Bata Illic – born on September 30, 1939, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) – is a pop crooner and schlager singer. While employed as a teacher, he and musician friend Andreas Triphan formed a band and began playing local live shows. The group split in 1961 when most member chose to relocate to France to pursue a musical career in that country. Bata Illic continued to perform in Belgrade, eventually performing for the American Embassy. This months-long engagement led to Bata Illic performing in Germany, where he recorded his first single “Die Welt Ist voller Liebe” (1966). He achieved his first chart hit in 1968 with the release of the single “Mit verbundenen Augen und Schuhe, so schwer wie ein Stein”. His biggest hit, “Michaela”, was released in 1972. Like most schlager singers, Batt Illic made many appearances on TV shows up through the late 1970s. His success streak came to a crawl in the 1980s as new wave and electropop took over the chats. He laid low for most of the rest of that decade and attempted a comeback in the 1990s. He continued to record and perform live, achieving a career resurgence in 2008. His most recent album is 2014’s Träumen Kann Ich Nur In Deinen Armen.
