Ambassador says Western music affected politics in Hungary

CLEVELAND -- Rock music played lead in giving Hungarian baby boomers the resolve to bring down their communist state, says one of those reformers who today is a government official.

Andras Simonyi, Hungary's ambassador to the United States, spent an hour Saturday night discussing the impact of Western songs on Eastern European politics before an audience of 250 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Simonyi, 51, was a devoted fan of the Beatles, Cream, Traffic and Jimi Hendrix when their releases weren't officially permitted in Hungary. Records and tapes sometimes were smuggled in or recorded from foreign radio broadcasts.

Hungary became a democracy in 1990 -- after more than 40 years of communism. The nation of 10 million joined NATO in 1999 and will formally join the European Union on May 1, 2004.

"By keeping in touch with the music scene in the West, it kind of kept me sane and with the feeling I was part of the free world," said Simonyi.

The ambassador was introduced by defense and anti-terrorism consultant Jeff Baxter, who once played guitar with The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan.

"There is a commonality to the music and freedom," Baxter said. "To Andras, Western music was an open window of fresh air in a very repressive society."

Simonyi impressed an audience member from Hungary.

"He represents quite well his generation," said Judit Gerencser, a 27-year-old student at Cleveland State University. "I have heard about this from my parents, but I never really heard about just how much this music was influential."