Time (rock band from Yugoslavia)

Time was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Zagreb in 1971, widely considered one of the most prominent acts of the 1970s Yugoslav rock scene. The band was formed by former Dinamiti and Korni Grupa vocalist Adolf "Dado" Topić. The first lineup featured, beside Topić, Vedran Božić (guitar), Tihomir "Pop" Asanović (keyboards), Mario Mavrin (bass guitar), Ratomir "Ratko" Divjak (drums) and Branislav "Labmert" Živković (piano and flute). The band gained large popularity and media attention with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1972—today considered one of the most important albums in the history of Yugoslav rock music—presenting themselves with jazz-influenced progressive rock sound. Despite the success of their debut release, the band did not manage to maintain a steady lineup, with Topić remaining the only permanent member during the following years. Despite experiencing multiple lineup changes and taking breaks, the band managed to release two additional studio albums that achieved moderate success, ultimately concluding their activities in 1977, making several reunions for live performances in the following decades. Vocalist Adolf "Dado" Topić started his career in the second half of the 1960s, as the bass guitarist for the high school band Đavolji Eliksiri (The Devil's Elixirs, named after the novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann), featuring guitarist Josip Boček. For a period of time, Đavolji Eliksiri featured Zoran Knežević on second guitar, who would later go on to become a renowned astronomer and the president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Topić and Boček later moved to the band Lavine (The Avalanches), and in 1967 joined the band Dinamiti, Topić switching to rhythm guitar and, at the same time, becoming the band's vocalist. Topić and Božić were members of the best known Dinamiti lineup, alongside bass guitarist Alberto Krasnići and drummer Ratomir "Ratko" Divjak. This lineup of the band moved from Dinamiti's initial sound towards progressive rock with Topić's compositions, jazz-influenced improvisations and covers of songs by foreign progressive rock acts. Topić's compositions like "Novine" ("Newspapers") and "Život moj" ("My Life") were in accordance with the emerging trends on the Yugoslav rock scene and were well received by the audience. The band's work and Topić's blues- and soul- influenced vocal style were also widely praised by the Yugoslav music press. In 1969, Topić was invited to join Korni Grupa as the replacement for vocalist Dalibor Brun. He accepted, thus ending Dinamiti activity. Soon after, Korni Grupa was joined by Boček, who replaced guitarist Borko Kacl. Topić stayed with Korni Grupa for three years, recording a number of successful pop rock singles with the band and writing several progressive-oriented songs, like "Remember", "Žena je luka a čovek brod" ("Woman Is a Harbor and Man Is A Ship") and "Prvo svetlo u kući broj 4" ("The First Light in the House Number 4"), the latter co-written by Topić and the band's leader Kornelije Kovač. Although the songs had success on the band's live appearances, none of them was recorded by the band during the group's original run. In September 1971, Topić left Korni Grupa to form his own band. With the help of manager Vladimir Mihaljek, he formed the first lineup of Time, featuring Topić on vocals, Vedran Božić on guitar, Tihomir "Pop" Asanović on keyboards, Mario Mavrin on bass guitar, Ratko Divjak on drums and Branislav "Lambert" Živković on piano and flute. All of the forming members were experienced musicians: Asanović previously played with the band Generals, Mavrin was previously a member of B.P. Convention, Divjak previously played with Topić in Dinamiti, and Živković was previously a member of Grupa 220. The most experienced was Božić: during the late 1960s, he performed with Zagreb bands Grešnici and Roboti, and later formed the band Wheels of Fire, which performed in West German music clubs. On one occasion, in a Frankfurt club, Wheels of Fire were joined on stage by Jimi Hendrix, who performed several songs with the band. After Wheels of Fire disbanded, Božić played with the bands Mi, Nautilus, and B.P. Convention. In mid-1972, Time released their self-titled debut album through Jugoton record label. Most of the songs on the album were written by Topić during the time he spent with Korni Grupa. The album featured five tracks: "Istina mašina" ("Truth Machine"), which would go on to become a large hit, the ballad "Pjesma No. 3" ("Song No. 3"), "Hegedupa upa", which featured Topić's scat singing, the jazz oriented "Kralj alkohol" ("King Alcohol"), which was composed by Topić's former Dinamiti bandmate Alberto Krasnići, and the rock epic "Za koji život treba da se rodim" ("For Which Life Should I Be Born"). Initially, Jugoton executives, doubting the album's commercial potential, decided to issue only 500 copies of the record. However, after the surprising success the album had with the audience, it was reissued in a larger number of copies and would continue to be reissued on several occasions during the following two decades. Following the album release, Time played a number of well-received concerts across Yugoslavia. The band performed on the 1972 edition of BOOM Festival, held in Tivoli Hall in Ljubljana, a live version of "Za koji život treba da se rodim" appearing on the double live album Pop Festival Ljubljana 72 recorded on the festival. The band also performed as the opening act on Colosseum concert in Zagreb. However, despite the success of the album and the live performances, at the beginning of 1973, Mavrin and Živković left the band, their departure marking the beginning of frequent lineup changes. During the following period, Nenad Zubak (formerly of Grupa 220), Karel "Čarli" Novak (formerly of Generals, Srce and September) and Topić himself took turns on bass guitar. Soon after Mavrin's and Živković's departure, Divjak also left the band. His spot was filled in by Petar "Peco" Petej, a graduate from the Graz University of Music and Performing Arts, formerly of Delfini and Indexi. During the following years, Petej would remain one of the rare permanent members of Time, but was on live performances occasionally replaced by Ivan "Piko" Stančić. The unsteady lineup resulted in unusual live performances: on one occasion, the band performed live in Osijek featuring only Topić on vocals and bass guitar and Petej on drums, and on another occasion they performed in Split without Topić, featuring Asanović, Petej and Mladen Baraković (bass guitar). During 1973, Topić and Božić spent several months performing in West Germany, and Asanović joined Novi Fosili on their tour across the Soviet Union. After Asanović returned to Yugoslavia, he formed the band Jugoslovenska Pop Selekcija (Yugoslav Pop Selection). Topić returned to Yugoslavia soon after, joining Asanović's band, continuing simultaneously to lead Time. Both Time and Jugoslovenska Pop Selekcija, alongside singer Josipa Lisac and band Porodična Manufaktura Crnog Hleba, represented Yugoslavia on the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin, where Asanović was awarded for his composition "Berlin". During 1973, Time released the 7-inch single with the hit song "Makedonija" ("Macedonia"), performed as the opening band for the British group East of Eden on their Austrian tour, and performed on the third edition of BOOM Festival, the live version of the song "Reci mi Ciganko, što u mome dlanu piše" ("Tell Me, Gypsy Woman, What Do You Read from My Palm"), originally released on a 7-inch single, appearing on the double live album Boom Pop Fest '73. At the beginning of 1974, Topić released his first solo record, a 7-inch single with the songs "Život moj" ("My Life") and "(Alone) In My Room", the latter being a cover of Verdelle Smith's song, and took part in the recording of Asanović's solo album Majko zemljo (Mother Earth). Later during the year, he was arrested for avoiding to report to serve