At the age of 78
Omega frontman Janos Kobor has died
Janos Kobor, singer of the band Omega, 2006 in Berlin. The rock legend died at the age of 78. Photo: Tobias Felber / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Omega was an absolute success band in Hungary and the former Eastern Bloc. Now the front man Janos Kobor died of a corona infection. He wasn’t vaccinated.
The Hungarian rock legend Janos Kobor, founder and front man of the cult band Omega, died on Monday at the age of 78 after a brief illness. This was reported by the state news agency MTI, citing the management of the band.
According to media reports, the musician was admitted to a Budapest hospital with a corona infection in early November. His condition has since been described as critical.
Legendary concert in Berlin in 1982
Omega was arguably the most successful band in Hungarian pop history. The ensemble, founded in 1962, released 17 albums that sold 50 million copies worldwide. In the Eastern Bloc at that time, the rockers from Budapest were accorded the same status as the Rolling Stones.
The concerts of 1982 in Berlin’s Plänterwald are legendary, where Omega played in the pouring rain without a stage roof in front of 35,000 fans. Because of conflicts with the GDR bureaucracy, the band rarely performed in the GDR after that. The Omega song “The girl with pearl hair” was covered by Frank Schöbels (“Write it in the sand”) and the Scorpions (“White Dove”), among others.
Kobor graduated from the Technical University of Budapest as a civil engineer, but never practiced the profession because of the music. As the charismatic lead singer of Omega, he wowed the masses with his blond mane. Even at a more sedate age, he did not shed his trademark long blonde hair. Even the élan that characterizes him and his thirst for action did not leave him until the end.
Omega’s latest album with the significant title “Testamentum” (Testament) should definitely be the last. When it came out at the end of 2020, keyboardist Laszlo Benkö and bassist Tamas Mihaly, who had not performed for a long time, had died immediately before. Kobor still spoke of wanting to continue in some form.
In an interview, he said that he would not be vaccinated against corona because his own immune system was strong enough. As he was almost 80 years old, he was never seriously ill. In the end, thousands of fans prayed for the health of their hospital idol. It shouldn’t help anymore. Kobor leaves behind his wife, their 14-year-old daughter and an adult son from their first marriage.