Omega (band)

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This article refers to a musical group called Omega. For other uses see the Omega disambiguation page.

Omega is one of the most successful Hungarian rock bands. 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 members. In 1967 Tamás Mihály came on bass, Gábor Presser joined on keyboards and began writing original music for the band (in 1968 György Molnár became a lead guitarist), releasing three LPs before leaving the band with József Laux, a drummer from 1962, to form Locomotiv GT. These first albums were heavily influenced by the music of The Beatles, but they also looked forward to the band's future more progressive, space-rock style. After Presser and Laux's departure, the band found a new drummer (Ferenc Debreceni came from group Neoton) and pointed Benkő as the main keyboardsman, creating the current lineup, which has remained the same for over 30 years:

János Kóbor ("Mecky"), lead vocals
György Molnár ("Elefánt"), guitars
László Benkő ("Laci"), keyboards, vocals
Tamás Mihály ("Misi"), bass, vocals
Ferenc Debreceni ("Ciki"), drums

This lineup of Omega released ten more albums from 1972 to 1987. Many of these were released both in Hungarian and in English, in the hopes of generating wider interest in their music. However, the contents of the English albums often differed from their Hungarian counterparts, sometimes assembling tracks from several different albums and nearly always changing the song order. Following a few years of inactivity, the band reunited in 1994, with former member Gábor Presser joining them at concerts and contributing several tracks to 1995's Trans And Dance.

Omega has achieved modest international success through releases in multiple languages, and tours in England and Germany in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Their 1969 song "Gyöngyhajú lány" became an international hit, and was later covered by Scorpions on a 1995 live release, with new lyrics and the title "White Dove" (the Hungarian title officially was translated as "Pearls In Her Hair").

Omega’s latest (16th) Hungarian studio release is 2006’s Égi jel ("Celestial Sign"), and their latest English release is 1996’s Transcendent. In spring and summer of 2006, they performed their "EurOmega 2006" tour, including concerts in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania. Further performances are scheduled for October in Berlin and Basel.

1 Discography
2 External links

[edit] Discography

[edit] Hungarian Studio Albums

Trombitás Frédi és a rettenetes emberek (1968 due to marketing schemes the band's name was changed to Omega Red Star on the album cover)
10 000 lépés (1969)
Éjszakai országút (1970)
200 évvel az utolsó háború után (recorded 1972, but not released until 1998 due to government censorship; Élő Omega, a live recording of the original studio material was released instead)
Omega 5 (1973; later remixed, remastered and released as Szvit)
Omega 6: Nem tudom a neved (1975; later remixed, remastered and released as Tűzvihar - Stormy Fire)
Omega 7: Időrabló (1977; later remixed, remastered and released as Időrabló - Time Robber)
Omega 8: Csillagok útján (1978; later remixed, remastered and released as Csillagok útján - Skyrover)
Gammapolis (1979; later remixed, remastered and released as Gammapolisz - Gammapolis)
Omega X: Az arc (1981)
Omega XI (1982)
Omega 12: A föld árnyékos oldalán (1986)
Omega XIII: Babylon (1987)
Trans And Dance (1995)
Omega XV: Egy életre szól (1998)
Omega XVI: Égi jel (2006)

[edit] English Studio Albums

Omega Red Star From Hungary (1968; extremely rare vinyl recording not available on CD. Vocals by Mihály Tamás)
Omega (1973)
200 Years After The Last War (1974)
Omega III (1974)
The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky (1975)
Time Robber (1976)
Skyrover (1978)
Gammapolis (1979)
Working (1981)
Transcendent (1996)

[edit] Live Releases

Élő Omega (1972, released instead of their 4th studio album, first LP with Debreceni on drums)
Élő Omega Kisstadion 79 (1979; a 2-LP set)
Live At The Kisstadion 79 (1979; a 2-LP set, including some tracks dubbed with English vocals)
Kisstadion 80 (1981; 5 titles by Omega, and rest of the album by 2 other performers of joint show, Locomotive GT and Beatrice)
Jubileumi Koncert (1983)
Népstadion 1994 Omegakoncert No. 1: Vizesblokk (1994)
Népstadion 1994 Omegakoncert No. 2: Szárazblokk (1994)
Az Omega összes koncertfelvétele 1. (1995, a 3-CD set of live recordings from the 60s and 70s, including the Kisstadion 79 concert)
Az Omega összes koncertfelvétele 2. (1995, a 3-CD set of live recordings from the 80s and 90s)
Népstadion 1999 (1999, released as a 2-CD set and as a DVD)
Napot hoztam, csillagot (2004 limited edition CD; a DVD of this title was also released, with a different tracklist)