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Thursday 13 January 2011

More Magyars

We are sticking with the sounds of swinging Hungary, and today we really are swinging. Back in the early 1970s there was a bunch of cool dudes called Bergendy, led by the brothers Istvan and Peter Bergendy and including assorted other Istvans, Peters, Ferencs and Gyorgys. They were Hungary's premier exponents of "horn rock" and, on the basis of the one album I have heard, a really rather groovy blend of classic rock, psychedelia, pop and blue-eyed soul.

The album is called "Bergendy" - I wonder where they dreamed that up? - and was released on Pepita Records in 1972. It was re-released the following year in the then East Germany with the same title, a different cover and slightly different track listing. I picked up a copy of the original in Budapest last month with no great expectations, but it turned out to be a very nice surprise and well worth a listen if you can track it down. What follows are a few edited highlights.

"Zold Pokol" - Bergendy

"Skot Dudas" - Bergendy

"Jojj Vissza, Vandor" - Bergendy

Replace the "e"s in Bergendy with "u"s and you have burgundy. Burgundy is a type of wine. So is champagne. As these boys would be happy to demonstrate.

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