Djavoli

Đavoli (The Devils) are a Croatian band from Split, formed in 1984 by singer and guitarist Neno Belan, who was also their main composer. A club act in their home town, they mixed early rock and roll and twist, inspired by the music of the 1950s, with a Mediterranean flavour and a carefully developed image.

Their debut album, "Ljubav i moda" (1986), takes its title from a 1960 Yugoslav film. Belan wrote the music and the band's manager, Robert Čaleta Čarli, the lyrics, and it brought a run of hits including "Pričaj mi o ljubavi", "Ona nema nikoga", "Zvuci ulice", "Điri điri", "Dok tebe ljubim", "Samba i ti" and "Čuvaj me, pazi me". The band followed it with "Halo Lulu 22" (1987), "Ostani uz mene" (1988) and the ballads compilation "Balade – Kad se nađem u predjelu noći" (1989). In the late 1980s Đavoli also toured Yugoslavia together with the Belgrade rocker Toni Montano.

Đavoli played until 1991, when the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars ended their run. That year Belan and members of the band released the EP "Rock galama" as Neno Belan & Đavoli, the start of his solo career. In 1998 Belan revived the name for the album "Space Twist", with keyboard player Vedran Križan, bassist Olja Dešić and drummer Leo Rumora, after which the four carried on as Neno Belan & Fiumens.

The songs never went away. Croatia Records released "The Ultimate Collection" in 2008, a three-CD Đavoli box won the Porins for best compilation and best historical album in 2009, and "Live in Studio M" came out in 2016. In March 2021 Belan and Fiumens played two concerts at Belgrade's Kombank dvorana devoted to Đavoli songs, 35 years after the debut album. Besides the hits of "Ljubav i moda", songs such as "Ostani uz mene", "Stojin na kantunu", "Dugo toplo ljeto", "Bambina" and "Cestom preko Zagore" are part of the Đavoli story.