at the beginning of the 1960s, along with tamburitza instruments (and other stringed instruments banjo, bouzouki, balalaika, then piano, mouth organ, fife, kazoo, ocarina) nikolić also played the electric guitar. along with krunoslav kićo slabinac, he formed the band tornado and then, in 1963, the legendary rock band dinamiti, which was the most famous rock band in ex- yugoslavia in the 1960s, and which also performed around europe. in 1967 antun nikolić tuca went into military service. after serving in the military he came back in 1969 to tamburitza music. the same year he re-formed and began leading the big tamburitza orchestra of radio osijek, with which he works as conductor, arranger, music producer and music editor. he also collects, records and preserves the enormous traditional values of northeast croatia.