YU Rock Misija (known in English as YU Rock Mission) was the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's contribution to Bob Geldof's Band Aid campaign, which culminated with the Live Aid concert. It consisted of recording the "Za milion godina" charity single and staging a concert held at Red Star Stadium in Belgrade on 15 June 1985, both featuring top acts of the Yugoslav rock scene. The proceeds from both the single and the concert were given to Band Aid.
Talking about how YU Rock Misija came about, rock critic stated in an interview for the Rockovnik documentary TV series:
The song, entitled "Za milion godina" ("For a Million Years") was composed by Dragoljub IliÃÂ, former leader of the hard rock band Generacija 5, and the lyrics were written by Mladen PopoviÃÂ, who had previously written lyrics for Denis & Denis, Oliver MandiÃÂ and other acts, and was, at the time, an editor of the TV show Hit meseca (Hit of the Month).
In an interview for Rockovnik, IliÃÂ stated:
A large number of musicians took part in the recording sessions, mostly as vocalists. At the time, IliÃÂ's former band Generacija 5 had been defunct for three years, but former members of the group reunited to record instrumental sections: Ilià(keyboards), Dragan Jovanovià(guitar), Duà ¡an Petrovià(bass guitar), and Slobodan ÃÂorÃÂevià(drums). Additionally, Vlatko Stefanovski of Leb i Sol recorded the guitar solo. The song was produced by renowned producer Saà ¡a HabiÃÂ.
The cover was designed by prominent cartoonist and designer Jugoslav VlahoviÃÂ. The original design, which appeared in the March 1985 issue of Rock, featured skull and crossbones symbols on the black background, which were omitted from the final design.
The song was released on a 7-inch single, with its instrumental version as the B-side. The single was distributed with the 75th issue of the Rock magazine, published on 22 May 1985. The issue was printed in 150,000 copies, thus the initial number of the singles sold was 150,000. A number of records was given to Yugoslav radio stations in order to promote the single.
Bora ÃÂorÃÂeviàand Goran BregoviÃÂ, leaders of Riblja ÃÂorba and Bijelo Dugme respectivelyâÂÂtwo most popular Yugoslav bands at the timeâÂÂdid not take part in the recording sessions. It was later revealed that ÃÂorÃÂeviÃÂ's refusal to participate may have been based, at least partly, on his wrong assumption about the project being government-initiated, unaware that individual Yugoslav musicians and music industry people started it on their own accord. In a 1985 interview, published before the song recording, he stated:
However, the article published in Rock magazine in March 1985 as a companion piece to the release of "Za milion godina" stated that Bregoviàand ÃÂorÃÂeviàwere prevented from appearing on the recording due to their respective bands' touring commitments. The piece further announced that the two would appear at the song's performance on the Hit meseca TV show alongside Bijelo Dugme vocalist Mladen VojiÃÂià"Tifa". In late April 1985, ÃÂorÃÂeviÃÂ, Bregoviàand VojiÃÂiàdid show up for the video shoot at RTB studios in Koà ¡utnjak and can be seen in the video for the song.
Dragoljub Iliàstated in an interview that Branimir "Dà ¾oni" à  tuliÃÂ, leader of the highly popular band Azra, was not considered for the song recording because he had already moved abroad to the Netherlands.
In an October 1985 interview for Dà ¾uboks magazine, Zabranjeno Puà ¡enje frontman Nele Karajliàwas asked about his absence from YU Rock Misija several months earlier. He stated:
In an interview for the magazine Blitz, also in October 1985, KarajliÃÂ stated:
Singer-songwriter ÃÂorÃÂe Balaà ¡eviàwas not invited to participate. In an August 1986 interview for Rock magazine, he stated:
Footage from the studio recordings show Ekatarina Velika bass guitarist Bojan PeÃÂar being present in the studio during the single recording, although neither him nor any other of the band members took part in the song. The band would appear on the corresponding charity concert at Red Star Stadium.
The video shoot for the "Za milion godina" track took place on 29 April 1985 at Television Belgrade's studios in Koà ¡utnjak.
The corresponding charity concert was held at Red Star Stadium on 15 June 1985, less than a month before Live Aid. Beside the musicians who had already participated in the song recording and the bands they were members of, additional acts performed at the live show. Some 20,000 spectators attended the concert. The following acts played the show, in the order of appearance:
Marked by uncooperative weather and technical issues, the eight-hour concert was broadcast live on Radio Television of Belgrade. The broadcast was also carried in Cuba and Czechoslovakia.
In a mid-2000s interview for Rockovnik, Hit mesecas host and producer Dubravka MarkoviÃÂ talked about the weather and logistical issues during the live show:
In an interview for Rockovnik, Bajaga i Instruktori frontman MomÃÂilo BajagiÃÂ complained about the unusual setup and sound issues during the stadium show:
MiliàVukaà ¡inoviÃÂ, performing with his band Vatreni Poljubac, dissatisfied with constant echo, stopped playing in the middle of the song "à ½ivio Rock 'n' Roll" ("Long Live Rock 'n' Roll"), saying angrily into the microphone: "It's not good... Fuck it, it's not good!". His profane outburst was later criticized by a sizable section of the public.
The song was, alongside a corresponding message from Belgrade, conveyed by Mladen PopoviÃÂ, aired on Wembley Stadium during Live Aid concert, between RunâÂÂD.M.C. and Black Sabbath performances in Philadelphia.
According to Peca PopoviÃÂ, the funds raised from the sales of the "Za milion godina" single were US$256,000 and further US$170,000 from the concert tickets, for a grand total of US$426,000.
In 2007, Serbian critic Dimitrije Vojnov named "Za milion godina" one of ten most important records in the history of Yugoslav rock music, writing:
In 2011, Mladen PopoviÃÂ made a similar statement for the documentary series Rockovnik:
The piano version of "Za milion godina" appeared at the end of the last episode of Rockovnik series, where it follows footage of former Yugoslav rock acts.
In 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, a group of public figures from Serbia recorded a new version of the song, accompanied by the message "Be a Hero, Stay at Home". The participants included musicians Aleksandra RadoviÃÂ, Sergej ÃÂetkoviÃÂ, Aleksandra KovaÃÂ, Zoran à ½ivanoviàand Jelena GaloniÃÂ, Bojana Stamenov, Dà ¾enan LonÃÂareviÃÂ, Nevena Boà ¾oviÃÂ, Ivana Peters, Goran à  epa, Nenad MilosavljeviÃÂ, Tijana BogiÃÂeviÃÂ, Lena KovaÃÂeviÃÂ, Zoran "Kiki" LesendriÃÂ, Bilja KrstiÃÂ, Ana StaniÃÂ, Leontina Vukomanoviàand Tijana DapÃÂeviÃÂ, actors Gordan KiÃÂiÃÂ, Nebojà ¡a MilovanoviÃÂ, Marko à ½ivià(who would himself die from COVID-19 in October 2021) and Gorica PopoviÃÂ, alongside other musicians and actors.
"Za milion godina" was heavily used during 2024âÂÂ2025 Serbian anti-corruption protests, performed by choirs and played on a number of protests across Serbia. Generacija 5 members publicly supported the protests, and Iliàstated about the usage of the song: