Valentino

Valentino are a pop-rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1982 by guitarist and main songwriter Zijad "Zijo" Rizvanbegović, known as Zijo Valentino; today the band is based in Belgrade. The first line-up had Suad Jakirlić "Jaka" on vocals, Emir Čolaković on bass, Dubravko Smolčić on drums and Mladen Miličević on keyboards. In 1982 and 1983 they opened for Bijelo Dugme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in April 1984 for Bajaga i Instruktori in Belgrade.

The debut album, ValentiNo 1, came out on Suzy in 1984, and its "Volim te još", sung with Amila Sulejmanović, became the band's breakthrough and reached number one. ValentiNo 2 (Diskoton, 1985) brought "Bez tebe (Đubre volim te)", "Jugovići" and "Ne, ne boj se". For that album drummer Ademir Volić "Kufi" and keyboardist Joško Gujinović came in, along with multi-instrumentalist Nikša Bratoš, later of Crvena Jabuka, who also produced ValentiNo 3 (1987). That album gave the band "Oka tvoja dva", "Nema je nema", "Potonule lađe" and "Kad me više ne bude".

After ValentiNo 3, Gordan "Gogo" Prusina took over the vocals. ValentiNo 4 (Jugoton, 1988) brought "Samo sklopi okice" and "Idu ptice selice", and ValentiNo 5 – Ponekad noću dok grad spava (1989) included "Zima devedeseta". Early in 1990 they played three concerts in Timișoara, Romania, with Riblja Čorba, Galija, Bajaga i Instruktori and Viktorija. In 1991 they sang "Kada struje nestane" at MESAM, and when the Yugoslav wars broke out the band stopped.

Rizvanbegović revived Valentino in 2001 and took over the vocals himself, and in 2004 the band toured the United States and Canada. Later releases include ValentiNo 7 (2006), the live album Live! Samo sklopi okice (2011), recorded at Belgrade Beer Fest in 2009, and the compilation Hit do hita (2014). Drummer Srđan Jovanović, of Oktobar 1864 and Vampiri, played with them in the 2000s.

According to Index.hr, Valentino have sold more than two million records. They marked four decades with the "40+" tour, which began in Zagreb in 2022 and went on to Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Canada and Australia.