Hungária | |
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_Fortepan_88218.jpg) Hungária performing live in 1973, with band leader Miklós Fenyő at right | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Budapest,Hungary |
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| Past members | seeMembers section below |
Hungária was aHungarian pop-rock band formed by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Miklós Fenyő in 1967. Despite periodic suppression by the Hungarian Communist regime, by the early 1980s Hungária was one of the country's most popular bands.
Miklós Fenyő had lived in the United States for a time. He entered the Hungarian music scene in 1962 and started his own band Syconor in 1964.[1] In 1967 he formed a songwriting partnership with lyricist István S. Nagy, and formed Hungária as an outlet for his songs. The earliest Hungária songs were in the style ofbeat music. In 1968 the band won the televised talent competitionKi mit tud?.[2] In the following years, the band moved towardpsychedelic rock andhard rock. Their first albumKoncert a marson (Concert on Mars) was released in 1970.[3] The band then experienced many lineup changes, with Fenyő as the only consistent member.
Due to pressure from Hungary's Communist regime, which considered rock music to be subversive, Hungária faced many difficulties in the mid-1970s.[4] They were unable to sell records or perform live in their own country. For several years they were only able to perform live in East Germany, and later they were able to make a living by touring other countries in the Soviet bloc.[4] They recorded aBeatlescovers album titledBeatles Laz, which was released in other countries in 1978 but was outlawed in Hungary until 1997.[4]
In 1979 the band decided to adopt the style ofearly rock n' roll revivals, with English lyrics and tours of Western Europe.[5] Their 1980 album in this style,Rock ’n’ Roll Party, was a major hit in Hungary, and the band adopted 1950s American rock n' roll fashions for all public appearances, as did many of their fans.[5] The 1981 albumHotel Menthol was another substantial hit.[6] In 1982 the band played to 80,000 people atNépstadion in Budapest.[7]
Some members of the band resisted the focus on 1950s music and imagery, as Fenyő tried to enforce a fashion code even for the members' personal lives. This caused the band to split in 1983. Several compilations and live albums were released in the following years. After the breakup, Fenyő released a successful solo album titledMiki and briefly led a new band called Modern Hungária.[8] Other members went on to form the bandDolly Roll. Several notable members of the original Hungária reunited in 1995 for the albumÉbredj fel Rockandrollia (Awaken Rock n' Roll).[9] Amusical based on the band's music, titledHotel Menthol, debuted in 1998 and was performed more than 200 times.[10]
Miklós Fenyő died from complications of pneumonia on 31 January 2026, at the age of 78.[11]
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