Valentino is a pop rock band originally formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia in 1982, and currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.
[1] Prior to forming Valentino, at the age of eighteen, Rizvanbegović moved to London, where he worked as a laborer, spending evenings visiting city's music clubs.
[1] Other guest appearances on the album included Vatreni Poljubac leader Milić Vukašinović (percussion, backing vocals), Gino Banana leader Srđan Jevđević (guitar), Plavi Orkestar member Mladen Pavičić "Pava" (guitar), and Vrele Usne (Hot Lips) duo, consisting of Lejla Trto and Amila Čengić (backing vocals).
[1] Prior to the recording of the second studio album, Smolčić and Miličević left the band (the latter would in the 1990s move to Los Angeles, where he would work as a music teacher),[1] and were replaced by Ademir Volić "Kufi" and Joško Gujinović respectively, and the group was also joined by multi-instrumentalist Nikša Bratoš.
[1] Volić and Bratoš had previously been members of the band Bonton Baya, recording with them the 1983 album Elpi (transliteration for LP),[1] and Volić had also performed with the band Gari Garincha, recording with them their 1985 studio album entitled Leptir mašna, aktn tašna i velik radni sto, plata strašna, čak izdašna, ne nisam ja za to!
[1] However, despite bringing several hit songs, the repetition of the well-known formula also brought a decline in popularity and resulted in split-up of the lineup which recorded the second and the third album.
[1] The album brought the hits "Samo sklopi okice" ("Just Close Your Little Eyes") and "Idu ptice selice" ("Migratory Birds are Leaving"), as well as the instrumental track "Saksofoni lete u nebo" ("Saxophones Are Flying to the Sky"), composed by Rizvanbegović during his holiday in Thailand.
[1] At the beginning of 1990, the band, alongside Yugoslav rock acts Riblja Čorba, Galija, Bajaga i Instruktori and Viktorija, performed in Timișoara, Romania, at the three-day concerts organized two months after the Romanian Revolution.
[2] In 1991, Valentino appeared at the MESAM festival performing the song "Kada struje nestane" ("When There's a Power Shortage"), announcing their sixth studio album.
[1] Following the outbreak of Yugoslav Wars and the disbandment of Valentino, Rizvanbegović moved to Visoko, where he recorded the song "Bila kuća u centru grada" ("There Was Once a House in the Town Center").
[1] The album song "Nemam vize, ofentala, duldunga" ("I Have No Visa, Residence Permit, Tolerated Stay") featured guest appearances by Sarajevo singers Hari Varešanović, Saša Lošić and Alen Islamović.
[1] The song "Ja te Mićo ne volim" ("I Don't Love You, Mića") featured turbo folk singer Stoja Novaković.
[1] The group continued its activity in 2020s with singles "Medley" (2021), "Da se rodim ponovo" ("If I Was Born Again", 2021) and "Neću kući" ("I Don't Want to Go Home", 2023).
[5] Croatian tamburica band Agrameri recorded a folk cover of Valentino song "Oka tvoja dva" for their 1997 self-titled album, winning the Porin Award for their version.