Yugoslavian musician and songwriter, known for his melodic compositions. He became famous at home and in Europe thanks to his participation in the group "Bijelo Dugme". Today Goran Bregovich is in demand and loved not only as a performer of his own Balkan melodies and songs, but also as an author of music for films.
Bregovich himself considers himself a Yugoslav by blood and is absolutely convinced of this. He explains this by the fact that his father is of Croatian roots, and his mother is Serbian. At the same time, he chose a woman of the Muslim religion for his wife.
In order not to have difficulties in pronouncing the name and surname Goran Bregovich, unusual for Russian-speaking people, it should be remembered that the stress in both words falls on the first vowel sound.
Youth
Goran was born on March 22, 1960 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the city of Sarajevo. When the boy was 10 years old, and his brother Predrag - 5, his parents divorced, dividing the children. Goran himself decided to stay with his mother in Sarajevo, and his brother went to Livno to his father, where he served as commandant in the barracks. In the future, the young man will release a musical album "Alcohol", which he will dedicate to his drinking father. The main reason for the parents' quarrels has always been the "green serpent".
In an interview about his parent Franjo, he talked about him as a cruel man who was also a JNA officer. He spoke of his mother as a refined, very beautiful lady, whom friends called Tsitsa ("young beauty" - translated from Serbian), although her name is Borka.
Goran said more than once that he inherited a harsh and very strong character from his dad, and a firm and stubborn character from his mother.
As a child, Bregovich dreamed of becoming an artist, but the influence of his aunt on his mother, who constantly said that only gay people were allowed to graduate from the arts gymnasium, played a role. Mom did not allow Goran to enter an art school, and the boy tried to find himself in music. And again failure. A restless child with the wording "for laziness and mediocrity" was expelled from the music school in the second year of study.
And yet Goran did not give up music, at the age of 11 on New Year's Eve he received a real adult guitar as a gift from his mother. The musician was taught to play by Edo Sidran, the brother of the famous poet Abdul Sidran in Goran's homeland.
Down with the school theory - now Bregovich enthusiastically played the guitar in the yard, picking up the chords by ear. The need to create his own musical group arose in the 8th grade of school.
The beginning of the way
For graduation at school, the young man grew his hair below his shoulders. So that his mother did not scold him for this, he promised her to quit smoking and take up her mind. To do this, he entered a transport school, but did not last long there - he was expelled due to bad behavior (had an accident in a Mercedes, which belonged to the school). Goran's mother was furious, ran onto the stage during the concert of her son's band "Izohipse" and in front of everyone gave him a resounding slap in the face.
Later, the family reconciled, and my mother even gave Goran a new guitar, which he had long wanted to get.
From the age of 16 he was a very independent youth and earned his own living. He played folk music in a small restaurant in the town of Konitsa, and did not avoid the simple work of a street newspaper vendor. He joined the Beshtie group as a bass player. Then he was invited as a performer to the Kodeks collective. He performed in Naples until the very breakup of the group. It was thanks to this group that Bregovich changed his favorite bass guitar to a solo instrument. The music of the legendary "Led Zeppelin" had a huge influence on Gran and all the band members at that time.
In 1971, Goran entered the University of Sarajevo at the Faculty of Philosophy, where he studied until the 4th year. I gave it up because studying bored him.
Bregovich decided to join the group "Morning", which was renamed with enviable regularity, the last of its known names - "White Button" (in 1974).
International renown
Fame fell on Bregovich after showing several films with his melodic compositions.
He won the hottest love of the audience with the famous films of director Kusturica, filled with authentic music:
- "Time of the Gypsies"
- later - "Arizona Dream",
- "Underground".
Years later, he answered reporters' questions about not too long-term cooperation with Kusturica: “Enough of me for him, and for me - for him. In 1995, we ended our cooperation. Why? It's just that our union has exhausted itself."
He had orders, directors began to call him. An excellent breakthrough was the creation of music for Patrice Chereau's film "Queen Margot", which became very successful and received more than one palm tree branch at the Cannes Film Festival.
What is so special about Bregovich's soundtracks? They seem to be saturated with the entire palette of Balkan-Gypsy music, they contain the soul of these peoples, singing with the sounds of national instruments, intertwined with modern beats and author's techniques. The author received lawsuits accusing him of plagiarizing Gypsy and Balkan tunes, he was repeatedly accused of violating copyright. But it was he who became that translator, the discoverer of these national works for the whole world, and not only for the European listener.
Bregovich gives concerts at which he not only performs his songs, but also plays soundtracks to famous films.
Goran Bregovich's albums
- "Dugun ve cenaze" (with Sezen Aksu from Turkey)
- "Kayah & Bregović" (with Kaia from Poland)
- "Daj mi drugie żyćie" (with Krzysztof Krawczyk).
Personal life
The long-haired musician at a young and mature age was a very prominent man, and even tall - about 182 cm. Add charisma, charm and great talent to this mixture. And it will become clear: he had more than enough fans.
In the late 80s, he and a beautiful girl decided to make a round-the-world tour on a sailboat. Together, the young lovers swam across the Atlantic, in 6 months they sailed from Croatian Split to Barbados. Then along the coast of Africa, through the Canary Islands, they returned to their homeland. Once he told this story to reporters and to the subsequent question about where this adventurer had gone, he replied with a smile: "She became my wife."
He has been married to model Jenan Sujuk since 1993. In the 70s, when they first got to know each other, she was only 15, and he was 12 years older than her. His wife is Muslim. They gave birth to daughters Ema, Unu and Lulu.
Bregovich also has an illegitimate daughter, Zelka, who gave birth to her even before his marriage to Jenan, the dancer Yasenka from a nightclub in Sarajevo. Today elka has already given birth to Goran's granddaughter Bianca.
Bregovich today
The musician loves people and believes that music is a universal language of communication. In an interview, he stressed: “I am looking for people for my orchestra from all over the world. Among them there are incredibly educated musicians, but there are also those who have not even finished school. The one who plays the trombone for me has only three years of education and can only write in capital letters."
Goran still writes music and songs, performs his own works. Most often it can be seen in Paris and also in Belgrade. A loving wife prefers to live in France, and Bregovich himself is on constant trips. He enthusiastically travels around the world, reached New Zealand, visited Hong Kong. Often he looks into Russia, for which he has special tremulous feelings. In March 2018, he was in Russia with a concert at the GlavClub Green Concert.
In the same year he visited Georgia, where he also gave a concert. The singer's tour is planned for months ahead, as you can see by looking at the official website of Goran Bregovich.
