1964-1970 Vocalist Tomislav "Tomi" Sovilj, born in Belgrade in 1941, started his career in 1963, performing occasionally with
Zlatni Dečaci (
The Golden Boys) on dance parties. On Autumn of the same year, he had become the member of
Siluete (
The Silhouettes), but in mid-1964 he left the band, forming a band also called Siluete. In October 1964 the band performed at the
Vatromet ritma (
Fireworks of Rhythm) festival in
Novi Sad Fair, alongside Faraoni,
Elipse, Detlići, Siluete and
Crveni Koralji. In both 1964 and 1965 the band was voted the third best band in Yugoslavia in the poll organized by the
music magazine Ritam. At the beginning of 1966 the band performed on the
Gitarijada festival in
Belgrade Fair – Hall 1, entering the finals, and went on a tour across
Serbia and
Macedonia with singers Nina Spirova and Anica Zubović. Later that year the band released their debut
EP Vule bule through
Diskos record label. At the time of the EP recording the band members were Tomi Sovilj, Milorad Tomić (guitar), Tomislav Ðurković (rhythm guitar), Boba Voratović (bass guitar) and Hamdija Vladović (drums). The EP featured the songs "Vule bule", a cover version of the
Sam The Sham and The Pharaos song "
Wooly Bully", "Hej, o Slupi", a cover of
The McCoys song "
Hang On Sloopy", "Džini Džini", a cover
Little Richard's "
Jenny, Jenny", all three having lyrics rewritten in
Serbian language, and a cover of the
old town music standard "Za jedan časak radosti" ("For a Moment of Joy"), written by
Darko Kraljić. The EP had been sold in more than fifty thousand copies, thus becoming a silver record. On Autumn of the same year, Sovilj went to serve the
Yugoslav People's Army, and was temporarily replaced by the former Juniori (
The Juniors) vocalist
Dušan Prelević. On Sovilj's return, the band released their second EP
Stoj Džoni (
Stop, Johnny). The title track was a cover version of
Chuck Berry's "
Johnny B. Goode". The EP also featured the songs "Detroit Siti" (a cover of
Bobby Bare song "
Detroit City"), "Ako odeš" ("If You Leave", a cover of the song "
Blue Turns to Grey" written by
Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards) and "Tenesi vals" (a cover of
Pee Wee King song "
Tennessee Waltz"). This EP had also reached high sales and went silver. After the EP release, the band popularity had slowly decreased and Sovilj disbanded the band in 1970.
Post breakup After the band disbandment, Sovilj recorded a solo single "Nojeva barka" ("
Noah's Arc"), with "Plava pesma" ("A Blue Song") as the single B-side, released by Diskos in 1970. Afterward, he had moved to the
United States where he performed at local clubs. His last recording was the song "Veseli vod" ("A Cheerful Squad") with the choir of the Bratstvo i jedinstvo (
Brotherhood and Unity)
military high school, released on the
PGP-RTB military music album
Kad truba zove (
When the Trumpet is Calling) in 1974, and his last live appearance was at the
Rock naše mladosti (
Rock of Our Youth) concert held at the Belgrade
Trade Union Hall in December 1985. He had moved to
Switzerland, where he currently lives. Both "Stoj Džoni" and "Vule bule" were included on the
box set Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane (1956-1970) (
When Rock Was Young - East Side Stories (1956-1970)), released by
Croatia Records in 2005 and featuring songs by the pioneering Yugoslav rock acts. == Legacy ==