Via Talas

Via Talas was a new wave band from Belgrade, active from 1981 to 1983. The name borrows the prefix VIA, which 1960s Yugoslav rock bands carried and which stands for "vocal-instrumental ensemble". The band formed around Bojan Pečar (vocals, bass, guitar), formerly of BG 5, with Mira Mijatović (vocals), Dušan "Gera" Gerzić (saxophone, drums) and Miško Petrović "Plavi" (bass, guitar).

They opened for Idoli at Idoli's first concert, and in 1981 they put two songs on the compilation Artistička radna akcija: "Hawai (najljepši kraj)" and "Lilihip", a cover of Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop". Their only album, Perfektan dan za banana ribe (1983), was released under the name Talas and took its title from a J. D. Salinger story. It had eight songs and was issued by Sarajevo Disk in only 3,000 copies; Pečar and Mijatović were the only official members, and the guests included Milan Mladenović.

The opening track, "Sama", became a hit across the country and was used on the soundtrack of the film Šećerna vodica. "Ti" appeared on the 1983 compilation Ventilator 202 vol. 1, later ranked 100th in the YU 100 list of the best Yugoslav albums. The band came to an end soon after the album.

Bojan Pečar joined Katarina II, later Ekatarina Velika, and stayed until early 1990, then moved to London, where he played with a band called Mission, wrote poetry and painted; he died of a heart attack in London on 16 October 1998. Dušan Gerzić became a designer and graphic artist for Haustor, Električni Orgazam, Idoli, D' Boys and Ekatarina Velika, worked in Paris, New York and Toronto, and died in Belgrade in 1998. Miško Petrović played in D' Boys and Piloti before joining Ekatarina Velika in 1990, and in 2003 he formed the Miško Plavi Band. Mira Mijatović has also died, which leaves Petrović the only surviving original member.

In 2006 "Sama" was ranked 65th in B92's list of the Top 100 domestic songs, and Perfektan dan za banana ribe was reissued in October 2020.