Goran Bregović

Goran Bregovic

Goran Bregović (a.k.a Brega) was born on 22nd March 1950, in Sarajevo, the capital of Yugoslavia. He is a famous musician and composer of modern day. Having a Serbian mother and Croatian father brought a great deal of cultural refinement in his life making him a creative artist at a very young age.

Goran released his first album “Kad Bi Bio Bijelo Dugme” in 1974 under the name of his first band “Bijelo Dugme (Le Mouton Blanc)”. The album was an instant hit on the music boards of Yugoslavia. It was the first major achievement of a never ending road of success for the Yugoslavian. For about decade and a half after their first breakthrough he played the lead guitarist in Bijelo Dugme and carried them to the mesmerizing heights of fame in the world of music.

His early life, as a musician and as a kid, was not assuring at all. His parents were divorced when he was merely 10 years old. His music composition skills were not very good either. He was kicked out from the second grade at the music school due to apparent lack of any talent in music and wasn’t allowed to attend the fine arts high school due to its redeemed reputation of homosexuality. He wasn’t able to learn music until he got his first guitar as a gift from his mother. His first school band was “Beštije” where he performed as a bass guitar player. He then accepted an offer from the band “Kodeksi” to play as their bass guitar player and moved to Naples. Soon he moved up to lead guitar role in Kodeksi. Soon after this the main singer of the band and rhythm guitar player Zeljko Bebek left the band and Goran and crew moved back to Yugoslavia in 1970.

In late 1980s the band started to tumble and fall apart but Goran acted as a savior. He made his breakthrough in the field of film music saving the band and acquiring a name in film industry as well. He composed the music for the film Emir Kusturica’s “Time of the Gypsies” which was a great success. His next project was a success too which strengthened Emir Kusturica and his partnership. His music in that very film was performed by an American musician and song writer, Iggy Pop. His next two film music projects (Patrice Chéreau’s Queen Margot and Underground) reached to the same heights as the former projects receiving many major awards.

In 1994 he turned to classical music by composing a soundtrack for Patrice Chereau’s La Reine Margot asked by Patrice himself. This very film wrote a story of success by receiving the Jury Prize at Cannes that year. His work was not limited to specific elements of music rather he did work in diverse fields and made glorious masterpieces.

Goran was a not much of a fan of politics however he made tireless efforts to unite the former ancient capitals of Yugoslavia by organizing concerts and shows. This proved to be a remarkable success as thousands of people attended these concerts to support Goran’s idea of freedom, liberty and brotherhood. He traveled around the globe (including Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong) to spread this message to the common people.

Nowadays Goran Bregović lives in Belgrade (where he works with his collaborators) and Paris (where his family resides). His works in music composition, film score composition and above all the idea of religious unity through music will be remembered for a long time.