Pop band Signal have become a regular staple of Sofia nightlife. The four musicians tour the city, playing in Biblioteka on Thursdays, Mr Punch on Saturdays, and Myastoto on Fridays.

The group was created out of a desire to make new and modern music in the 1970s when rock and pop were taboo in Bulgaria. The originator, who is also the main songwriter and frontman of the band Dancho Karadjov, explained that the music he makes springs from the heart and is aimed at quality music lovers. "Maybe that's the reason we have been at the top of charts in Bulgaria. There's no other secret for our success and fame," he said.

The first song ever sung by the band was called "Love," and it conveyed a message for a better world and free people. "We always find a deep connection between humanity's wishes and our own experience, and our task is to transform it into a proper tune," Karadjov said.

The band officially came to be on June 1, 1978. "The day of the child served as a great and promising beginning to all of us," Karadjov said, explaining that Hristo Lambrev (piano), Vladimir Zahariev (drums) and Alexander Marinovski (guitar) were all starting a new type of life with music that they really enjoyed.

The place where the band feels most comfortable and satisfied is among their fans in Bulgaria. "We love being adored and cherished by lovers of our music from all generations," Karadjov said. Signal has fans all over the country who have shown them respect and gratitude for the music they've created over the past 23 years.

"`To Cherish You' is an unconditional hit which married many couples and made people fall in love with each other," Karadjov said. The song is about the deepest feelings of love for someone who is going away, leaving the other person in pain and suffering. "To cherish you while you are leaving me is unacceptable," Karadjov said, quoting the lyrics. The song, written by Georgi Kostov, a friend of the band who occasionally writes for them, showed a union between lyrics and melody that may be the reason for its enduring success.

For the members of the band, the greatest presents they receive are the kind words and applause after a performance. "The awards we have received are nothing compared to seeing our fans singing with us during concerts. The awards are just stored at home in the cupboard covered with dust," Karadjov said with a smile.

One of the band's biggest hits, a song called "Farewell," appeared like a tune in Karadjov's head one day while he was walking in the street. "I never imagined it would become such a great hit in the country," Karadjov said. Farewell was written by another friend and songwriter, Zhivko Kolev, and is still one of Signal's favourite songs. "I tell you farewell now and I wish you a fortunate future away from me," are the lover's words in the tune.

"Our songs are our descendants, and we love performing them equally," the frontman said. "`In Another Time and Another World' is my favourite song, which provokes deep emotion and suffering just like every other song performed by us."

Working on albums for hours on end without any sleep, only served to bring the band closer and often made them live through the songs themselves, he added.

Signal used the music of Uriah Heep's "Free Me," and recorded a cover of the song titled "Stop Yourself." In addition to Uriah Heep, Karadjov's other influences include the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Queen, and Freddy Mercury in particular.

"Their music had nothing to do with the commercial and modern Bulgarian chalga (commercial folk music)," Karadjov said.

He said the social events in the country created certain types of tastes in music, though unfavorable ones. "Children like the lack of quality melody or lyrics in songs now, but they will soon realize what is valuable and precious," he added.

Karadjov has never imposed musical likes or dislikes on his children. His daughter is now singing in a rap band and his son has just released an electronic music CD.