Illés
Encyclopedia
Illés was a Hungarian
rock/beat
band (1960-1973), and was one of the biggest groups of the 1960s and early 1970s rock boom in Hungary. The band is often compared to the Beatles as regards the time period of its activity, its artistic and cultural influence and continuing popularity.
in the form of musical notes, drawn by two horses, riding over the name "Illés" and the sun. This logo deliberately references the chariot
of the prophet Elijah (Illés in Hungarian) in the Old Testament
, in which he was said to have been taken to Heaven
.
, broadcast illegally to Hungary, started to influence Hungarian youth culture. They were the first wildly popular band of the "new" beat music. Their song Még fáj minden csók (Every kiss still hurts) caused quite a scandal in 1966 because of Levente Szörényi's "squeaking" singing style.
Despite them being highly controversial, they were supported by the Communist
regime - that was trying at the time to introduce a policy of "small liberties" for the people - and received numerous awards.
Nevertheless, they did not publish an album until 1967, with the film soundtrack for Ezek a fiatalok ("These young people!" or "These are the young people"). The movie was an attempt to make the general audience better acquainted with the (comparatively tame) youth culture of the time. Some of the most popular bands and singers of the time appear in the film, including Illés and Omega while the main female role is played by another famous Hungarian pop singer, Koncz Zsuzsa.
By the late 1960s, a great number of beat bands had emerged in Hungary. Fans of Illés and Omega
soon started rivalries, parallelling the Beatles-Rolling Stones rivalry in the West.
elements with Hungarian folk music
with hits like Lökd ide a sört! (Pass the beer!) and Mondd, hogy nem haragszol rám! (Say that you are not angry). They also continued their cooperation with singer Zsuzsa Koncz
, for whom they had written songs since the first half of the sixties.
The band later re-united for high profile concerts on different occasions, the most memorable probably being their 1990 performance in the Népstadion after the regime change in Hungary. In 2001 they also performed a common concert with the other two dominant Hungarian bands of their era, Omega and Metró.
In 1983, Szörényi and Bródy wrote the rock opera
István, a király
, based on the life of Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary
. It became an instant smash hit and retains a cult following to this day.
After the fall of Communism in 1990, Szörényi and Bródy grew apart politically. Bródy, a secular Jew, sympathized with the liberal Free Democrats, while Szörényi became increasingly nationalist
and a religious Christian
. This was reflected in his later rock operas like Atilla, Isten kardja (Atilla, the Sword of God - 1994) and Veled, Uram! (With You, My Lord! - 2000). The latter is a sequel
to István, a király.
Drummer Zoltán Pásztory left Hungary in the 1970s and went to West Germany
, where he sank into obscurity. He died in 2005 at the age of 60. For the already booked two concerts of the band in 2005 (one on the first day of the annual Sziget fesztivál in Budapest and the other in Miercurea Ciuc) his place at the drums was taken over by Örs Szörényi, the son of the band's lead guitarist Levente Szörényi.
After the original Illés formation broke up, founder and keyboardist Lajos Illés kept operating a band with the same name until the early eighties. He later retired to the small village of Kisoroszi, where he acted as the chorister of the local Reformed church (his wife being the pastor there), and continued composing music including chorals, musicals and film soundtracks. He died in 2007 at the age of 64.
Compilations:
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
rock/beat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
band (1960-1973), and was one of the biggest groups of the 1960s and early 1970s rock boom in Hungary. The band is often compared to the Beatles as regards the time period of its activity, its artistic and cultural influence and continuing popularity.
Name
The band's name was originally taken from the family name of Lajos Illés, one of the members. Later however, the band chose as its logo a chariotChariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
in the form of musical notes, drawn by two horses, riding over the name "Illés" and the sun. This logo deliberately references the chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
of the prophet Elijah (Illés in Hungarian) in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, in which he was said to have been taken to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
.
Members
- Levente Szörényi (b. 26 April 1945 BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) - lead guitars, lead vocals - János Bródy (b. 5 April 1946 BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) - rhythm guitars, recorder, flute, vocals - Szabolcs Szörényi (b. 16 September 1943 BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) - bass, vocals - Lajos Illés (b. 18 March 1942 BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
- 29 January 2007) - vocals, strings, keys - Zoltán Pásztory (b. 3 October 1944 - 1 May 2005) (Later Örs Szörényi) - drums
History
Illés was founded in 1960, but did not gain wider popularity outside of students clubs until 1963. This was the time the Hungarian language programs of Radio LuxemburgRadio Luxemburg
Radio Luxemburg is the name of a commercial radio station that has broadcast in the German language from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 208 metres in the Medium Wave Band since the conclusion of World War II....
, broadcast illegally to Hungary, started to influence Hungarian youth culture. They were the first wildly popular band of the "new" beat music. Their song Még fáj minden csók (Every kiss still hurts) caused quite a scandal in 1966 because of Levente Szörényi's "squeaking" singing style.
Despite them being highly controversial, they were supported by the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime - that was trying at the time to introduce a policy of "small liberties" for the people - and received numerous awards.
Nevertheless, they did not publish an album until 1967, with the film soundtrack for Ezek a fiatalok ("These young people!" or "These are the young people"). The movie was an attempt to make the general audience better acquainted with the (comparatively tame) youth culture of the time. Some of the most popular bands and singers of the time appear in the film, including Illés and Omega while the main female role is played by another famous Hungarian pop singer, Koncz Zsuzsa.
By the late 1960s, a great number of beat bands had emerged in Hungary. Fans of Illés and Omega
Omega (band)
Omega is one of the most successful Hungarian rock bands.-Biography:Formed in Budapest in September, 1962 by the winds player László Benkő on organ and János Kóbor as a singer and rhythm guitarist, they initially performed covers of British and American rock songs, frequently changing the lineup of...
soon started rivalries, parallelling the Beatles-Rolling Stones rivalry in the West.
After Illés
The band broke up in 1973, possibly also due to political pressure. The Illés had been in fact barred for one year (plus a fine) from the Capital because of an interview they did release while staying in Britain and where they did criticize government. Nevertheless, the members, especially L. Szörényi and Bródy, continued to work together on other projects, notably with their new band Fonográf, which tried to blend countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
elements with Hungarian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
with hits like Lökd ide a sört! (Pass the beer!) and Mondd, hogy nem haragszol rám! (Say that you are not angry). They also continued their cooperation with singer Zsuzsa Koncz
Zsuzsa Koncz
Zsuzsa Koncz is a Hungarian singer, whose lyrics were sometimes highly critical of the country's pre-1990 political system....
, for whom they had written songs since the first half of the sixties.
The band later re-united for high profile concerts on different occasions, the most memorable probably being their 1990 performance in the Népstadion after the regime change in Hungary. In 2001 they also performed a common concert with the other two dominant Hungarian bands of their era, Omega and Metró.
In 1983, Szörényi and Bródy wrote the rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
István, a király
István, a király
István, a király is a Hungarian rock opera written by Levente Szörényi and János Bródy , based on the life of Saint Stephen of Hungary. The storyline was based on the play Ezredforduló by Miklós Boldizsár, who co-wrote the libretto.The opera was first staged in 1983 on an open-air stage in...
, based on the life of Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. It became an instant smash hit and retains a cult following to this day.
After the fall of Communism in 1990, Szörényi and Bródy grew apart politically. Bródy, a secular Jew, sympathized with the liberal Free Democrats, while Szörényi became increasingly nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and a religious Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. This was reflected in his later rock operas like Atilla, Isten kardja (Atilla, the Sword of God - 1994) and Veled, Uram! (With You, My Lord! - 2000). The latter is a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to István, a király.
Drummer Zoltán Pásztory left Hungary in the 1970s and went to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, where he sank into obscurity. He died in 2005 at the age of 60. For the already booked two concerts of the band in 2005 (one on the first day of the annual Sziget fesztivál in Budapest and the other in Miercurea Ciuc) his place at the drums was taken over by Örs Szörényi, the son of the band's lead guitarist Levente Szörényi.
After the original Illés formation broke up, founder and keyboardist Lajos Illés kept operating a band with the same name until the early eighties. He later retired to the small village of Kisoroszi, where he acted as the chorister of the local Reformed church (his wife being the pastor there), and continued composing music including chorals, musicals and film soundtracks. He died in 2007 at the age of 64.
Albums
Original albums:- Ezek a fiatalok (1967 - film soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
) - Nehéz az út (1969)
- Illések és pofonok (1969)
- Human Rights (1971)
- Add a kezed (1972)
- Ne sírjatok, lányok (1973)
Compilations:
- A koncert (1981 - live album)
- Illés kislemezek (1984 - singles)
- Népstadion 1990 (live album)
- Az Illés összes kislemeze (1990 - all singles)
- Az Illés másik oldalán - Válogatás (1996 - B sides compilation)
- Best of Illés - Balladák és lírák (1996)
- Best of Illés - Miért hagytuk, hogy így legyen (1996)
- Illés '96 (live album)
Popular songs (selection)
- Az utcán (On the street)
- Itt állok egymagamban (I'm standing here alone)
- Még fáj minden csók (Every kiss hurts)
- Little Richard
- Igen (Yes)
- Good bye London
- Oh mondd (Oh tell me)
- Légy jó kicsit hozzám (Be a bit nice to me)
- Amikor én még kissrác voltam (When I was still a little boy)
- Ne sírjatok lányok (Don't cry, girls)
- Sárga rózsa (Yellow rose)
- Miért hagytuk, hogy így legyen? (Why did we let it happen?)
- Kéglidal (Apartment song)
- Az ész a fontos (It's the wits that matter)
- Újra itt van (It's here again)