With teary eyes and candles in their hands, the fans of Vlado Janevski they sang aloud the song “Once Upon a Time”, one of the greatest hits of the eternal romantic who at the age of 65, after a short illness, left for eternity on June 28.
In front of the “Boris Trajkovski” Arena, his fans from all generations, colleagues and friends gathered and everyone had their own memory of the man who gave songs to his Chair, to Skopje and to Macedonia.
“Behind Vlado, who, although he seemed cold, distant, maybe lonely and distant, an extremely emotional soul was hidden. Listen to his songs,” Silvana Mučić-Plevnes from “Silvi Band” told us.
“I remember a moment when our Dea was born and she was about six or seven months old, and Igor Dzambazov and Vlado came to visit us. Vlado was sitting like that and Igor Dzambazov was with Iskra at the time and so, sitting together, Vlado looks at us and says: ‘Look, Igor found Iskra, Vlatko found Siki, I’ll find a beautiful girl, so look at the beautiful child, only me I stayed like this. He was so sweet, open and honest at that moment, that I knew that Vlado was a very emotional soul. After that, all the following meetings were like that. I loved him very much, and I think we have something to remember. I remember that he came to the wedding with Vlatko and brought me 101 roses.
He also spoke about his friend in front of the fans Vlatko Plevneshis great friend who followed him to all performances.
“I don’t accept that information that he is gone, because we were supposed to play together again in this hall. He didn’t want pathetic songs, let’s send him off with his songs that will stay forever,” said Plevneš.
He added that the last time he performed with Vlado was on April 8 in Ohrid, and then he canceled his next performances on April 10 and 18, telling him that he was not well.
“Vlado was a perfectionist and he cared the most about us from the band, whether we were in a good mood, whether we were happy. That was more important to him than whether we made a mistake in a song. It’s a pity that such a man left and left behind songs that will be sung for centuries,” said Stevo Chepisevski, who shared the stage with Vlado Janevski as a backing vocalist.
The famous musician came from Belgrade especially for the event George Davidwho told us that he met Vlado two months ago in Gevgelija.
“I met Vlado four years ago, through a mutual friend of ours in Gevgelija. Then, whenever I was in Gevgelija, I met him and always wanted to talk. He was rooting for my path with these young candidates, Macedonian talents who appeared in this competition where I am a member of the jury. And we talked about what should be done to give them the light, because it turned out that Macedonia really has such talented people.
I knew his work from before. He was always in the mood for real stories. The last time I met him was about two months ago, in Gevgelija, not even knowing that he had that health problem. We always talked about cheerful things and music. The news caught me in Belgrade and when I heard that this magnificent event was going to happen, I inquired with Ognen Zdravkovski and Joce Panov, sat in a car and came. I loved him because he was a perfectionist in every sense of the word. And I think he is one of the few singers who nurtured his band and who treated his band like family. I also have that attitude towards my band,” Gjorge David told “Sloboden Pechat”.
He added that Vlado Janevski was a rare character, and the songs will live on.
Marko Mark, who led the event, gave an emotional speech for Vlado.
“There are people whose songs are listened to. And there are people whose songs are lived. Vlado Janevski was exactly that kind of person. His songs were not just melodies. They were memories. They were loves. They were partings. They were hope. They were part of our most beautiful, but also the most difficult moments. With them we grew, rejoiced, grieved and loved. Few people manage to become part of the life of a nation with their voice. Vlado did exactly that. With exceptional talent, with a refined musical taste and a rare authorial sensibility, he created songs that do not belong to just one time. They belong to everyone who ever wanted, waited, dreamed or believed.”
Fans of all generations stayed at the event they initiated and supported by the production “Pragma”, remembering the songs of Vlado, who, as Stevo Chepisevski said, was not only a musician, but also a poet.
