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: Rock is a form of popular music from the mid 20th century which typically features a vocal melody (often with vocal harmony) that is supported by accompaniment of electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, often with a strong back beat. ... Nickname: Paris of the East, Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Location of Budapest in Hungary Country Hungary County Pest Mayor Gábor Demszky (SZDSZ) Area    - City 525,16 km²  - Land n/a km²  - Water n/a km² Population    - City (2006) 1,695,000  - Density 3570/km... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Locomotiv GT (often abbreviated LGT) is a Hungarian rock band formed in 1971. ... The Beatles were a highly influential English rock band from Liverpool. ... Progressive rock (sometimes shortened to prog, prog rock, or progrock) is a subgenre of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, but continues as a musical form long afterward. ... Space rock is a style of music; the term originally referred to a group of early mostly British 1970s progressive rock and psychedelic bands like Hawkwind and Pink Floyd [1], characterized by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by synthesizers, experimental guitar work, and science fiction lyrical themes, though it was...

• 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. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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"). Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Scorpions are a hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, best known for their 80s rock anthem, Rock You Like a Hurricane and their singles Wind of Change, No One Like You, and Still Loving You. // Rudolf Schenker, the bands rhythm guitarist, set out to find a band in 1965. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: Basel , French: Bâle , Italian: Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as...

Discography

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)

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Censorship is the editing, removing, or otherwise changing speech and other forms of human expression. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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)

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

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)

1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official Omega Homepage (in Hungarian)
• Gammapolis.de, an extensive multi-lingual Omega fan site