Illés
From Unearthing The Music
Illés (Hungarian name: Illés együttes = Illés Ensemble) was an Hungarian rock/beat band active between 1960–1973, one of the biggest groups of the 1960s and early 1970s rock boom in Hungary. The band is often compared to the Beatles in terms of the time period of its activity, its artistic and cultural influence and continuing popularity.
Biography
Illés was founded in 1960, but did not gain wider popularity outside of student clubs until 1963, when the Hungarian language programs of Radio Luxemburg, broadcasted illegally to Hungary, started to influence Hungarian youth culture. They were the first wildly popular band to play "new" beat music. Their song Még fáj minden csók (Every kiss still hurts) caused quite a scandal in 1966 due to Levente Szörényi's "squeaking" singing style.
Despite being highly controversial, they were supported by the Communist regime which was trying to introduce a policy of "small liberties" for the people at the time - 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 was played by another famous Hungarian pop singer, Zsuzsa Koncz.
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.
After Illés
The band broke up in 1973, possibly due to political pressure. Illés had been in fact barred for one year (plus a fine) from the Hungarian capital due to an interview they released while staying in Britain where they criticized the government. Nevertheless its members, especially L. Szörényi and Bródy, continued to work together on other projects, notably with their new band Fonográf with Sz. Szörényi, which attempted to blend country 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 1960s.
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 moved to West Germany, where led a life away from the spotlight. 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) he was replaced at the drums 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 1980s. He later retired to the small village of Kisoroszi, where he acted as the choir master 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.
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 chariot 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.
Members
- Levente Szörényi (b. 26 April 1945 Budapest) - lead guitars, lead vocals
- János Bródy (b. 5 April 1946 Budapest) - rhythm guitars, recorder, flute, vocals
- Szabolcs Szörényi (b. 16 September 1943 Budapest) - bass, vocals
- Lajos Illés (b. 18 March 1942 Budapest - 29 January 2007) - vocals, strings, keys
- Zoltán Pásztory (b. 3 October 1944 - 1 May 2005) (Later Örs Szörényi) - drums
Albums
Original albums:
- Ezek a fiatalok (1967 - film soundtrack)
- 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)
External links
Text adapted from Wikipedia