Bijele strijele

Bijele strijele ("White Arrows") were a vocal and instrumental group from Zagreb, formed in 1961 and one of the pioneers of rock and roll in Croatia and Yugoslavia. They were based in Zagreb throughout and broke up in 1966. Their name is tied to many firsts of the local rock and roll scene: the first record, the first festival and the first beat (and Beatles) recordings.

At first they simply sang the hits of the British pop idols of the day, Cliff Richard, the Shadows and the Beatles, and only later wrote songs of their own. They were described as the first band in Yugoslavia with their own songs that the audience asked for. Their sound mixed the new trends of the time, beat with early rock and roll and the twist, the raw sound of electric guitars with young voices.

The line-up was unusual: two guitars, three singers, bass, drums and piano. The first line-up had Vladimir Rubčić "Rubac", Ranko Bačić "Rana" and Milan Gelb "Miki" on vocals, Mario Škrinjarić "Braco" on drums, Ivica Banfić "Banfa" on bass, Zlatko Tretinjak "Treta" on rhythm guitar, Zlatko Sović "Sova" on lead guitar and Davor Susić on piano. Ivica Balić, Predrag Drezga "Dodo", Željko Ilić and Ignac Pavković also played in the band over the years.

In 1962 they went into Jugoton's studio in Dubrava and over the next two years made six records, three EPs and three singles. The 1963 EP with "Svi trče oko Sue" ("Run Around Sue"), "Rastanak" ("Sealed with a Kiss") and "Strijele" ("The Wanderer") was the first true beat record in the country. "Platno, boje, kist i twist" and "Ti si moje proljeće" were recorded with the vocal group 4M, and "Divan krajolik" and "Ne trči" were their versions of "Wonderful Land" and "Walk, Don't Run". The band split in 1966, unable to keep up with the long-haired groups and the new trends, and Croatia Records collected their original recordings on CD in 1994. The playlist gathers those recordings.