- Željko Samardžić
Željko Samardžić (Жељко Самарџић, born
October 3 ,1955 inMostar ,Bosnia and Herzegovina , thenFPR Yugoslavia ) is aBosnian Serb pop singer popular throughout the former Yugoslav republics.Biography
Born to Serbian parents, Samardžić's father was a Yugoslav Army officer, which meant that the family had to move around a lot. After spending the first seven years of his life in Mostar, young Zeljko lived and attended school in
Nikšić ,Igalo andZadar before eventually returning to Mostar during his teenage years.He first started singing during high school, and soon became known around Mostar for being a good
Kemal Monteno impersonator. Samardžić's musical activity during this period was essentially little more than a hobby as he didn't put out any official releases and mostly sang inkafana s and restaurants in addition to competing in the occasional obscure festival. The closest he came to wide main stream success was a schlager "Moja Marija je drugačija" that became a hit in Bosnia during 1970s after he performed it at "Prvi aplauz" festival inBanja Luka , but he mostly earned his living running a cafe in Mostar, located in close proximity of the famous Old Bridge.When the war broke out in 1992, Željko was wounded in Mostar while sitting in his apartment. A stray bullet entered his leg and exited his hip. After much trouble, along with his wife and their daughter, he managed to flee the city through the Croat controlled western part of
Herzegovina and eventually reachSerbia after going throughIstria ,Slovenia andHungary . Once in Serbia, they lived in theBelgrade suburb ofBorča and Samardžić soon started getting low-paying gigs in variousdiscoteque s andcafé s, building up a fairly devoted niche audience. Almost 40 years old at this point, his big break came unexpectedly when some businessmen who enjoyed his nightclub performances brought him to the elite club Ambasador and also financed him with DM30,000 to record an album with Marina Tucaković and Aleksandar "Futa" Radulović. In 1995 he also appeared at the "Pjesma Mediterana " festival inBudva , where he left a great impression singing "Sipajte mi još jedan viski", which further opened the doors toshow business .Discography
*
Oko tvoje neverno (1994)
*Bilo je lepo (1995)
*Sudbina (1995)
*Jednom kad nam dođu sijede (1996)
*Sjećanje na ljubav (1996)
*Zveket srca (1997)
*Sve je moje tvoje (1998)
*Sentimentalan čovek (2001)
*Lice ljubavi (2005)
*Ja Kunem Se U Ljubav i 16 Balada (2008)Trivia
He is a supporter of Mostar football club FK Velež Mostar.
External links
* [http://www.zeljkosamardzic.com Official web site]
* [http://www.blic.co.yu/intervju.php?id=199 Publika me održava u životu] , "Blic", March 8, 2008
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