Gabor Hegedus (1948 – January 17, 1990), known by the stage name BB Gabor, was a Hungarian-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pop singer. Gabor was best known for his 1980 single "Nyet Nyet Soviet (Soviet Jewellery)", and had other minor hits with "Metropolitan Life", "Consumer" and "Jealous Girl".Khan, Imra
Soviet Misfit: The Life and Music of BB Gabor
''Pop Matters''. March 15, 2016

History

Gabor fled with his parents to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1956 at the time of the Hungarian Revolution. In a 1980 interview by Paul McGrath of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', the family was said to have made their'' '' exit just "one step ahead of the Russian tanks". In the same interview, Gabor recalled that the family first stayed "in a derelict home for sailors in

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

, probably the dirtiest, darkest area of London". He subsequently moved to Canada at age 23, launching his musical career in

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Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east ...

scene. He released his self-titled debut album in 1980 on

Anthem Records Anthem Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company was formed in May 1977 by Ray Danniels and Vic Wilson with initial recording artists Rush, Max Webster, Liverpool and A Foot in Coldwater. The three ...

, with the singles "Nyet Nyet Soviet (Soviet Jewellery)", "Metropolitan Life" and "Consumer". He toured across Canada, appeared at the

Heatwave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in th ...

festival in August, was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

, and won the

U-Know Jung Yun-ho (; born February 6, 1986), also known by his stage name U-Know Yunho () or simply U-Know, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea, Yunho started his musi ...

for best male vocalist. He released a follow-up album, ''Girls of the Future'', in 1981, although it was not as successful. After a few years without a new album, Anthem dropped Gabor from its roster. He subsequently moved to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

(estranging himself from his wife and son in the process), where he attempted to revive his career by working with producer

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, at Rundgren's compound in Woodstock, New York in 1985. These sessions, however, did not result in a new album, and he eventually moved back to Toronto. On January 17, 1990, Gabor's body was found by police at his Toronto apartment. His death was ruled a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

reportedly by hanging. Both of his Anthem albums were re-released on a single CD by the Canadian record label Pacemaker Entertainment in 2001. While Ralph Alfonso was helping Pacemaker with the CD, he asked Gabor's widow if she knew what had happened with the Rundgren sessions, and she brought out some cassettes which were only marked "Produced by Todd Rundgren." Alfonso mastered the instrumental "Celtic Cross" directly from one of these cassettes and included it on the 2002 compilation CD ''Driving in the Rain:3 AM - Songs to Get Lost With'' on his Bongo Beat label. In the liner notes, he notes that the song might not actually be a Rundgren production.

Discography

* '' BB Gabor'' (1980) * ''Girls of the Future'' (1981)

References

External links

B.B. Gabor profile at canoe.ca, accessed April 27, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabor, B. B. 1948 births 1990 suicides 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian new wave musicians Canadian people of Hungarian descent Canadian pop singers Suicides by hanging in Ontario Anthem Records artists Canadian male singer-songwriters