Piloti

Piloti is a rock band from Belgrade, led from the start by singer, guitarist and main songwriter Zoran "Kiki" Lesendrić. The band was formed in September 1980 by Lesendrić, bassist Dragan Andrić "Andra", guitarist Goran Bogićević and drummer Nenad Antanasijević, and its early sound belonged to the Yugoslav new wave, with ska and mod revival touches.

The self-titled debut album came out in 1981 and was a mainstream success, with "Imam diplomu", "Svi smo mi ponekad anđeli", "Ne veruj u idole" and "Novo odelo". The second album, "Dvadeset godina" (1982), sold less well, and a third, recorded in 1982 and 1983, was never released because the members were called up for army service.

In 1984 Lesendrić reformed Piloti with a more commercial pop rock sound, and "Kao ptica na mom dlanu" (1987) brought the band nationwide success with the title song, "Kada sanjamo" and "Iza oblaka". "Osmeh letnje noći" (1988) gave them "Leto" and "Neka te Bog čuva za mene" (1990) "Tajna je u tebi skrivena". The soundtrack album "Zaboravljeni" (1993) was followed by "Dan koji prolazi zauvek" (1996), with "Neverna si", which the band played at the 1996 Budva festival. Piloti split in 1997, came back briefly in 1998 and split again.

Lesendrić also wrote for other artists: "Kolačići" for Marina Perazić, "Dolazi tiho" for Dejan Cukić, "Barakuda" and "Arija" for Viktorija, and, with Goran Bregović, "Spavaju li oči nebeske" for Zdravko Čolić.

After a solo album in 2008 he revived the group as Kiki Lesendrić & Piloti, releasing the live album and DVD "Svet je lep kada sanjamo" (2010) and the studio albums "Slučajno i zauvek" (2012), "Širom zatvorenih očiju" (2016) and "Mali tragovi na nebu" (2022). In the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times, a poll of readers, critics and musicians published in 2000, "Kao ptica na mom dlanu" was ranked 84th.