Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu

's AIR Studios on Oxford Street in November 1975 during the album recording; from left to right: sound engineer Peter Henderson, producer Neil Harrison, Ipe Ivandić, Goran Bregović, Željko Bebek, Vlado Pravdić, and Jugoton executive Veljko Despot. In the fall of 1975, after the huge commercial and critical success of Bijelo Dugme's debut album, ''Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme'', as well as the successful tour that followed it, the band went to the Borike village in Eastern Bosnia to work on songs for their eagerly-awaited next studio album. The album recording sessions started in November 1975, in London, with production done by Neil Harrison, an EMI staff producer and A&R employee, who had previously worked with Cockney Rebel and Gonzalez. The bass guitar on the album was played by the band's vocalist, Željko Bebek, as the bass guitarist Zoran Redžić injured his middle finger just before the album recording started. At the time, in the same studios, Roxy Music worked on their album Siren. The members of the band on several occasions visited Bijelo Dugme's recording sessions, expressing likes for Bijelo Dugme's songs. During the AIR studio sessions, the band recorded an English language song, "Playing the Part", which was not included on the album. It was released as a limited edition promo single distributed to English journalists. "Playing the Part" lyrics were written by Dave Townsend. Looking for a lyricist to come up with the English language lyrics, Jugoton executive Veljko Despot who accompanied the band in London, contacted an artists agency that sent Townsend over. ==Album cover==

The album cover was designed by Dragan S. Stefanović, who had also designed the cover of the band's previous album. ==Track listing==

All the songs were written by Goran Bregović, except where noted. ==Personnel==

• Goran Bregović - guitar, harmonica • Željko Bebek - vocals, bass guitar • Zoran Redžić - bass guitar • Ipe Ivandić - drums • Vlado Pravdić - organ, synthesizer, electric piano, piano Additional personnel • Neil Harrison - producer • Peter Henderson - engineer • Chris Blair - mastered by • Dragan S. Stefanović - design, photography ==Reception==

The album was a huge commercial success in Yugoslavia, selling more than 200,000 copies, After selling more than 100,000 copies, it became the first platinum record in the history of Yugoslav discography, and after reaching the 200,000 copies mark it was branded simply as "2× diamond record". However, five days before New Year's, the band canceled their appearance at the Belgrade concert due to getting invited to perform for Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito at the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) in Zagreb as part of the New Year's celebration there. However, during a 2018 television interview, he recalled Bijelo Dugme's performance for Tito much differently: There have been reports in Yugoslav press that Bijelo Dugme's performance for Tito may have had something, at least in part, with the band manager Mihaljek's sudden firing that occurred weeks prior. Mihaljek was reportedly contacted in December 1975 by Tito's Yugoslav presidential protocol staffers who weren't aware about Mihaljek no longer representing the band. ==Legacy==

The album was polled in 1998 as the 17th on the list of 100 Greatest Yugoslav Rock and Pop Albums in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best Albums of Yugoslav Pop and Rock Music). In 2014, author and director Dušan Vesić wrote a biography of Bijelo Dugme, entitled Bijelo Dugme: Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu. In the book, Vesić wrote: In 2015, Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu album cover was ranked 10th on the list of 100 Greatest Album Covers of Yugoslav Rock published by web magazine Balkanrock. In 2015, the album was pronounced the 42nd on the list of 100 Greatest Yugoslav Albums published by Croatian edition of Rolling Stone. Covers • Yugoslav pop trio Aska recorded a Bijelo Dugme songs medley on their 1982 album Disco Rock, featuring among others, "Požurite, konji moji". • Serbian and Yugoslav pop singer Neda Ukraden recorded a cover of "Hop-cup" on her 1995 album Između ljubavi i mržnje (Between Love and Hate). • Bosnian turbo folk singer Selma Bajrami recorded a cover of "Požurite, konji moji", with altered lyrics and entitled "Sviće dan" ("Dawn Is Coming"), on her 1999 album Ljubav si ubio, gade (You Killed Love, You Bastard). • Serbian and Yugoslav rock singer Viktorija recorded a cover of "Došao sam da ti kažem da odlazim" on her 2000 album Nostalgija (Nostalgia). • Macedonian composer Vasko Serafimov recorded a cover of "Došao sam da ti kažem da odlazim" on his 2006 album Here. Plagiarism claims In 2010s, articles appeared in Balkan media claiming that the album's title track plagiarizes the song "I Am the Dance of Ages" by the British rock band Argent, released on their 1972 album All Together Now. ==References==