János Kóbor
Omega singer died at the age of 78
János Kóbor in 2017 in Germany.
© imago images / VIADATA
János Kóbor, singer of the rock band Omega, is dead. He died after a short illness at the age of 78.
János Kóbor (1943-2021), singer of the successful Hungarian band Omega, is dead. Kóbor died on December 6th at the age of 78 after a short illness, as communicated, among other things, on the group’s account on Facebook. According to media reports, the singer was hospitalized last month because of an infection with the coronavirus.
Comparison with the Rolling Stones
Omega was founded in Budapest in 1962. Also known under the pseudonym “Mecky”, János Kóbor was a founding member of Omega alongside László Benkő (1943-2020). The band’s last album, “Testamentum”, was released last year. Shortly before that, keyboardist Benkő and bassist Tamás Mihály (1947-2020) had died.
The band was often compared to the Rolling Stones. “This generation took the first steps in beat and rock music. It didn’t matter whether in the east or west”, Kóbor explained in an interview with the MDR in 2018. In the 1970s it was “a bit problematic” that we also played very successfully in West Germany. That was – well – not so sympathetic to the GDR government at the time. When we were really big in the FRG, we played less in the GDR. But we didn’t want to decide – West or East. We wanted both! “