Bata Ilić

Bata Ilić, known in Germany as Bata Illic, is a singer born in Belgrade on 30 September 1939, the son of a tax official. He studied philology, English and Italian and taught for two years at a school in Belgrade. His music career also began there: with the drummer Andreas Triphan he formed Bata Illic & Band, which played Belgrade clubs until 1961.

After a concert at the US Embassy in Belgrade he and his band, Grandpa's Whites, got a months-long contract in 1963 at a club in Bad Kissingen in West Germany, followed by engagements in Bad Hersfeld, Fulda and West Berlin. He stayed and built his career there, singing German schlager. His first record came out in 1967, and in 1968 he had his first chart hits with "Mit verbundenen Augen" and "Schuhe, so schwer wie ein Stein".

"Candida" reached number four in Germany in 1970 and "Judy, I Love You" number nine in 1971. His biggest success was "Michaela", number one in Germany in April 1972, thirty weeks in the charts and a gold record, and number three in Switzerland. "Schwarze Madonna" (1973) was a top ten hit in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and in 1973 he sang "Michaela" in the film Blau blüht der Enzian. He was a regular on the ZDF-Hitparade in those years.

After a quieter time in the early 1980s he won the Goldene Stimmgabel in 1984, 1985 and 1990. In January 2008 he finished third on RTL's Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!, and "Wie ein Liebeslied", sung with Eike Immel, became his first top-20 hit in 33 years. He still sings his hits and German versions of songs by Aznavour, Celentano and Bacharach on radio and TV, and in 2026 received a lifetime achievement award from Schlager Radio. Married to Olga since 1963, he lived first in Frankfurt am Main and since 1978 in Gräfelfing near Munich.