Illés (band)

Illés (Hungarian name: Illés együttes = Illés Ensemble) were 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.

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.

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 Luxemburg, 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.

...
Wikipedia