Turkish pop legend Alpay dies at 91

Alpay, the voice behind “Eylülde Gel” and “Fabrika Kızı” and one of the pioneers of Turkish pop, died on Oct. 14 at a hospital in Antalya, where he had been receiving treatment. He was 91.

Alpay, born Ahmet Alpay Nazikioğlu and one of the defining voices of Turkish pop music, died on Oct. 14 at Medical Park Antalya Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for some time. He was 91. No cause of death has been announced.

Born in Ankara on July 17, 1935, Alpay graduated from Ankara Atatürk High School. As a young man he played football for Ankara Demirspor and Gençlerbirliği and rose to the national youth team, then earned a law degree from Ankara University before turning to music in the early 1960s.

From French chansons to Anatolian pop

He formed his own orchestra in 1964 and, early in his career, sang Turkish arrangements of French chansons and Italian Neapolitan songs, while also performing in English, Spanish, French and Italian. He experimented with romantic folk, rock and Anatolian pop, worked with the band Üç Hürel and released more than 25 albums after his first single, “Girl in My Town,” in 1964.

Alpay in the garden of his home in Bodrum (2024)

Songs such as “Eylülde Gel,” “Fabrika Kızı,” “Kara Tren,” “Gitme” and “Ayrılık Rüzgarı” made him a favorite of several generations of listeners, and he is remembered as a bridge between the early days of Turkish pop and the decades that followed.

Final years in Bodrum

Alpay spent most of the year in the Gündoğan neighborhood of Bodrum, where he lived with his wife, and he is expected to be laid to rest there. Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Bodrum Mayor Tamer Mandalinci offered condolences to his family, fans and the arts community.