Biography
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Years Active
1964 – present (59 years)
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Founded In
Istanbul, İstanbul, Turkey
Mavi Işıklar (in English, "Blue Lights") were a Turkish pop group that formed in September 7th, 1964. Mavi Işıklar comprised Çetin and Metin Yavuzdoğan brothers, Nejat Toksoy, Cihat Günaydın and Zamir Manisa. Due to the fact that the band members were college students at the time, they could not have time to establish themselves as serious contenders in the Turkish Music Scene. Yet they signed up to the contest Altın Mikrofon (the Golden Microphone), which was an event organized by a prominent Turkish newspaper "Hürriyet". They came second but they were the winners in the hearts of Turkish people and they rose to fame very quickly. Even though they started out with American music trend, they had plenty of traditional Turkish music cred and created a fusion style by applying western instruments, technique and style. In 1966, they fascinated people by releasing an album which included a song in English: "Ankara Rüzgarı". The arrangement of the album was critically acclaimed. "Ankara Ruzgari" is one of those rare Turkish songs that made it to the Top 10 in a time when the charts for music in foreign languages were taken hostage by Marc Aryan, Peppino Di Caprio and Adamo and in which The Beatles were number one with their "Paperback Writer".
From time to time the group members have changed because of military service or travels abroad, but they always managed to stay unconventional by singing with their pajamas or bringing their bedrooms to the stage. Their musical career came to a halt when the group singer Nejat Toksoy and organ player Metin Yavuzdogan left the group for a lengthy military service. In addition, the arabesque craze in Turkey had an effect on their decision.
By 1990, the group got back together and they even carried on singing to the new millennium by being cherished by new fans as well as the old ones.
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