Edip Akbayram

Ahmet Edip Akbayram (29 December 1950 – 2 March 2025) was a Turkish rock music artist, composer and socialist. He was the lead singer of Dostlar, one of the first rock bands in Turkey. He was excluded throughout his childhood due to polio. During his artistic career, he was censored and oppressed because of his socialist stance. As a result of a disability in his right leg, he was rejected by some groups and organizers due to limited mobility. He reacted to this by saying: "I sing with my voice, I don't sing with my foot. Why are you looking at my feet, brother!" He was diagnosed with polio when he was nine months old. In the Siyah Örümcekler group they founded in high school, they played and sang psychedelic rock style compositions they made on the folk songs of Pir Sultan and Karacaoğlan. They made their first record Kendim Ettim Kendim Buldum during their high school years. The record was released in two different editions under the titles Siyah Örümcekler – Gaziantep Orkestrası and Edip Albayrak – Siyah Örümcekler. After Gaziantep, Adana became their second address where he first took the stage with the orchestra he founded. Later, he started working in a nightclub called Beyaz Saray there. After graduating from high school in 1968, he went to Istanbul to take the university entrance exam but failed. He passed the university entrance exam in 1971 and was admitted to faculty of dentistry in Istanbul University, which he had always dreamed of. However, his passion for music took over and he gave up this profession and devoted himself to music. After coming to Istanbul, he participated in the Golden Microphone in 1971. He won the first place with his first composition, Kükredi Çimenler, inspired by a poem by Aşık Veysel...