Parni Valjak in Park Południowy: Croatian originals of songs familiar from Yugopolis

Parni Valjak formed in 1975 as Zagreb’s answer to Goran Bregović’s Sarajevo band Bijelo Dugme, which was then dominating the Yugoslav rock scene. The band’s leader is guitarist and composer Husein Hasanafendić. Apart from him, Macedonian singer Aki Rakimovski is the only member who has been in the line-up since the beginning. Over 38 years, Parni Valjak has released 22 albums and 5 DVDs and had dozens of hits known across all the republics of former Yugoslavia. In 2010, the group performed in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, for the first time in 22 years. The band quickly sold out 44 thousand tickets for two concerts at the capital’s largest indoor venue, the Arena. Parni Valjak’s latest album, “Rzeczywista nierzeczywistość”, was released in 2011. The band returned to Belgrade that same year, this time with the acoustic programme “Bez prądu”. Instead of the two concerts planned at the prestigious Sava Centar, they played no fewer than five.

In 2007, “Yugopolis – Słoneczna strona miasta” was released in Poland, featuring Polish singers including Paweł Kukiz, Maciej Maleńczuk, Muniek Staszczyk, Marek Piekarczyk, Kobra and Ramona Rey performing Polish versions of Parni Valjak hits. The band's best-known song in Poland is “O nic nie pytaj”, sung by Paweł Kukiz on Yugoton.