Interviews

An Interview with Tonci Huljic (right), the writer of three songs in Dora 99, including the winning song - March 7th, 11am, Sheraton Hotel

Geoff Harrison (GH): "Tonci, you have three songs in this year's Dora, one of which you're performing yourself. I notice every year you seem to have a lot of songs in the Dora - you're a very busy songwriter"

Tonci Huljic (TH): "Yes, I have a huge amount of singers"

GH: "Yes, and Tonika is your company. How huge?"

TH: "Eleven, I write songs and do the management for all of them"

GH: "There seem to a few people like that, like Tutic and Lesic. You're based in Split?"

TH: "Yes, main place in Croatia"

GH: "Are most of these artists well known?"

TH: "Four or five are stars, the others less well known; Danijela, Doris, Graso, Minea, Sandi, Boris Novkovic. Graso writes his own songs."

GH: "You write with your wife?"

TH: "She writes the lyrics, I write the melodies"

GH: "Was it playback last night [Saturday]?"

TH: "Last night all live, tonight half and half"

GH: "We were told the winning songwriter will win a car. Is that right?

TH: "Yes, a small car"

GH: "You obviously have a good chance with three songs. We hear Doris is the favourite."

TH: "She maybe doesn't have the best song, but its the most attractive."

GH: "So you think there are better songs in there?"

TH: "No, its really hard to say because there are songs which will do better in Croatia than they will do in Europe - you have to make songs for Europe"

Ian Fowell (IF): "Is Minea's song a dance song?"

TH: "More for the Croatian market, not a dance song, now it's different"

GH: "Your band Magazin has been around a long time"

TH: "Magazin has been in business 20 years. We had a concert for the 20th anniversary in a stadium in Zagreb recently. Eighty thousand people are coming to a concert on the beach at Split in June - people will come from all over. Last week we were in Slovenia, soon in Sarajevo, and Belgrade has invited me, but its difficult"

GH: "Can they buy your records there? - on the black market?"

TH: "Yes, half and half"

GH: "I notice you say the same, but you change the girl singers."

TH: "Yes, best way - man growing older not so good!"

GH: "Jelena now, before that Danijela"

TH: "Yes, and before that Lilijana, she's now in America"

GH: "You bring them into your group, and then they have a solo career?"

TH: "When I decide they should have a solo career I find a new singer to replace"

GH: "I was talking to another composer who said how good you were at combining the Greek, Italian and Adriatic sounds into something Croatian."

TH: "Yes, most important is to be very different to any other; original. You know Mel Bush?"

GH: "I know of him"

TH: "He's working with me on a project - four girls performing instrumental music - the producer of Vanessa Mae and Robbie Williams, Gareth Cousins, is producing it. They are called Quartet."

IF: "Do you have a new album?"

TH: "The last one was out 6 months ago."

IF: "Is there a Magazin fan club?"

TH: "There is a fan club, right now they're trying to open phone lines for fans to ask questions"

GH: "Where is Minea and Doris right now? Can we speak to them?"

TH: "Minea lives in Zagreb, so she goes home. Doris right now is ...sleeping."

GH & IF: "Thank you for your time. Good luck with your songs."

• If you came from it, return to Sunday's report where you were