Mazhar Alanson

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Mazhar Alanson (February 13, 1950) is a Turkish pop musician, member of the legendary Turkish pop music band MFÖ and an actor.

He was born to a musician family in Ankara, Turkey, where his father was the head trumpeter in the State Philharmonic Orchestra. He continued his high school education in İstanbul following his father's death. After the high school, he attended the State Conservotary in Ankara and graduated in performing arts, in particular (theater).

He learned playing guitar during his high school years. In 1966, Mazhar formed the band "Kaygısızlar" (literally "The Unworrieds") along with Fuat Güner. They played the music of the Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Rolling Stones and collaborated with the renowned Turkish pop singer Barış Manço. Later on, Özkan Uğur joined the band, and in 1972 the trio was renamed MFÖ, after the initials of the members. While Özkan was serving his military duty, Mazhar and Fuat released their first album Türküz Türkü Çığırırız. The album song Güllerin İçinden helped the group got known to a broad audience. In 1974, Galip Boransu and Ayhan Sicimoğlu joined the band, and the quintet took the name "İpucu Beşlisi". However, the band dissolved after a short time, and the group MFÖ continued to play music as a trio again.

Between 1972 and 1982, Mazhar Alanson played as an actor at the Ankara State Theatre, performing a number of leading roles in major plays.

MFÖ represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1985 with Didai Didai Dai (place 14) and in 1988 with Sufi (place 15), both written and performed by themselves.

In addition, he played in several TV commercials and some films. In the film Arkadaşım Şeytan (Demon, My Friend) directed by Atıf Yılmaz, he successfully played the role of Mephistopheles. He wrote also the film score. In his second film Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak directed by Ömer Vargı, Mazhar Alanson shared the leading roles with Cem Yılmaz and Ceyda Düvenci. The film, he wrote also the film music for, became the highest-grossing movie in 1998. He shared 2002 the leading role again with Cem Yılmaz in the film Yıldızlı Pekiyi. The same year, he played in the TV series Çekirdak Aile produced for the Kanal D. 2006 he appeared in the Cem Yılmaz movie Hokkabaz