Alisa

Alisa are a Serbian pop rock band from Belgrade, formed in 1984 by singer Miroslav "Pile" Živanović, drummer Predrag Cvetković, keyboardist Aleksandar Kićanović, guitarist Zoran Jančeski and bassist Marko Glavan. They became popular across Yugoslavia in the late 1980s, and the rock journalist Bane Lokner compared them to Poslednja Igra Leptira for their pop and rock playing, their flirting with folk and their emotional singing.

The debut album Alisa came out on Jugodisk on 16 December 1985, with songs by Jovan Stojiljković, production by Ratko Ostojić and arrangements by Pile. With "Sanja", "Ludi Ivan", "Vojskovođa" and "Tanja" it sold more than 100,000 copies. The folk-tinged Da li si čula pesmu umornih slavuja followed on PGP RTB in February 1987, with "1389 (Neće Fata sina Bajazita)" and "Posle devet godina", sung with Lepa Brena and also included on her 1988 album On ne voli me; Laza Ristovski was among the guests. Hiljadu tona ljubavi (1988) brought "Kesteni" and "Klinika", and Glupo je spavati dok svira rokenrol came out on Jugodisk in 1989.

The band stopped in 1990. A reunion in 1997 was cut short when the 1999 NATO bombing halted recording, but in 2001 Alisa returned with a new album, again called Alisa, on PGP RTS, with "Sećanja" and "Boško Buha" and guests including Madam Piano. After several concerts they stopped once more.

In 2017 Pile and Cvetković brought Alisa back, and the original line-up was later joined by violinist Marija Petrović and guitarist Dušan Vasiljević. The single "Pijane noći" was presented in November 2018, a new version of "Blago onom ko te ne sanja" appeared in March 2020, and the double compilation Najbolje iz zemlje čuda marked the band's 35th anniversary in 2022. That year "Sanja" won a Godum award as the most broadcast pop song.

Miroslav Živanović Pile died in January 2024, and a memorial concert for him was held at Dom omladine Beograda on 14 December 2024.