Founded in 1963 by five students of Kabataş Boys' High School - Rıfat Eke, Altan Eke, Ender Akacan, Behzat Kutlubağ and Bülent Ortaç - Beyaz Kelebekler was a Turkish pop group that actively performed until 1980. The young musicians of that period stepped into the professional music world with Turgut Akyüz joining the band and quickly gained a place in the hearts of the listeners.
The group had to change the lineup of soloists several times. Although Ayşe Sütçü was the first to appear on the stage, she left music due to marriage. Then Azize Gencebay stepped in, but she also left the group by marrying Orhan Gencebay. He was replaced by Ülkü Üst. The longest-serving soloist was Sevil Özyurt; He was the lead singer of the band for five years, from 1973 to 1978. "Look What Happened When You Went Away?" sung by Sevil.
The song rose to number one on the Dutch charts and made the group known internationally. Afterwards, Semra İleten took over the role of soloist. During this period, the group worked with various vocalists such as Ahmet Erbay, Sevil Özyurt, Semra İleten and İpek Bilgin.
White Butterflies, which gave concerts in various countries of Europe in the 1970s, had a tragic traffic accident during a tour in Adapazarı on January 19, 1970. While the founding members Behzat Kutlubağ, Altan Eke and Rıfat Eke lost their lives in this accident, the group was on the verge of disbanding. However, thanks to the support and encouragement from those around them, the musicians came together again and continued their work. Unfortunately, another member of the group, Turgut Akyüz, died in a casino in the following years.
Beyaz Butterflies ended their musical career after their last concert after the Izmir Fair in 1980. Among his best-known songs were "Look What Happened When You Left?", "What's Happening in Life", "All Loves Sweet Starts" and "Firefly". Sevil Özyurt, one of the successful soloists of the group, passed away due to cancer in Istanbul on January 21, 2018, at the age of 61; His body was taken from Bebek Mosque and buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
Their other soloist, Semra İleten, was born in 1960 and was an artist who studied violin and piano at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory.
Productions in which he took part
- White Butterflies (1971) — White Butterflies
Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.
