattered its musicians across new national borders; Vajta stayed in Sarajevo through the 1992-1995 siege, performing morale concerts. He emigrated to Germany in the late 1990s. 'Lejla' is now played at Yugo-nostalgia events across the former republics.