Akos

One of Hungary's most prominent pop/rock performers, Ákos was born Kovács Ákos on April 6, 1968 in Budapest, Hungary. Outside of his homeland and its immediate vicinity, he is often billed as Akosh in order to convey the correct pronunciation of his name. Young Kovács was expected to follow a longstanding family tradition and become a lawyer. Although he idolized controversial Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini and wished to be a director himself, Kovács dutifully earned an M.B.A. in foreign trade from Budapest's Corvinus University in 1992. Ákos first attained fame as a member of the synth pop group Bonanza Banzai, which formed in 1987 and with whom he performed until 1994. From the '90s onward, his work as a solo artist ranged from electronic pop to gritty rock; many of the more than 25 recordings he released reached gold or platinum status in Hungary. Ákos also speaks English and Italian, has published numerous volumes of poetry, and is married with four children. He has put out a substantial body of music videos, and in 1999 translated songs by Phil Collins into Hungarian for regional distribution of Walt Disney's animated film Tarzan. Other projects have included playing Bill Sikes in Lionel Bart's Oliver!, remixing for bands such as Hurts, and composing for museum and theater shows.