Mavi Işıklar

To look at Mavi Isiklar's history is to go for a walk in westernized Turkish popular music history. Filled with "firsts," Mavi Isiklar were musically and stylistically a groundbreaking band for Turkey, founded by brothers Cetin and Metin Yavuzdogan. The first lineup comprised Nejat Toksoy, Cihat Gunaydin, and Zamir Manisa. Taking their name from the peaceful and quiet color blue and their will to shine a light on the future generations (Mavi Isiklar means "Blue Lights"), the band started working on cover songs at the beginning. Taking on a very intense concert schedule, Mavi Isiklar quickly gathered a lot of support. After just a couple of months of playing together, they applied to the first-ever "Golden Microphone Contest." Out of 78 contestants, they were one of the ten finalists chosen by a jury of 80 music authorities. The finalists later played to crowds in Ankara, Adana, Izmir, and Istanbul and after the votes of the people, Mavi Isiklar came in second. This success at the very beginning of their career paved their way. Their winning song -- a Turkish folk tune arranged in a twist style -- "Helvaci Helva" was released as their first single by the Golden Microphone Contest in 1965.