25 years ago Sarajevo lost the Singer, a musical institution that guarded this city when it was hardest!

(Patria) - There are singers who have careers, and there are those who become institutions. Exactly 25 years have passed since the departure of a man whom everyone, without need for further explanation, simply called – the Singer.

Davorin Popović Pimpek passed away on 18 June 2001 in Sarajevo, leaving behind a void that in a quarter century of musical history in these parts has never been filled.

With Indexi he laid the foundations of what would later be called the "Sarajevo school of pop-rock". Through songs such as "Bacila je sve niz rijeku", "Sanjam", "Plima", "Da sam ja netko" and "Balada", Davorin brought a specific, raspy yet incredibly emotional voice to millions of speakers, recognizable from the first second.

From the basketball court to musical heights

What makes Davorin's biography special and genuine, free from showbiz clichés, is the fact that he was an outstanding athlete. Few know that Pimpek was a brilliant basketball player, captain of Sarajevo's Mlada Bosna (later renamed KK Željezničar) and a youth national team player of the former country. Yet, his love for music and the microphone outweighed the basketball court.

Together with Bodo Kovačević, Fadil Redžić and other members of Indexi, Davorin created music that was ahead of its time. They were pioneers of progressive rock in the Balkans, and Davorin's interpretation gave those complex melodies accessibility and soul.

"Listen, don't you talk to me about songs. A song is what I sing," he would say to authors in his characteristic, mischievous style. And he was right. Every lyric that passed through his vocal cords became his property.

The man who refused to leave his Sarajevo

What forever cemented him in the hearts of his fellow citizens was his behaviour during the hardest war years. While many left, Davorin stayed in besieged Sarajevo. He shared the fate of his fellow citizens, and in 1995 he proudly represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin with the song "Dvadeset i prvi vijek".

His legendary response to foreign journalists who asked him why he didn't leave the city remains recorded as the epitome of local patriotism: "Where would I go? Who would guard Sarajevo then?"

An urban legend, which perfectly illustrates his status, says that at an Indexi concert in London, an Englishwoman told Belgrade journalist Petar Luković: "If these guys had been born in London, they would have been bigger than the Beatles!"

For him, Sarajevo was the centre of the world, and he was its uncrowned king.

A legend that does not fade

Davorin Popović was born on 23 September 1946, and lost his battle with a serious illness (pancreatic cancer) at the age of 54, on 18 June 2001. He was buried in the Alley of Greats at Sarajevo's Bare cemetery, next to his long-time friend and collaborator, Indexi guitarist Slobodan "Bodo" Kovačević, as well as basketball ace Mirza Delibašić.

Today, 25 years later, Davorin's voice still echoes from radio stations, cafes, student parties and balconies. His songs have not aged a day, and the phrase "the Singer" remains reserved for only one man. A quarter of a century has passed, but the Sarajevo ballad continues.

(N1)