Srđan Šaper - "I didn't betray Rock'n'Roll"

“There is nothing I find more sad than past overaged rockers. That's why I seeked for new experiments and creative chalenges in the marketing, and I want to be usefull with my political engagement, without any pathetics” says the former “Idol”, the present owner and manager of the leading marketing company and a member of GO DS.

(VIS Idoli)

The former “majčiki” from the city center, an urban icon of SFRJ picks a restaurant on Čukarica in the street Radnička?! “I don’t see anything odd about it. ‘Gušti mora’ is an excellent restaurant, especially in the summer period. It is a real shame that Belgrade doesn’t have more places like this outside the city center; what’s wrong with Borča, for an example – that would be really interesting” answers Srđan Šaper in his style. During the 80’s he was the singer for the cult, new wave group VIS “Idoli”, and today he is the manager of the Serbian McCann Ericsson Group and an influential member of the Main Committee of the Democrat Party.

Many people, including the foreigners, think that Belgrade’s best sides are the cefe’s, restaurants, the night life and the atmosphere. Ironic in his own way, Šarper answers: “I am very sceptic about these kinds facts. Belgrade is still very far away from Prague, for example. Second, it is the image of the hole country that counts, and it is, sadly, very similar to that Serbia had during the Slobodan Milošević period. After that, we had no political or national visions”: Then the political activist talks out of him and says yes to the majority election system which would eliminate the little parties and would made possible for a stabile government to form. A stabile government would have at least four years to try dealing with the numerous challenges.

The problem is inside of us

He wishes, of course, that his party becomes the one that takes the challenges. He points out that he isn’t a fanatic, and recognizes the patriotism and a true desire in working on the image of Serbia in the present government members. “But” he adds “before the branding and marketing process you should have defined products, Second, the Serbian elite is traditionally incompetent, and, in most cases, she made a loan out of a ready thing, and the people paid that in blood, with millions of victims” says Šaper bitterly and gives a line of historical examples, showing his great history knowledge.

“We must include a large number of people from here in all the projects. The people here aren’t just hospitable (what everybody admit), bur educated, informed and capable too. It is probably because of the Interned, but when we could deal with the visas, Serbs can once more become those who were in the center of European and world event, like they were in the 30’s” says Šaper, not without mentioning the treatment Serbia is having from the international community, but he strongly points out that he doesn’t believe in the “conspiracy theory”.

“Obviously, the problem is inside of us. The Serbs remind me of a military formation whose point is going and goes deeply, but the sides vulnerable and the back is dragging itself widely” he explains. “The truth is that we had a significant role in all the big history events. Taken from one side, that frees us from all possible complexes, but, taken from the other, we easily put others down and overworth ourselves – that makes us incapable to make strong connections to the world” he predicts.

The shadows are different

With an indignation he refuses any thoughts that, out of the “volunteer singing” he made a politic association with his youth friends – Boris Tadić and Nebojša Krstić. “We talked about politics, and dealed with it in our own way during our youth. I became a member of DS in the year 1990, and I worked on it’s firs election campaign ‘Break over in a smart way’. It may sound pathetic, but I see my political activity as a possibility to do something for a greater good – much more than I could have done as a musician” says he not letting a shadow to fall on his poltic activities.

(Nebojša Krstić)

My life path is very unusual. He went a way from a trademark of Yugoslavian “new wave” (not just in the music) to the manager of the well known marketing company, a politic activist and a remarkable member of the Serbian Jet-set. “I don’t see anything unusual about it” says he. He was born in the street Vasina, and moved to Nevesinjska street when he was five. He went to the elementary school “Sveti Sava” and that to the 8th Highschool, present Third Highschool of Belgrade.

“I was a straight A student interested in science, so it was naturally for me to go the MedSchool, especially because I was interested in psychiatry, and fascinated with Jung’s “deep psychology” he explains. But after 3-4 years of faculty, beside the good grades he realizes that he wants something else. That is the period when the legendary music group “Idoli” starts.

Then – he gets to the main court – he signs in to movie directory in the generation with Milutin Petrović. He doesn’t direct movies, but he is recognized in the move “A drowner against a drowner” from Slobodan Šijan. “It was the time” he explains “when he signed in with the tandem Bucko&Tucko and they made commercials. We always thought that we did that just ‘for living’ and that the time will come when we can work in the arts business. Beside that, many people expected more from the group “Idoli”, and than the war began…” explains he why we haven’t seen anything from his directing career.

Soon he realized that he can’t live like that anymore, so he formed an agency called Idols&Friends in 1995. Two years later he became an offer from the American agency McCann Ericsson and suddenly he was the owner and the manager of a company which is working under this name. Today he owns those agencies in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, and has great ambitions for spreading more in this area.

Šaper is satisfied with what he has done. He admits that his suit is a couple of numbers bigger than it was while he sang “Jedina, malena”. “I enjoy provocating people who thought then, and think today that I shouldn’t wear these. But serious” he takes a paper tissue “McCann Ericsson Group has set a goal to be ‘one-stop-shop’ and to make a reunion of creative, media and other PR agencies. We are the best in every discipline, or at least on the second place, but those who are better play their cards just on one field”:

You want a proof? “We make about 20-25 million EUR in the area, and 80% of that is in Serbia; that makes a fifth of the local. We have a profit of 4-5 million EUR a year, which is great in the local and regional circumstances” says Šaper. The profit is mostly reinvested. “that is the smartest thing to do. I care about getting into countries and areas in the Southestern Europe, which could bring aven bigger profit” he says directly.

“Beside that – he passes to the wine – I would like to link my present job with my youth job. He fantasiyes about a rich movie and music production, editory… He plans to finally make a own family home

he waits on his dreams to come true in a 60 square foot apartment in the street Kursulina. He doesn’t care about the music activities today. “The last time I hade a longer ride in my car, I listened to Toma Zdravkovic and Miša Kovač”, his sense for likeable cynism returns, and he answers to our reaction by inviting us to his 6 years old Opel to check his CD collection.

Defense and the last days

“I lived great with little money in my pocket – from now to then”. It seems impossible that one of the authors of the masterpiece “Defense and the last days” is saying that. “ ‘Defense’ was sold in a very low number, but “Chocolate”, our next album was sold in 200.000 copies. Vlada (Divjan) was the one who came off the best with the money. He bought a “fića” while I got a used “spaček”. We didn’t have a manager, and we weren’t great businessmen” he remembers. But the lack of money wasn’t the reason why “Idoli” broke up.

(Vlada Divjan)

It is hard to provoke a proved provocateur, but it is not impossible. “I go to a public event, and my picture is all over the tabloids” I slowly rise his temperature on a hot august day. I go on with a rude tempo. I give him a list of musicians who paid their dreams with their life. Šaper holds still for a while looking in the whine glass…

Than he bursts: “What was I supposed to do? To recycle the same thing for 30 years?! No exaggerating, “Idoli” could have made ten more “Defenses”, but we wanted something new. Me personally. Beside, there is nothing as sad as an overaged rocker. Recently I went to a Rolling Stones concert in San Francisco. Beside the fans, who fascinated me because there were people from all ages, I didn’t feel the world changing afterwards. I would have been so if they and me were a couple decades youger” defends he himself eagerly.

On my remark that there are musicians who “age nicely” he says that everyone has their “last days” different. “Am I worse from Bono, Bob Gedofe or even Sting? I left my rebel years behind, in the youth wanting to tag it with a price. I went into the “establishment” completely “clean”. Isn’t that the right thing to do?”

His good mood comes back in a no time “beside, I would change my present job for a new one if a felt a great challenge” concludes Šaper

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