Omega (band)


Omega is a Hungarian band formed in 1962, which has been described as the most successful Hungarian rock band in history. They have released more than 20 albums in both Hungarian and English. After several early personnel changes, their classic lineup came together in 1971 and was intact for more than forty years. Singer János Kóbor and keyboardist/singer László Benkő have been in the band continuously since 1962; while guitarist György Molnár and drummer Ferenc Debreczeni joined in 1967 and 1971 respectively. They have won several prestigious awards for their contributions to Hungarian culture.

History

Omega was formed in Budapest in 1962 by Benkő and Kóbor, with trombonist Győző Bánkúti, drummer Tamás Künsztler, saxophonist Péter Láng, guitarist Ferenc Tornóczky, and bassist István Varsányi. The members had all been in previous bands at the same grammar school. Their first concert was at Budapest's University of Technology and Economics in September 1962. The band went through many personnel changes in its first several years, and mostly played covers of British rock songs.
Omega first began to write their own songs with the arrival in 1967 of keyboardist/singer Gábor Presser, who was adept in rock, jazz, and folk songwriting. Guitarist György Molnár and bassist/singer Tamás Mihály also joined in 1967. The following year, the band was invited to tour England, where they recorded their debut album Omega: Red Star From Hungary with English lyrics for Decca Records. Later that year, the album was re-recorded in Hungarian and released in the band's home country as Trombitás Frédi és a Rettenetes Emberek. The band's sound during this period included experiments in psychedelic rock. Their 1969 song "Gyöngyhajú lány" was an international hit, and was later covered by the Scorpions. During this period, members of Omega also gained notice for backing several Hungarian pop singers, most notably Sarolta Zalatnay.
In 1971, Gábor Presser and drummer József Laux left Omega and formed the progressive rock band Locomotiv GT.. Presser was not replaced, while the band recruited new drummer Ferenc Debreczeni. The resulting lineup of Kóbor, Benkő, Molnár, Mihály, and Debreczeni remained intact for more than 40 years until Mihály retired from touring in 2014. Presser's jazz- and folk-oriented keyboards and songwriting had been dominant in Omega's sound; after his departure the band moved toward progressive rock and space rock with Benkő's classically-oriented keyboards and Molnár's heavy guitar as the focus.
This incarnation of Omega released ten more albums starting in 1972 until taking an extended break in 1987. Most of those were released in both Hungarian and English versions. During the 1970s in particular, some of the band's albums were restricted or banned in Hungary due to the Communist regime's view that hard rock music was subversive. However, they were able to tour in East Germany and recorded some songs in German for their fans in that country. During this period they were also noted for science fiction-oriented lyrics. After their thirteenth album Babylon in 1987, Omega went on hiatus so the members could focus on side projects.
Omega regrouped in 1994 for a major concert at Népstadion in Budapest, with special appearances by former members Gábor Presser and Tamás Somló, plus Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine of the Scorpions. Following the collapse of Communism in Hungary, most of Omega's previously suppressed albums were released on CD and generated great interest in the band as it returned to performing in 1994. Their first new album after reuniting was Trans and Dance in 1995.
In later years, the nation of Hungary bestowed many awards on the band for their important contributions to the country's music and culture, including the Hungarian National Award in 1998, the Kossuth Prize in 2013, and the Liszt Ferenc Prize in 2015. For their 50th anniversary in 2012, Omega toured with a symphony under the name "Omega Rhapsody". Longtime bassist Tamás Mihály, who had been with the band since 1967, retired from live performances in 2014, though his departure was not officially announced until 2017. The band continues to tour regularly with a rotating cast of sidemen, and their most recent album 55 - Volt Egyszer Egy Vadkelet was released in 2017.

Personnel

Members

;Current members
;Touring musicians
;Former Touring Musicians:
;Former members

Timeline



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DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1962 till:06/29/2017
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id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Organ value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitars
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Sax value:teal legend:Saxophone
id:Trombone value:pink legend:Trombone
id:Lines value:black legend:Releases
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
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ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1962
LineData =
at:07/01/1968 color:black layer:back
at:07/01/1969 color:black layer:back
at:12/01/1970 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1972 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1973 color:black layer:back
at:02/01/1975 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1977 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1978 color:black layer:back
at:02/01/1979 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1981 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1982 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1986 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1987 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1995 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1998 color:black layer:back
at:06/01/2006 color:black layer:back
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bar:Kóbor text:"János Kóbor"
bar:Wittek text:"Mária Wittek"
bar:Benkő text:"László Benkő"
bar:Presser text:"Gábor Presser"
bar:Gömöry text:"Zsolt Gömöry"
bar:Tornóczky text:"Ferenc Tornóczky"
bar:Kovacsics text:"András Kovacsics"
bar:Molnár text:"György Molnár"
bar:Szekeres text:"Tamás Szekeres"
bar:Varsányi text:"István Varsányi"
bar:Mihály text:"Tamás Mihály"
bar:Küronya text:"Miklós Küronya"
bar:Künsztler text:"Tamás Künsztler"
bar:Laux text:"József Laux"
bar:Debreczeni text:"Ferenc Debreczeni"
bar:Láng text:"Péter Láng"
bar:Harmat text:"László Harmat"
bar:Somló text:"Tamás Somló"
bar:Bánkúti text:"Győző Bánkúti"
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bar:Kóbor from:start till:07/01/1987 color:Vocals
bar:Kóbor from:07/01/1994 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Wittek from:07/01/1964 till:04/01/1967 color:Vocals
bar:Benkő from:start till:07/01/1987 color:Organ
bar:Benkő from:07/01/1994 till:end color:Organ
bar:Presser from:01/01/1967 till:07/01/1971 color:Organ
bar:Tornóczky from:start till:07/01/1962 color:Guitars
bar:Kovacsics from:07/01/1962 till:10/01/1967 color:Guitars
bar:Molnár from:10/01/1967 till:07/01/1987 color:Guitars
bar:Molnár from:07/01/1994 till:end color:Guitars
bar:Varsányi from:start till:04/01/1967 color:Bass
bar:Mihály from:04/01/1967 till:07/01/1987 color:Bass
bar:Mihály from:07/01/1994 till:06/16/2014 color:Bass
bar:Künsztler from:start till:07/01/1964 color:Drums
bar:Laux from:07/01/1964 till:07/01/1971 color:Drums
bar:Debreczeni from:07/01/1971 till:07/01/1987 color:Drums
bar:Debreczeni from:07/01/1994 till:end color:Drums
bar:Láng from:start till:07/01/1963 color:Sax
bar:Harmat from:07/01/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:Sax
bar:Somló from:07/01/1964 till:07/01/1968 color:Sax
bar:Bánkúti from:start till:07/01/1962 color:Trombone

Discography

Studio albums

;Hungarian language albums
  • Trombitás Frédi és a rettenetes emberek, due to marketing schemes the band's name was changed to Omega Red Star on the album cover
  • 10 000 lépés
  • Éjszakai országút
  • 200 évvel az utolsó háború után
  • Omega 5 later remixed, remastered and released as Szvit
  • Omega 6: Nem tudom a neved ; later remixed, remastered and released as Tűzvihar - Stormy Fire
  • Omega 7: Időrabló ;
  • Omega 8: Csillagok útján ; later remixed, remastered and with its English-language version released as Csillagok útján - Skyrover
  • Gammapolis ; later remixed, remastered and with its English-language version released as Gammapolisz - Gammapolis
  • Omega X: Az arc
  • Omega XI
  • Omega 12: A föld árnyékos oldalán
  • Omega XIII: Babylon
  • Trans And Dance ; later remixed, remastered and released as Transcendent - Hungarian version
  • Omega XV: Egy életre szól
  • Omega XVI: Égi jel: Omega
  • Omega Rhapsody
  • 55 - Volt Egyszer Egy Vadkelet
;English language albums
  • Omega Red Star From Hungary extremely rare vinyl recording, since October 2007 available on CD. Vocals by Mihály Tamás
  • Omega
  • 200 Years After The Last War
  • Omega III
  • The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky
  • Time Robber
  • Skyrover
  • Gammapolis
  • Working
  • Transcendent
Also, one German studio album was released:
  • Das Deutsche Album

    Live albums

  • Élő Omega
  • Élő Omega Kisstadion 79
  • Live At The Kisstadion 79
  • Kisstadion '80
  • Jubileumi Koncert
  • Népstadion 1994 Omegakoncert No. 1: Vizesblokk
  • Népstadion 1994 Omegakoncert No. 2: Szárazblokk
  • Az Omega összes koncertfelvétele 1.
  • Az Omega összes koncertfelvétele 2.
  • Népstadion 1999
  • Napot hoztam, csillagot
  • Greatest Performances

    Compilation albums

  • The Beaty Sixties
  • The Spacey Seventies
  • The Progressive Eighties
  • The Heavy Nineties
  • ''LP Anthology