Skorpio -

Skorpio was a Hungarian rock band whose 1974 debut A rohanás paired organ-led hard rock and spawned the setlist staples “Szevasz, haver” and “Így szólt hozzám a dédapám.” They embraced funk-rock on their 1976–78 albums Ünnepnap, Kelj fel!, and Gyere velem! Their next lineup carried three albums through the 1985 release Azt beszéli már az egész város.

Members: Károly Frenreisz (vocals, bass, saxophone), Antal Gábor Szűcs (guitar, vocals, 1973-79, 1985-93), Gyula Papp (keyboards, 1973-79), Gábor Fekete (drums, vocals, 1973-76), Gábor Németh (drums, vocals, 1976-79), Tibor Tátrai (guitar, 1979-83), Tamás Papp (drums, vocals, 1979-93), Géza Pálvölgyi (keyboards, 1985-93)

Background

Skorpio formed in 1973 in Budapest when bassist-singer Károly Frenreisz teamed with keyboardist Gyula Papp and recruited guitarist-singer Antal Gábor Szűcs and drummer-singer Gábor Fekete. Frenreisz came from Metro and Locomotiv GT, which he co-founded with Gábor Presser, Tamás Barta, and József Laux.

Frenreisz left LGT in January 1973 to organize a new band. Papp joined Mini in January 1971 and rebuilt the lineup with bassist István Nagy and drummer Tamás Németh. Mini spent the next two years on ORI tours with Illés and LGT. Szűcs played guitar with Szivárvány in 1971, then replaced Barta in Hungária. Fekete joined the rebuilt Hungária lineup with Szűcs and moved to ZG, led by keyboardist Mátyás Várkonyi.

Frenreisz first noticed Papp on a 1971 LGT–Mini tour and approached him in spring 1973 with plans for a keyboard-led progressive trio. Papp urged Frenreisz to add a guitarist and proposed Szűcs. Papp recruited Fekete from ZG. Szűcs remained under contract for a two-and-a-half-month Soviet tour with Hungária and singer Kati Kovács. Szűcs returned in August and completed the quartet.

Skorpio debuted in August 1973 at Szigetszentmiklós. The band drew roughly ten thousand listeners to the Budai Ifjúsági Park at the Budapest debut in the same month. Sarolta Zalatnay recorded Hadd mondjam el with Frenreisz, Papp, and Fekete at MHV. Guitarist Mihály Móricz took the guitar part while Szűcs toured the Soviet Union.

Zalatnay recorded an English-language Czechoslovak album in Prague with the full Skorpio quartet on one side. Skorpio played the halftime interval of the Hungary–East Germany football match at Népstadion in November 1973 for a national television audience. On Christmas Day 1973, Skorpio issued “Hosszú az út” (b/w “Szevasz, haver”) on Pepita. Skorpio completed the first album sessions by January 1974 for the Pepita LP A rohanás.

Discography: