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February 7, 2025

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Leslie Mandoki made a trip from Germany to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to give a talk about his life growing up behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary, creating his musi career, and celebrating thirty years of the Mandoki Soulmates while discussing his latest album.

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Mandoki noted that he grew up in Soviet occupied Hungary and hearing American and British rock and roll on Radio Free Europe and Voice of America became his salvation.  He recalled that his father told him to never admit to anyone that he listened to those programs.  The day after The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium, that was broadcast on Radio Free Europe, which was illegal to listen to, his teacher in school asked the st the class how they liked The Beatles concert.  One student raised his hand and said he loved it.  Immediately that student was taken out of class and his parents were arrested.

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Solid advise from his father.

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Another bit of advise that Mandoki's father gave him was to become a musician.  He said that he was dabbling in poetry and in painting.  His father saw something in him and he knew that music was the career that he should choose. 

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At the age of 22, he and his friend escaped Hungary through an eight mile tunnel into Austria.  That led them into Germany with the ultimate goal of reaching Denmark so they could get to America.  He said that he could not tell anyone that he was leaving, not even his mother.  If she would have know, she could have been put in jail for not alerting the authorities.

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Eventually he made it.   He wound up meeting and working with many great musicians such as Jack Bruce, John Lord, Greg Lake, Ian Anderson and Bobby Kimble to name a few and started a project called The Mandoki Soulmates.

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Last year they released their eighth studio album titled A Memory Of Our Future.  leslie then discussed the process of making the album using all analog equipment.  He said it was "inspiration by limitation."  A thirty minute film was shown to the audience about the history of the group and the making of the album.  Mandoki called it a "handwritten love letter to our fans, not a text message."

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A few questions were taken from the audience at the end of the night and he closed with this statement: "I'm not going to dream my life, I'm going to live my dreams."

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Leslie brought books that detailed the Mandoki Soulmates career and gave them away to fans.  He also graciously signed the books and talked to fans after the event.

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Photos and review by Greg Drugan

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