Milan Mladenović | Origin of Street Names

Milan Mladenović (1958 - 1994) was a Serbian and Yugoslav rock musician, guitarist, and frontman of the iconic Belgrade band Ekatarina Velika, undoubtedly one of the most influential rock musicians in the region.

As the son of a military officer stationed in Zagreb, he was born in the capital city of Croatia and then spent a good part of his childhood in Sarajevo. As a teenager, he finally found himself in Belgrade, where in the 1980s and early 1990s, he became a true pop icon of the Yugoslav capital and the rock scene in general.

His interest in music and the guitar was discovered in early childhood, and already during his high school days, he formed his first band called Limunovo drvo. From the beginning, their melodic rock sound was accompanied by unconventional lyrics, performances, atmosphere, and a distinct audience, which visibly differed from the mainstream at the time.

The band Limunovo drvo was just emerging when the so-called "new wave" swept through Belgrade and Yugoslavia in the early 1980s, representing a kind of musical revolution in the domestic rock'n'roll scene. One of the most striking manifestations of the "new wave" was the formation of the band Šarlo akrobata, consisting of Milan Mladenović, Dušan Kojić (later the frontman of Disciplina kičme), and Ivica Vdović. Despite having only one album released and a few songs, Šarlo akrobata became, and still is considered one of the best and most influential projects in the history of Yugoslav rock music.

However, the need for his own and more complete musical and artistic expression continued to exist in Mladenović. Thus, in 1982, the legendary band Katarina II was formed, which three years later, due to disagreements and rights to the band's name, was renamed Ekatarina Velika, or simply EKV.

Alongside Mladenović as the vocalist and guitarist and Vdović on drums, the most standard lineup of EKV also included the beautiful and charming Belgrader Margita Stefanović on keyboards and bass guitarist Bojan Pečar. With their authenticity in musical and visual sense, the band completely marked the second half of the 1980s and became synonymous with the alternative rock scene of the former country.

The unique charisma and the message carried by all the members of this band, especially Milan Mladenović, were not understood by everyone and evoked conflicting reactions - from adoration and followership to condemnation and rejection. The band's negative reputation, accompanied by vices that followed its members, contributed significantly to the condemnation. However, no one could deny the fact that such an authentic band had never appeared before. This opinion still resonates to this day.

During the years of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Milan Mladenović was one of the prominent "promoters" of peace. The joint project "Rimtutituki," in which Milan, along with Caneta (Partibrejkers) and Gile (Električni orgazam), circled Belgrade in a truck, calling for peace through song, became a symbol of an era. "Peace, brother, peace" was their message, which unfortunately was not stronger than the war propaganda that had a much greater reach.

During a time of great social and moral crisis, the band, in an altered lineup, tried to survive and succeeded until 1994. That year, EKV held their final concert in Budva, and towards the end of the same year, Milan Mladenović passed away at the age of 37.

In addition to his involvement in his band, Milan Mladenović was also engaged in various other music, film, and theater projects.

He was buried at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. Two decades after his death, numerous initiatives were launched to perpetuate his name and have it included in the names of streets in Belgrade. In recent years, this has been accomplished, and Milan Mladenović streets can now be found in Novi Sad, Užice, Vranje, Kraljevo, as well as in Podgorica and Zagreb. Additionally, the square in front of the Belgrade Youth Center is named Plato Milana Mladenovića.