Dejan Cukić

Dejan Cukić (; born 4 November 1959) is a Serbian and Yugoslav rock musician, journalist, author and translator.

Cukić started his musical career as a teenager, rising to prominence in late 1970s as the frontman of the new wave band Bulevar. He released two albums with the band before they split up in 1982. After Bulevar disbanded, he devoted himself to journalism, writing for music magazine Rock and other publications. He returned to music in 1984, when he became one of the vocalists of the newly-formed pop rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, which would soon after the formation rise to nationwide popularity. Cukić recorded three albums with the group, before releasing his first solo album in 1987. Soon after, he left Bajaga i Instruktori, pursuing solo career which spans to the present day. Forming his backing band Spori Ritam Band in 1988, Cukić has released nine studio albums and two live albums as a solo artist.

In addition to his musical career, Cukić has written for a number of publications, hosted several radio shows, authored four books on popular music and translated a number of biographies and autobiographies of rock musicians and bands.

Biography Early life and career Dejan Cukić was born on 4 November 1959 in Belgrade. As a high school student, he became a vocalist in his first band, Dizel (Diesel). The four were soon joined by keyboardist Dragan Mitrić. Following Pozitivna geografija, Cukić recorded two more albums with Bajaga i Instruktori, the 1985 Sa druge strane jastuka (On the Other Side of the Pillow), and the 1986 Jahači magle (Fog Riders), both released to large commercial success and critical acclaim.

In the spring of 1987, Cukić released his first solo album, Spori ritam (Slow Rhythm). The album was produced by Saša Habić.

Solo career (1988–present) In 1988, Cukić formed his backing group, Spori Ritam Band (Slow Rhythm Band). The title track was a cover The Beatles song "Come Together". The album included two new songs, "Prava ljubav" ("True Love") and "Priča o ljubavi" ("Story about Love"), the latter co-authored with Nikola Čuturilo. In July 2017, in order to celebrate 30 years of solo career, Cukić released the single "Od šanka do šanka" ("From Bar to Bar"), a cover of a song by singer-songwriter Andrej Šifrer.

In 2019, Cukić released his latest studio album Ulica bez brojeva (Streets without Numbers),

Other musical activities and guest appearances In 1985, Cukić took part in the YU Rock Misija project, a Yugoslav contribution to Live Aid, contributing vocals to the song "Za milion godina". In 1990, he made a guest appearance on the album Samo je ljubav (Only Love Is) by Yugoslav band Kotrljajuće Kamenje, providing vocals for the title track, also featuring guest appearances by Dražen Žerić "Žera", Janez Bončina "Benč", Mladen Vojičić "Tifa", and Zorica Kondža.

Cukić provided vocals for the song "Disko kugla" ("Disco Ball") recorded by the Minival project.

He wrote the song "Uvek divan dan" ("Always a Lovely Day") for the 2013 album Kolibri planeta (Hummingbird Planet) by the children's choir Kolibri.

Literary career In 2001, Cukić published his book about life and work of Frank Zappa, entitled Muzika je najbolja (Music Is the Best). He was voted out of the show after four weeks. In a 2022 interview, Cukić stated about his participation in the show: "There's a long story, and a short story, and I always choose [to tell] the short story: money. I had financial problems at the time. [...] It [participating in the show] was a completely unnecessary experience, and I totally understand why people are asking me this question. I probably could have gotten by without it, but sometimes one just falls into panic. From today's point of view, it wasn't big money, but it was one of those situations where you find yourself owing money to a lot of people, having eleven mortgages and debts to friends. And that becomes terribly burdensome, and then someone appears offering you a lot of money just to sit somewhere. And that solves a problem, which, as I said, from today's point of view doesn't seem that big, but it's one of those problems which is like a rolling snowball that turns into an avalanche".

Legacy In 2011, Cukić's version of the song "A šta da radim" was polled, by the listeners of Radio 202, one of 60 greatest songs released by PGP-RTB/PGP-RTS during the sixty years of the label's existence.

Discography With Bulevar Studio albums Loš i mlad (1981) Mala noćna panika (1982)

Singles "Moje bezvezne stvari" / "Nemam ništa više važno da te pitam" (1980) "Nestašni dečaci" / "Moja lova, tvoja lova" (1981)

With Bajaga i Instruktori Studio albums Pozitivna geografija (1984) Sa druge strane jastuka (1985) Jahači magle (1986)

Solo Studio albums Spori ritam (1987) Zajedno (1989) 1991 (1991) 4 ½... Ja bih da pevam... (1996) Igramo na ulici (1998) Divlji med – Pesme Boba Dilana (2000) Kalendar (2002) Ubrzanje! (2008) Ulica bez brojeva (2019)

Live albums Unplugged (1997) DC & SRB @ SC (2003)

Compilation albums San na pola puta (1992) Priče o ljubavi (2014) Greatest Hits Collection(2019)