Hungária - Eredeti Rubin (1970) Blues Fuzz Boogie

b/w Ítéletnap
Get the new Hungarian TDATS comp at: https://aftersabbath.blogspot.com/2026/08/tdats-hungary-3.html
I had not heard of this band until first investigating the country, but i'm sure anyone in or near Hungary has, as they are described as the most successful rock n roll band of the country.

I really like their sound! They definitely drew influence from The Beatles, in terms of production and vocal style at least, but much of their second album verges on hard rock, with warm, over-driven bluesy guitar. This melding of pop and heaviness is instantly likable, and if you dig the single 'Eredeti Rubin' included here, the album that came a year later is equally good and consistent.

According to beatkorszak.hu (link), after the initial '60s beat/psych-pop period of the early singles and first album, they made a decisive move towards hard rock in 1971, introducing covers of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Steppenwolf and Uriah Heep to their live shows.

Of the core members at this time, singer/keys man Fenyő Miklós, bassist Peter Sipos and guitarist Csomós Péter were also in Syconor and Juventus, guitarist Tamás Barta was also in Locomotiv GT, Syconor and Syrius, and drummer József Tóth also played in Juventus.

After 1971, there was a long period with no albums, but frequent singles, some on the GDR's Amiga label. According to Wikipedia, the all-powerful state-owned record company M.H.V. was to blame for refusing to let them make albums, as they did not approve of the band's hard rock direction but were scared that they would still out-sell bands that were more agreeable to them.

This may explain why around 1980 it seems the band had been through an overhaul, with major line-up changes and an album that reverted to a traditional rock n roll sound and rockabilly appearance.

At this point Hungária became very successful, breaking records in terms of sales and popularity, but broke-up in 1983 for the first time, due to internal disagreements. They have re-formed at various times since then, and in 2024 it was announced that the band would reunite for a concert in the Puskás Arena, with the four surviving members of the most successful line-up. Further info: Wikipedia (link), beatkorszak.hu (link). There is a huge article that goes into details of their post-'70s career at recorder.hu (link).

#PsychedelicRock #hardrock #ProgressiveRock #Magyarország #hungary #Obscure70sRock #GarageRock #Freakbeat #70sProgRock #bluesrock #tdats