Novi Fosili (English: The New Fossils) is a Croatian pop band, one of the most popular music acts in the former Yugoslavia.

In the Junferici pastry shop on Teslina Street, a well-known gathering place for musicians until the end of the 70s, they were discussing the name of the band.

[6] After several unsuccessful attempts with female vocalists, in 1976, the band was finally joined by a young singer from Split, Đurđica Barlović, with experience she had gained singing in the group "Batali".

In May 1977, Vladimir Kočiš Zec joined the band instead of Vlaović, although not everything went smoothly: - “Marinko, Moka and Rajko invited me to a café because they needed a singer and guitarist.

They had the hit ‘Sjedi, Ćiro, navrh grane’ and such nonsense, but, I needed money for my family and after a week I called them and confirmed that I was coming”, recalls Zec.

[6][7] The first major successes came in 1976, At the Split Festival, they performed "Diridonda", which became a hit throughout Yugoslavia, after the collaboration with Zdenko Runjić, later - “Tko visoko diže nos” by composer Andrej Baša from Zagrebfest followed, on the B-side of which, despite the protests of Jugoton editors, Dujmić's “Sanjaj me” (“Dream of me”) was founded, co-authored with Dea Volarić.

[9] Dujmić, along with a number of collaborators, is responsible for the band's impressive string of hits, from the aforementioned “Sanjaj me” (“Dream of me”) to “Da te ne volim” (“That I don't love you”), “Najdraže moje” (“My dearest”), to “Šuti moj dječače plavi” (“Be quiet, my blue boy”), “Tonka” and others, earning the band comparisons to the Swedish ABBA.

In 1980 they released the third album titled: “Nedovršene priče” (“Unfinished stories”), with hits like: “Nikad više staro vino” (“Never again old wine”), “Šuti moj dječače plavi” (“Be quiet, my blue boy”).

In 1981, they released the album “Budi uvijek blizu” (“Always be close”), which has sold over 712,000 copies and is one of the best selling albums in Yugoslavia,[11] with most popular songs; "Plava košulja" ("Blue shirt"), "E, moj Saša" ("Oh my Saša"), "Tonka", "Ključ je ispod otirača" ("The key is under the doormat"), which became band's to-day biggest hits and ultimately the biggest hits of Yugoslavia in the 80s.

The following year in 1982, they released the last album with Đurđica Barlović as the lead singer titled “Za djecu i odrasle” (“For children and adults”).

[16] Sanja described the first meeting with band members: “I met Slobodan Momčilović (Moka) for coffee and he gave me 24 hours to think.

However, after the first few concerts, the guys accepted me and realized that my youth made up for all the shortcomings I had.” Sanja became a lead vocal singer at the age of 19.

[17][18] In 1983, the band released 6th studio album and 1st with their new singer Doležal titled: “Poslije svega” (“After everything”), with songs; “Bilo mi je prvi put” (“It was my first time”), “Nije istina” (“It’s not true”) and biggest hit “Milena” who sings Rajko Dujmić with backing vocals.

[16] The group gained another success and fame following their 1986 eight studio album: “Za dobra stara vremena" (“For good old times”).

Hits include: "Za dobra stara vremena" ("For good old times"), "Putuj sretno" ("Travel happy"), and others.

[16] After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the group was disbanded, only to reconvene without Doležal and Zec, under a new branding of new 2000s pop music, featuring vocals of singers Nataša Belošević and Jelena Fošner.

[20] Novi Fosili, together with new singers, released 4 albums; “Druge godine” (“Other years”) in 1995, “Bijele suze padaju na grad” (“White tears are falling down on the city”) in 1996, “Pričaj mi o ljubavi” (“Talk to me about love”) in 1998 and “Jesen” (“Autumn”) in 1999.

Namely, it is known that Rajko has been battling addiction for about thirty years, which is why we separated in 1991 after he refused to go for treatment," Sanja Doležal, Marinko Colnago and Vladimir Kočiš Zec told in an interview with 24sata.

[23] “I am sorry that all this happened because I think that a band like “Novi fosili”, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, did not deserve such a stain on its existence,” Doležal said in 2019, adding that Dujmić is a genius and the best musician in our region.

In July 2020, Rajko Dujmić got seriously injured in traffic accident, where he later died in Rijeka Clinical Hospital Center at the age of 65.