Pađen was initially the guitarist and principal songwriter for Aerodrom, taking over the vocal duties with the departure of the band's original vocalist Zlatan Živković in 1982.

Simultaneously with his work with reunited Aerodrom, he performed with the supergroup 4 Asa, composed of Vlado Kalember, Alen Islamović, Rajko Dujmić and himself, and recorded two solo albums of instrumental music.

He played classical guitar, and after graduating from lower music school, started composing his first rock and roll songs.

[1] After Grupa 220 disbanded, Pađen and Hasanefendić formed Parni Valjak with vocalist Aki Rahimovski, bass guitarist Zlatko Miksić "Fuma" and drummer Srećko Antonioli.

[2] In 1978, both Hasanefendić and Rahimovski were drafted to serve their mandatory stints in the Yugoslav People's Army, Parni Valjak going on hiatus and Pađen deciding to form a new band.

[2] Pađen formed Aerodrom in 1978 with vocalist Zlatan Živković, bass guitarist Remo Krstanović Cartagine, drummer Paolo Sfeci and keyboardist Mladen Krajnik.

[1] Initially, Aerodrom performed progressive rock, their 1979 debut Kad misli mi vrludaju bringing them attention of the public and the media.

[1] Following Obične ljubavne pesme promotional tour, the band went on hiatus due to Pađen's mandatory stint in the Yugoslav army.

[1] Upon his return from the army in 1984, him and Cartagine joined Azra for the spring tour, and then reformed Aerodrom with drummer Nenad Smoljanović.

[1] The album brought the hit song "Što si u kavu stavila" ("What Did You Put in My Coffee"), featuring a musical quotation from "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

[1] Pađen Band's last studio album, the 1997 Izbrisani grafiti (Erased Graffiti), brought the hits "Otkazani let" ("Cancelled Flight") and "Nevolja" ("Trouble").

[3] In 2013, Pađen released the solo album All Stars, featuring instrumental tracks he recorded with Branimir Štulić, Husein Hasanefendić, Nikša Bratoš, Massimo Savić, Vedran Božić, Neno Belan and Zele Lipovača.

[3] In 1991, at the time of the Croatian War, Pađen recorded the song "Tko to tamo gine" ("Who's That Dying Over There") for the various artists album Moja domovina (My Homeland), and a cover of Azra's "Balkan" entitled "Papan" (the title being a slang for an immature boy) for the various artists album Rock za Hrvatsku (Rock for Croatia).