Dino Merlin has in recent weeks become one of the main topics in these parts because his three November concerts at the Belgrade Arena have been sold out in record time and the fourth one has been scheduled.
This significant success alone would be occasion enough for us to do an in-depth interview with him, but there are some less pleasant circumstances that we had to ask him about, such as the petition (which has been removed in the meantime) to ban his concerts as he had allegedly insulted Serbs in the 1990s.
In addition to this, we talked to Merlin about his music, songs, colleagues, and his private life.
The tickets for your fourth concert in Belgrade are available to buy now. Did you expect such interest of the general public, given that you had not performed in Belgrade for eight years?
“Hand on heart, I’m proud. This is really completely unexpected, and I’m very grateful to all those people who pay such homage to my songs and to myself. I hope to justify this enormous trust of my audience. I’m already trying, as much as possible, to focus on the most important part – the creative one.”
What do you think – will Zdravko Čolić’s record of six concerts at the Arena be broken?
“I don’t think in those terms. For me this is not a question of breaking records – this is not track and field. However, if you’ve ever played rummy, usually, when you have a good hand, you go for the melding. On top of which, I’m a Virgo – I always want more, better, and more powerful. It’s my temperament and need to push my boundaries as a human being and as a musician. As for Zdravko Čolić, Čola is the idol of my youth. I’ve had the honour to first meet him, and then become his friend and collaborator. How much I like and appreciate him is glaringly obvious if you know that I’m working hard on my new album in parallel with working on his. And I have some good news. A single will be released soon – a song that I’ve written for Čola, which I’m very proud of and which really suits him. It’s going to be an old but new Čola. We’re all excited and can hardly wait for the audience to hear what it sounds like. We met up recently and discussed everything. Among other things, he told me that a long time ago, in 1972, he had applied by accident to Your Pop Song of the Season, which was then a well-known pop music festival in Sarajevo, and won with the song “Sinoć Nisi Bila Tu” (“You Weren’t Here Last Night”), by Kemal Monteno, which propelled him into instant stardom. Things haven’t changed a tad since. I was a 10-year-old boy then. So, that got me thinking – dear Lord, since the end of that war, i.e. between around 1945 and 1972 – during these 27 or 28 years – people were so full of a sort of optimism, creative spirit, and positive energy, and embraced the future with open arms. And look at how things are now: the very same time period, 28 years later, from 1995 to the present day, and the sheer number of people who still feed on hatred and keep looking in the rear-view mirror. What a defeat. What is this cul-de-sac that we’ve found ourselves in? So there, just a bit of comparison to think about.”
You must have seen that a significant number of people signed a petition to ban your concerts in Belgrade and your entry into Serbia. What are your thoughts on that?
“Whether it’s few or many manipulated people – they have still been manipulated. You can drive Formula 1 at 300 km/h, but if you’re going in the wrong direction, you’re not on the right track. When some utterly ill-intentioned manipulators post something so malicious for people to vote about, then ordinary people who only read the headlines respond the way they do – they don’t check, they just click, because clicking isn’t hard work. To be frank, I feel sorry for the people who express their opinions based on such patent falsehoods. But I’m convinced that an enormous majority is disgusted by and rejects such and similar petitions and initiatives, which cause irreparable damage to the society at large and to all of us. Of course I’m glad that the petition has in the meantime been removed, which is what I expected. It’s the only just outcome – as the old saying goes: ‘You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’ “
The petition cites as the reasons for the above bans the sentences ascribed to you, which say: “Perhaps I should go to Belgrade because Serbs are sick people, and the sick should be visited,“ as well as “I’ll go to Belgrade only when it’s been razed to the ground by shellfire” and “Serbs ought to be eliminated by guns.” Have you ever said anything like this?
“It’s not the first time for me to comment on this topic. Some unscrupulous people keep wanting to present a picture of me that’s not true. In the same way, in 2011, 2015, and now, in 2023. So, whenever I perform in Belgrade, they keep recycling the same old story, manipulating, manufacturing, spinning, fabricating, and throwing dust in people’s eyes. I had to refute multiple such and similar disgraceful and degrading slanders and insults at my expense in court. After a five-year-long trial, The Higher Court in Belgrade handed down the final ruling no. PZ. 340/15 dated 12 February 2020 (upheld by the Court of Appeals in Belgrade in the ruling no. GžZ 184/20 dated 3 February 2022). Among other things, the court ruling opinion stated: ‘It is hereby prohibited to ascribe to Dino Merlin the phrases regarding sick Serbs, as well as to describe Dino Merlin as a person who has become well-known by his anti-Serbian sentiment, as the court proceedings have failed to establish that Dino Merlin has ever given statements which would provide a factual basis for such conclusions. Starting from the established facts that the published information is incomplete, unverified, and therefore untrue, it is this court’s opinion that these articles have been published with the aim of arousing animosity of the general public and the readership towards Dino Merlin.”
There was an outrage at previous concerts over the banning of bringing in and holding up Serbian flags. What was this rule introduced?
“Sadly, it is yet another in a range of falsehoods and yet another attempt to discredit me as a person with my audience and the general public. Some people seem to make a good living dragging other people through the mud. As for the supposed ban on bringing flags of the Republic of Serbia to concerts, the court concluded that these were also untrue claims and that they constituted a gross misuse of the facts aimed at sullying my reputation.”
Do you think that the reconciliation of the peoples in this region will take place, and what would have to happen to make that possible?
“As a victim with deep scars, given that my right-hand man and manager Kemal Bisić, bass player Aleksandar Aćimović, keyboard and saxophone player Mustafa Nurak Bugi, father of my wife, Nezir Poljo, and a few more of our relatives – to name but a few - were killed in the war, you can imagine how angry and desperate I felt in those days, but I did not feel any hatred even then. I am absolutely sure that reconciliation in these parts has no alternative. All of us, with every fibre of our beings, have to work on that because nothing will happen by itself. Above all, we mustn’t be indifferent towards hate speech because, as we know, fascism never comes in uniforms first, but in the form of such brutal speech. What we need is a narrative that brings trust and hope in the future, but we must be open-minded and honest. Some people need to go through a catharsis and be able to at least say ‘sorry’. Sometimes this isn’t easy, but it is liberating. The way I live my life and do my work – which you can best hear and feel in my songs – and the way I act privately and publicly is my attempt to connect people, to round the rough edges, and to heal the wounds. I often talk at my concerts about how we must acknowledge the needs of others and those who are different, and, if we take a better look, we’ll see that that there’s much more that connects us than what drives us apart.”
You have written an unofficial anthem to this city. Do you still hold on to your decision that you will not sing “Beograd” (“Belgrade”) at your concerts?
“Fortunately, I’ve written enough songs that my audience like. But, as time goes by, and there are more and more songs, it’s getting more and more difficult for me to make a list of songs for concerts for both my audience and myself to be happy. “Beograd” is a song that’s dear to me, but I almost never perform songs that I’ve written for other people. However, never say never. You’ve given me a good idea, I’ll think about it.”
Will you reveal to us after 32 years if it is true that you were supposed to record “Beograd”, but you changed your mind and gave the song to Ceca Ražnatović?
“Unfortunately, that isn’t true either. The song “Beograd” was written for Ceca Veličković in Switzerland, in St. Gallen, one night in early 1991, at the request of her then partner Harun Samardžić. I wrote three songs for her then, “Beograd” being one of them.”
How much do these modern times inspire you to write songs?
“Each time is challenging if you feel challenged. And I still do, thank God. I’m living my life to the fullest, I listen to things around me, and take every opportunity to catch that momentum and time when a lyric appears. That’s when I disappear in fogs known to me only, I travel far away, and turn into the song.”
Many musicians think that the songs that young people listen to, primarily trap music, are not actually music. How much do you like them?
“I would disagree with that. Every kind of music has its own merits and reasons why someone listens to it. I’m very open to everything new. What I like I listen to a couple more times, and what isn’t my cup of tea I leave to others.”
You have two duos with Vesna Zmijanac, and one with Željko Samardžić. Will perhaps either of them have a guest appearance at the concerts?
“I’ve had the honour to have duos with Vesna and Željko in the past, and these dear colleagues of mine had guest appearances at my concerts as well. This time, the song list is a bit different, but let’s leave something for November too.”
A film has been made that is titled after your hit song “Jorgovani” (“Lilacs”). This song will be sung by actors Sloboda Mićalović and Ivan Bosiljčić, accompanied by a brass band. Do you like the choice of the arrangement?
“A friend of mine, Zoran Janković, got in touch with me about this, and I’m looking forward to hearing the fragrance of the ‘Lilacs’ in that film.”
On the subject of film, would you one day allow a film to be made about your life?
“It depends on who would do it, it depends on the script, on the director, but, judging by all the controversies following me all my life, it certainly wouldn’t be a boring film.” [laughs]
Who could play the role of Dino Merlin?
“I don’t have a clue, but there’s always room at the top. Leonardo DiCaprio or Kevin Costner, and Kate Winslet could play my wife Amela.”.
What is the secret of a successful marriage?
“Love and respect.”
What is your message to your fans ahead of the Belgrade concert?
“My fans in Belgrade and Serbia are truly special. Despite all the temptations and the amount of bitterness and vitriol that that aggressive minority throws at them, they still trust me. They’ve known me all these years and believe that my original stance is free and sound, that they will never hear a lie from my mouth, or see evil in my eyes. They leave my concerts even more certain of themselves and me, and so, step by step, all of us together become better people. I’m truly looking forward to us meeting.”
Kurir.rs/ E.K.