The Spencer Hill Magic Band played their first concert on 16 July 2006 at a nightclub in Budapest. To mark the band’s 20th anniversary – a band that has given us so many wonderful moments at so many Spencer/Hill festivals – we’d like to introduce the group to you in a bit more detail.

As with many Spencer/Hill fans, the three brothers – Krisztián, Gergely and Dávid Kiszely – developed a love for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill during their childhood, when they first came across the duo’s films. The three brothers come from a family of musicians, with both their father and grandfather also being musicians. As a result, they spent their childhood surrounded by musical instruments and records. They were particularly influenced by the music of the 1970s – precisely the period during which most of the Spencer/Hill films were made.

At a family gathering in the early 2000s, the musical instruments were taken out once again and, on a spontaneous impulse, the three brothers played “Brotherly Love” from the film “Two Are Unstoppable” for the first time. The brothers enjoyed it so much that they came up with the idea of forming a band dedicated exclusively to the music from the films of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

At that time, the three brothers were playing in various bands and attending the Gyula Lauschmann Jazz School in Székesfehérvár. So it was not difficult for them to find bandmates. Péter Csorba initially played drums for the band, Péter Jelasity played the saxophone, János Horváth was on the keyboard, and Tamás Mészáros took on the vocals.

After many practice sessions, the band, in this line-up, performed at the Budapest nightclub “Lompos Farkas” on 16 July 2006. The debut was a great success.

Not only are more concerts in clubs and smaller venues across Hungary to follow, but soon there will also be appearances at Spencer/Hill festivals, starting with the Hungarian festival. Their performances there do not go unnoticed in Germany either, and so it comes to pass that the band makes its first appearance at the German festival on 12 September 2009, where they are greeted with euphoric enthusiasm from the very first moment. A live band playing music from the films is a perfect fit – just like Bud’s famous fist – which is why, in the years that followed, the band became an indispensable part of the festival programme. Thanks to the Spencer Hill Magic Band’s performances, the German festival took a major step forward in its development and, without this integral part of the line-up, would certainly not be what it is today.

Over the years, the band has undergone a few line-up changes. Marcell Hoff took over on drums, and following Tamás Mészáros’s departure in 2015, the young singer Lala Zsigmond filled the vacancy. He made his festival debut in Templin in 2015. In 2017, the band played a few tracks at the festival for the first time with accordion accompaniment by Jorgo Papasoglou, much to the delight of the fans. In the years that followed, the band played many more songs at the German festival with Jorgo as a guest musician.

At the festivals in 2019 and 2021, the band is in for a special treat. During their concerts at the festival, they are joined on stage by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, who composed many of the catchy songs from the Spencer/Hill films. Together, they celebrate with the enthusiastic fans.

When the large Bud Spencer statue by the artist Szandra Tasnàdi was officially unveiled in Budapest on 11 November 2017, many prominent figures were in attendance. Bud’s daughters, Cristiana and Diamante, were there, and water polo player György Kárpáti also paid tribute to Bud Spencer. Following the official ceremony, the Spencer Hill Magic Band played an open-air concert right next to the newly unveiled statue for the many Bud Spencer fans who had travelled to the city and were determined not to miss this event.

On 20 September 2018, Terence Hill is in Budapest to present his new film “My Name is Somebody” in person. The premiere event that evening also features a concert by the Spencer Hill Magic Band. Terence Hill is sure to congratulate the band in person on their fantastic performance.

At the 2019 German Spencer Hill Festival in Lommatzsch, the band meets not only Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, but also the other soundtrack legends Carmelo and Michelangelo La Bionda, and the composer of Trinity, Franco Micalizzi.