Post-punk years (1982–1986) Katarina II In February 1982, following the disbandment of
Šarlo Akrobata, 24-year-old guitarist and vocalist
Milan Mladenović decided to form a new band with an old friend — 22-year-old guitarist
Gagi Mihajlović. Playing music together again after being bandmates a few years earlier at Limunovo Drvo, Mladenović and Mihajlović decided to name their new band Katarina II after Mihajlović's unrequited love — a girl named Katarina. Rounding out Katarina II's inaugural lineup were Dušan Dejanović (another former Limunovo Drvo member) on drums and Zoran "Švaba" Radomirović on bass guitar. During late 1982, after their performance at the Topčiderska zvezda cinema, the band was joined by the 23-year-old classically trained pianist
Margita Stefanović. Shortly after, the rhythm section left with Radomirović joining
Du Du A and Dejanović going over to heated rivals
Disciplina Kičme. The vacant drummer position was filled by Branko "Mango" Kuštrin (formerly of
Grupa I), but after he left within a month, Milan's former bandmate from Šarlo Akrobata
Ivan "VD" Vdović became the new drummer. At the same time, in early 1983,
Bojan Pečar (former
VIA Talas bassist) joined on bass. In spring 1983, the band took part in Zagreb Biennale, receiving positive reviews. Their material for the debut album material was recorded soon after, featuring guest appearance by actor
Svetislav Goncić on
tin whistles. The recording sessions for the material were completed in
Enco Lesić's Druga Maca studio, however, the material was unusable due to a variety of reasons, most of them having to do with the studio's inferior technical equipment. The following year, the band took the offer from fellow musician and
RTV Ljubljana's musical director
Srđan Marjanović of re-recording their debut album material in the state-owned media company's studios. Katarina II's
eponymous debut album was thus released in 1984 by RTV Ljubljana's in-house record label
ZKP RTLJ. Mostly featuring Mladenović's lyrics, except for the Mihajlović-written tracks "Vrt" ("The Garden") and "Platforme" ("The Platforms"), while the music was a collaboration between the two, the material was produced by Đorđe Petrović featuring guest appearances by Mario Čelik on congas and
Film member Jurij "Kuzma Videosex" Novoselić on saxophone. Only 3,000 copies of the album were released, indicative of label's low commercial expectations. Though it got good reviews, receiving praise for successfully linking Mladenović's descriptive lyrical sensibility with the energetic new wave sound on tracks like "Aut" ("Out"), "Jesen" ("Autumn"), "Radostan dan" ("A Joyful Day"), "Treba da se čisti" ("It Ought To Be Cleaned"), "Ja znam" ("I Know"),
Katarina II album was not a commercial success. In a 1985 interview Mladenović complained about the album's poor sound quality, as well as what he felt to be lack of support from the label. Soon after their debut album, the band went through more lineup changes amid disagreements and personality clashes between Mladenović and Mihajlović. Mihajlović also ran afoul of the law — a transgression that led to his imprisonment — and after serving the punishment was informed by the rest of the band he was no longer a Katarina II member. However, since Mihajlović claimed rights to the "Katarina II" name, he forced the band into using another one. Later he collaborated with
Vlada Divljan before moving to the United States where he has been residing ever since. Additionally, drummer Vdović left due to drug abuse problems, later joining
Du Du A and the band
Heroji, being replaced by the former
Luna drummer
Ivan "Firchie" Fece. The remaining members continued working as Ekatarina Velika, after
Catherine II of Russia, or EKV for short. Due to constant
SFR Yugoslavia-wide touring, with frequent stops in Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana, and occasional TV spots, the band's popularity had gradually grown.
Ekatarina Velika In early 1985, the band recorded their second studio album at
SIM studio in Zagreb. Produced by Vladimir Smolec featuring guest appearances by
Massimo Savić as well as Karlowy Wary member and SIM studio co-owner
Tomo in der Mühlen,
Ekatarina Velika gave the band with its first bona fide hits, "Oči boje meda" ("Honey Colored Eyes"), "Modro i zeleno" ("Indigo and Green") and "Tattoo". In keeping with the theme of the "Tattoo" track, the album cover arranged by
Dušan Gerzić features the band members painted in
Native American ritual body art. After the album release on 22 March 1985, they played outside of Yugoslavia for the first time, making a positive impression at Culture Days in
Turin, Italy. Another memorable concert took place in Zagreb as part of
Bolje vas našli Belgrade-Zagreb band exchange. Towards the end of 1985, Fece left the band to serve his mandatory
Yugoslav People's Army service, later joining
Laboratorija Zvuka, and was replaced by Ivan "Raka" Ranković from the band
Tvrdo Srce i Velike Uši. The following year, the new lineup released the third studio album
S vetrom uz lice (
Faced Against the Wind), proving to be the breakthrough album that turned them into bona fide stars. The album was produced by Milan Mladenović, Margita Stefanović and Dragan Čačinović. With the hits "Budi sam na ulici" ("Be Alone on the Street"), "Ti si sav moj bol" ("You Are All My Anguish"), "Novac u rukama" ("Money in the Hands"), and "Kao da je bilo nekad" ("As If It Had Once Been") came some lukewarm reviews from the critics complaining about the similarities to the works of the
Simple Minds. After the album release, the band toured extensively all over former Yugoslavia, and the recording of one of the five sold-out performances at the Zagreb club
Kulušić, made on 2 November 1986, was released in early 1987 on the live album
19LIVE86. The band promoted the release of the live album in Belgrade during January 1987 and triumphed at
Dom Omladine with six sold-out shows. During spring of the same year, Ivan Ranković decided to leave EKV in order to form a new group Ulica Od Meseca with his old bandmates from Tvrdo Srce i Velike Uši. Ranković was replaced by the actor
Srđan Todorović, a former
Disciplina Kičme member, as drummer, playing his first show on 9 April 1987 at the New Rock festival held at the La Locomotive club in Paris. On autumn of the same year, the band got the Sedam Sekretara SKOJa award for the achievements on the second and third studio album.
Alternative rock years (1987–1991) During the summer of 1987, the band released the album
Ljubav (
Love), co-produced by the band with the
Australian musician Theodore Yanni. It displayed a more guitar-oriented sound, along with stylized sleeve done by Margita and artist
Vuk Vidor. Prominent tracks from the album include "Zemlja" ("Earth"), "7 Dana" ("7 Days"), "Pored mene" ("Beside Me"), "Ljudi iz gradova" ("People From The Cities"), and "Ljubav" ("Love"). It had also shown the first signs of Milan's depressive lyrics, as exemplified by song "Tonemo" ("We Are Sinking"). The album had also confirmed their live attraction status with two consecutive sold out shows at Belgrade's
Pionir Hall sports arena. New extensive tour commenced in early 1988, and EKV enlisted help from
Tanja Jovićević of
Oktobar 1864 and
Zvonimir Đukić from
Van Gogh to appear as backing live musicians. Fece had also promptly rejoined the band on tour, shortly replacing Srđan Todorović before moving away to New York City in May 1988. In January 1989, the band finished the recording sessions for the album
Samo par godina za nas (
Only a Few Years for Us), released during the same year, featuring guest appearances by
Mitar Subotić (guitar, album production) and Tanja Jovićević (backing vocals). The critics regarded this album as a mere of the concept from the previous album. Several hits from the album include "Krug" ("The Circle"), "Par godina za nas" ("A Few Years for Us"), and "Srce" ("Heart"). Despite the mixed critics, the band were at their peak performing at the EBU-UER rock festival in
Novi Sad, the 1990
Midem festival in
Cannes and the first European rock music Bienalle held in
Toulouse. After the tour, Todorović left the band, focusing on his acting career. Bojan Pečar also decided to leave the band moving to
London. The new members became the former
VIA Talas,
D' Boys and
Piloti member Miško Petrović "Plavi" on bass and the former
U Škripcu member
Marko Milivojević on drums. The sixth studio album
Dum dum (
Bang Bang), released in 1991, featured the
Plejboj member Dušan Petrović and session musician Bata Božanić as bass players, Tanja Jovićević on backing vocals, Zvonimir Đukić on guitar and Mitar Subotić on keyboards and machines. The album, produced by Theodore Yanni, featured the prominent songs "Zabranjujem" ("I Forbid"), "Idemo" ("Let's Go"), "Dum dum" ("Bang Bang") and "Bledo" ("Pale"), inspired by the outbreak of the
Yugoslav Wars and the general political and economic situation in the country. The following year, Mladenović participated in the anti-war project
Rimtutituki, also featuring
Električni Orgazam and
Partibrejkers members, releasing the single "Slušaj 'vamo" ("Listen Up"). During the
anti-war protests in Belgrade, the band organized a concert on the
Republic Square and also they performed anti-war songs in an open truck while circulating the Belgrade streets.
Mainstream rock years (1992–1994) During the middle of 1992 the band toured with the new bassist Dragiša Uskoković "Ćima", with whom they recorded the final studio album
Neko nas posmatra (
Somebody Is Watching Us), released in May 1993. The album featured a more accessible and communicative sound especially present in the songs "Ponos" ("Pride"), "Jadransko more" ("The Adriatic Sea"), "Just Let Me Play Some Modern R'n'R Music" and "Zajedno" ("Together"). For the first time, the band had included a cover song on and album, "Istina Mašina" ("Truth Machine"), originally performed by the
Yugoslav rock band
Time. The album was produced by Mladenović and featured Srđan Todorović, Tanja Jovićević and a children's choir as guest performers. After the album release, in September of the same year, Ekatarina Velika,
Električni Orgazam,
Partibrejkers and the Zagreb band
Vještice performed in Prague and Berlin on the concerts entitled
Ko to tamo pjeva (''
Who's That Singing Over There''). At the time, Mladenović and Stefanović held occasional
unplugged club performances, often featuring guest appearances by the Partibrejkers guitarist
Nebojša Antonijević "Anton" and various jazz musicians, until Milan's departure to Brazil, where he worked on a project called Angel's Breath, together with Mitar Subotić and a line-up of Brazilian musicians. The two started recording the material partially written in 1985 when, with the guitarist
Goran Vejvoda, they had several live appearances under the moniker Dah Anđela (''Angel's Breath'').
Breakup and post-breakup The band resumed their activities when Mladenović returned to Serbia. There were plans to make a new album, tentatively titled
Ponovo zajedno (
Together Again), but the idea was shelved because of Milan's health problems. EKV played what would turn out to be their last ever show on 24 August 1994 in
Budva at the
Pjesma Mediterana festival. The very next day Milan was held in a hospital, and it was soon discovered that he had
pancreatic cancer. A few months later, on 5 November 1994, Milan Mladenović died in Belgrade, at the age of 36, thus Ekatarina Velika ceased to exist. Margita Stefanović continued working as a musician, for a short period of time performing with the cover band Kurajberi. In 1995, with Vladimir Stojanović, as an
ambiental music duo EQV, she released the album
Ti si sav moj bol (
You Are All My Anguish), released by the Austrian record label Coop Arts Crafts Unltd. In October of the same year, EQV appeared at the Vienna Talkit festival. She had also made occasional live appearances with the bands
Direktori, Glisers and Zion Banda, and appeared as guest on the albums of several Belgrade rock bands. In 1996, she appeared on the
Električni Orgazam unplugged live album
Živo i akustično (
Live and Acoustic), and in 1998, on the fiftieth anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights signing, she appeared in
Pula with Zoran Stojanović, the leader of the Zagreb band Veliki Bijeli Slon, being, along with
Rambo Amadeus, the first Serbian musician to play in modern-day Croatia after the
Yugoslav Wars. During the early 1997, a posthumous live album entitled ''Live '88
was released, featuring the recordings of the performances from Zagreb and Novi Sad held during the 1988 tour. The Zagreb recordings, made at the Kulušić club, were announced by the rock critic Dražen Vrdoljak and featured Theodore Yanni on guest guitar. The live recordings were owned by Fece who initiated the album release. During the same year, Margita Stefanović founded the record label EKV Records and started reissuing EKV studio album with bonus material. The Ljubav
reissue featured live bonus material made at the Belgrade Dom Omladine on 13 November 1991 and the 1988 Novi Sad SNP performance, Samo par godina za nas
featured the live bonus tracks from the Avala fest held in September 1990 and Dum dum'' featured alternate and demo recordings and the 1991 Dom Omladine live tracks.
PGP RTS also contributed the CD reissuing by releasing the compilation album
Kao nada, kao govor, kao more... (
Like Hope, Like Speech, Like the Sea...) in 1997, featuring selected material from the latter four studio albums. During 2001 and 2002, EKV Records and IPS music reissued the rest of the band's catalog, also featuring bonus live material. The label also released the live album
Kao u snu - EKV live 1991 (
As If in a Dream - EKV Live 1991) featuring the Belgrade Dom Omladine 1991 performance. During the same year, a tribute album
Kao da je bilo nekad... (Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću) (
As If It Had Once Been) was released. The following year, a live tribute album
Jako dobar tattoo - Tribute to EKV (
A Very Good Tatto - Tribute to EKV) was released. In 2017, Mascom Records released the double live album
Krug (
The Circle), featuring the recording of Mladenović's and Stefanović's unplugged performance held in
Priština in May 1994, only half a year before Mladenović's death. Ivan Vdović died of AIDS on 25 September 1992 at age 31. Milan Mladenović died of pancreatic cancer (he was also HIV positive) on 5 November 1994 at age 36. Bojan Pečar died of a heart attack on 13 October 1998 at age 38. Dušan Dejanović died of AIDS on 16 November 2000. On 18 September 2002 Margita Stefanović died at age 43 of AIDS and toxoplasmosis, being the fifth band member to die relatively young. == Legacy ==