Ferenc Demjén (born 21 December 1946) is a
Hungarian rock
Hungarian rock has been a part of the popular music of Hungary since the early 1960s. The first major bands were Illés (band), Illés, Metró (band), Metró and Omega (band), Omega. At the time, rock was not approved of by the Hungarian Communis ...
singer, songwriter and bassist. Besides a solo career, he was the member of bands Bergendy and V'Moto-Rock, and played an important part in the rock culture of the country, contributing to nearly 150 albums.
Career
Ferenc Demjén was born on 21 December 1946 in
Diósgyőr Diósgyőr (Hungarian: dioːʒɟøːr is a historical town in Hungary, today it is a part of Miskolc. The medieval castle in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular tourist attraction. The ...
. His father was an engineer at the Diósgyőr Steel Company, and after he was fired because of political reasons, the family moved to
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, where he got a ministry job. Demjén, who graduated as a chemist technician, was inspired by his fathers singing talent, and started to study music, largely on his own.
After starting as a bassist in bands Számum, Liversing, Dogs, Meteor, Sakk-Matt, Tűzkerék and Szabadság Szálló Kulcsár, he met István Bergendy in 1970, who invited him to play in his band. He debuted as a songwriter with ''Jöjj vissza vándor'', scoring his first success, resulting in weekly performances in the popular E-Klub and Ifjúsági Park. They gained country-wide popularity by performing in the
National Television's show at New Year's Eve in 1970. Their first open concert was in 1971 in the
Kisstadion stadium. In 1972 they won second place in the year's
Táncdalfesztivál
''Táncdalfesztivál'' (literally ''Festival of dance music'') was series of Hungarian pop music competitions and exhibition shows, airing on the National Television from 1966 to 1994.
Significance
In a country with only one television channel, ...
with the song ''Úgy Szeretném''.
Demjén left the band in 1977 and released his first solo album while forming the successful band V'Moto-Rock in the same year. He worked with
Klári Katona and
Kati Kovács
Kati Kovács (born Katalin Anna Sarolta Kovács 25 October 1944), is a Ferenc Liszt and Kossuth Award-winning Hungarian pop-rock singer, performer, lyricist and actress.
She is one of the most famous singers of Hungary with dozens of recorded ...
on their first albums. His song for the film ''Szerelem első vérig'' (1987) topped the Hungarian charts for 8 months. After V'Moto-Rock disbanded in 1988, Demjén began a solo career, releasing an album almost every year in the nineties.
In 1988, while traveling in the US, he met Rebecca at the New York City HardRock Cafe. They began traveling together and soon married.
He received the Order of the Hungarian Republic, Officer's rank in 1996.
Solo discography
*''Fújom a dalt'' (1977)
*''A szabadság vándora'' (1989)
*''Elveszett gyémántok'' (1990)
*''A föld a szeretőm'' (1991)
*''Demjén Ferenc & Sztárvendégei'' (concert recording) (1992)
*''Demjén –Hat'' (1993)
*''Dalok a szerelemről'' (1994)
*''Nekem 8'' (1994)
*''Félszáz év'' (1996)
*''Ünnep '96'' (concert recording) (1996)
*''Best of Demjén'' (selection) (1997)
*''Ezzel még tartozom'' (1997)
*''Demjén 13'' (1998)
*''2000 éves álmok'' (1999)
*''Álmok, Csodák, Szerelmek'' (2001)
*''Hívlak'' (2003)
*''Aréna 2004.12.30'' (concert recording) (2005)
*''Demjén60'' (2006)
*''A lelkünk most is vágtat'' (2009)
*''Így fogadj el igazán'' (2010)
*''Túl a világvégén'' (2013)
*''Még lázad a szív'' (2018)
See also
*
Hungarian pop
Hungarian pop is the pop music scene of Hungary. It is often associated with Rezső Seress's song "Gloomy Sunday" which was covered by numerous artists. The most notable artists include Zsuzsa Cserháti, Kati Kovács, Zsuzsa Koncz, Judith Szűcs ...
Sources
– Biography at Dunántúli Napló Online
– Biography az Zene.hu
External links
demjenferenc.hu– Official Website
demjenfansite.com– A fan site dedicated to
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demjen, Ferenc
1946 births
20th-century Hungarian male singers
Living people
Hungarian bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
21st-century Hungarian male singers