Fantomi

Fantomi were a pop rock band from Zagreb, formed in 1988, whose catchy songs leaned on the rock and roll of the 1950s, with arrangements and lyrics meant for listeners from seven to seventy-seven. The founders were guitarist Krešimir Mišak, bassist Danko Stefanović and singer Robert Mareković, soon joined by drummer Bruno Perović and guitarist Bruno Gracin.

The band grew out of Voodoo Cats and played the Zagreb clubs, where they met Željko Tutunović, who became their manager. In 1989 Jugoton released their first single, "Beba bebica" / "Da, da, da", and on 8 March 1990 the debut album Veliki odmor, produced by Duško Mandić, with "Duda", "Bijeli Cadillac", "Pivo, konjak, štok" and "Kraljica". Success brought a legal dispute over the name: Perović left and for a while led a rival group, Novi Fantomi, with Sandi Cenov singing, while the others kept the name Fantomi.

During the war in 1991 Fantomi played a great many charity concerts. In spring 1992 Croatia Records released Sretan rođendan, arranged largely by Saša Novak Radulović of Psihomodo Pop and Senad Galijašević; its hits were "Slomit ću ti srce", "Pepermint" and the title song. At the end of that year they recorded the Christmas song "Sretan Božić svakome". In the first half of 1993 alone they played more than 160 concerts, and their third album, Planet majmuna (1993), brought "Pidžama mama" and "Irena, laku noć". At Zagrebfest 1993 they sang "Ljubi, ljubi me" with Vlatka Pokos.

In 1994, after the single "Ima nešto u tvojim očima", the band split over musical differences. Mareković carried on as Robert & Fantomi, releasing Greatest Hits (1996) and Iza zatvorenih vrata (1998), the latter with two versions of the old hit "Jabuke i trešnje" featuring Ivo Robić and songs by Alka Vuica and Boris Novković. Mišak and Stefanović formed Fantomi II with singer Tristan Karas and drummer Branko Trajkov and recorded the album Lice in 1995.

In 2005 Mareković briefly revived Fantomi for two concerts and a new single, "Stari saksofon", and in the 2010s the band met once a year for an Advent concert. "Sretan rođendan" was heard in the 2022 TV series Područje bez signala.