The band was formed in 1966 by Slobodan Todorović, Živorad "Žika" Jelić, Milan Buza and Velibor "Boka" Bogdanović, getting the name Džentlmeni on Todorović's idea, despite Jelić's suggestion of naming the band Žetoni. The lineup performed until April 1967 when the band had split in two factions. Todorović did not continue working with any of the factions, moving to Siluete and then to the band CD. Milan Buza, with Branko Stefanović, Đorđe Doksas, Moma Lukić and Dušan Ćućuz, performed under the moniker Džentlmeni for approximately a year at local parties before disbanding in 1968. The other faction, featuring Bogdanović and Jelić, continued working with the new Džentlmeni lineup, completed by Mihajlo Simikić, Branko Marušić "Čutura" and Žika Jelić's brother Dragan "Dragi" Jelić.
The mainstay Džentlmeni (1967-1972)
During the Summer of 1967, the band had an Adriatic tour, performing for several months at the isleHvar and several other resorts, basing their repertoire on cover versions of popular rhythm and blues hits, but also presenting their own material. The frequent live performances provided the band with a status of a leading live act in Belgrade. One of the song from the band performance at the 1968 Festival Omladina, "Veseli svet", written by Đorđe Uzelac, was released on the festival official compilation release, along with other bands who performed at the festival. During the same year, the band performed at another major festival, Beogradsko Proleće, with the song "To je tvoj stil", written by Vojkan Borisavljević. The song was also included on the band debut 1968 extended play, Idi, featuring the title track, a cover version of Sandie Shaw single "Today", "Naša mladost", recorded at the Subotica Youth festival in 1968, and "Slatko", a cover version of the Drifters hit "Sweets for My Sweet". The song "Naša mladost" also appeared on the various artists compilation 20 godina festivala "Omladina", released for the Festival Omladina 20th anniversary in 1981. The following year, in 1969, the band performed again at the Beogradsko Proleće festival, with the song "Korak ka suncu", released by PGP-RTB on the official festival compilation. The band also released their second EP, Slomljena srca, featuring the title track, a cover version of the Don Gibson single "Sea of Heartbreak", "Kraj snova", written by Dragi Jelić, "Hellule, Hellule", originally performed by The Tremeloes, and Branko Marušić's song "Nisi došla". The band released their final release in 1970, the single "Ona je moja", a cover version of the song "34-06", with "Da li su važne reči?", a cover version of the song "There's a Better Day Coming", both originally performed by The Dave Clark Five. After the single release, the Jelić brothers and Boka Bogdanović, with keyboard player Mive Okuglić formed the band YU Grupa. Marušić continued working with Džentlmeni in the lineup: Zlatko Manojlović, Robert Nemeček, and Dušan Banović, but the band had frequent lineup changes, and some of the musicians performing with the band were guitarist Zoran Božinović, and bassists Dušan Petrović and Slađana Milošević, before disbanding in 1972. The song "Slomljena srca" appeared on the various artists compilation YU retrospektiva - Sjaj izgubljene ljubavi, released by Komuna in 1994, and the box set various artists compilation Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane , released by Croatia Records in 2005. During 2006, the entire band discography was remastered and reissue on the compact disccompilation albumAntologija, as a part of the PGP-RTSRetrologija series, featuring a live recording of an early career television performance as well as a part of Marušić's 1994 unplugged performance.
Legacy
The song "Slomljena srca" was covered by Serbian poppunk band RNDM on their 2016 album Deo mene.
