Ekatarina Velika (, ), sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential Yugoslav music acts. Initially called Katarina II (, ), the band had built up a devoted following that greatly intensified and expanded after the death of its frontman Milan Mladenović in 1994, which caused the band to dissolve. The group's core consisted of singer and guitarist Milan Mladenović, keyboardist Margita Stefanović and bassist Bojan Pečar, with other members mostly remaining for comparatively shorter periods. History Post-punk years (1982–1986) Katarina II In February 1982, following the disbandment of Šarlo Akrobata, 24-year-old guitarist and vocalist Milan Mladenović decided to form a new band with an old friend — 22-year-old guitarist Gagi Mihajlović. Playing music together again after being bandmates a few years earlier at Limunovo Drvo, Mladenović and Mihajlović decided to name their new band Katarina II after Mihajlović's unrequited love — a girl named Katarina. Rounding out Katarina II's inaugural lineup were Dušan Dejanović (another former Limunovo Drvo member) on drums and Zoran "Švaba" Radomirović on bass guitar. During late 1982, after their performance at the Topčiderska zvezda cinema, the band was joined by the 23-year-old classically trained pianist Margita Stefanović. Shortly after, the rhythm section left with Radomirović joining Du Du A and Dejanović going over to heated rivals Disciplina Kičme. The vacant drummer position was filled by Branko "Mango" Kuštrin (formerly of Grupa I), but after he left within a month, Milan's former bandmate from Šarlo Akrobata Ivan "VD" Vdović became the new drummer. At the same time, in early 1983, Bojan Pečar (former VIA Talas bassist) joined on bass. In spring 1983, the band took part in Zagreb Biennale, receiving positive reviews. Their material for the debut album material was recorded soon after, featuring guest appearance by actor Svetislav Goncić on tin whistles. The recording sessions for the material were completed in Enco Lesić's Druga Maca studio, however, the material was unusable due to a variety of reasons, most of them having to do with the studio's inferior technical equipment. The following year, the band took the offer from fellow musician and RTV Ljubljana's musical director Srđan Marjanović of re-recording their debut album material in the state-owned media company's studios. Katarina II's eponymous debut album was thus released in 1984 by RTV Ljubljana's in-house record label ZKP RTLJ. Mostly featuring