Hari Mata Hari

Hari Mata Hari
Origin	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (former Yugoslavia)
Genres	Pop rock, adult contemporary
Years active	1985-present
Website	Official website
Members	Hari Varešanović - vocal Izudin Kolečić - percussion Karlo Martinović - solo guitar Željko Zuber - bass guitar
Past members	Neno Jeleč, Adi Mulahalilović, Edo Mulahalilović, Miki Bodlović, Pjer Žalica, Zoran Kesić

Hari Mata Hari is a popular music band from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hari Mata Hari is the stage name for the singer Hajrudin "Hari" Varešanović. The group originated from the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group has performed over 1,000 concerts and sold 5,000,000 albums to date. Their songs are among the most famous and popular love ballads in the former Yugoslavia era. Hari Mata Hari was the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 held in Athens, Greece.

The band, Hari Mata Hari, has constantly changed its members. Today, the group is composed of Hajrudin Varešanović (vocal), Izudin Izo Kolečić (percussion), Karlo Martinović (solo guitar, background vocal), and Željko Zuber (bass guitar, background vocal). Most of the Hari Mata Hari's songs are arranged by Hajrudin Varešanović. The lyrics are primarily written by Fahrudin Pecikoza - also known as Peco.

Hari grew up in the Vratnik neighborhood of Sarajevo's old town. His grandfather was one of the more well-known singers of traditional Bosnian music called sevdalinke. At the age of six, Hajrudin began to sing and learned to play the guitar. At the local cultural center, he was asked to sing, then at the age of ten he sang with the group "Omi", and later for the group "Sedam šuma". In Vratnik, Hari recorded his first song "Zašto da ne uzmem nju". (Why don't I take her) After finishing electrical school, Varešanović began to study Philosophy and attended classes of natural politics, but he never completed the courses. Music took up much of his time, as did his love of photography.

In 1979, Hari joined the group Zov with whom he recorded the hit song "Poletjela golubica sa Baščaršije." Next, Varešanović sang with the group "Ambasadori", with whom, it is said, that he matured into a professional artist. After serving his mandatory military service in the town of Niš, he appeared on the music scene by himself releasing the (1984) album Zlatne Kočije. In September 1985, Hari Varešanović together with the group members of Baobab - Izo Kolečić, Edo Mulahalilović, Pjer Žalica, and Zoran Kesić - won the festival Nove nade, nove snage (New hopes, new strengths) organised by Želimir Altarac Čičak, and created the musical group Hari Mata Hari. That same year, the new group announced the release of their new album U tvojoj kosi. (In your hair) In 1986, Pjer Žalica - "Badžo" and Zoran Kesić left the group. They were replaced by pianist Adi Mulihalilović and bass player Neno Jeleč, who will eventually be replaced by Željko Zuber. Their album of 1986, Ne bi te odbranila ni cijela Jugoslavija, (Not even all of Yugoslavia could defend you) was voted as the best album of the year, and Jugovision, the national competition for Eurovision, announced them as the candidate for Yugoslavia. Hari Mata Hari, in 1986, received fifth place for the song "U tvojoj kosi (In your hair)," and fourteenth place for the song "Nebeska kraljica" in 1987 in Belgrade.

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Wikipedia