He started playing the guitar during his high school years. In 1966, Mazhar formed the bandKaygısızlar along with Fuat Güner and Sadik Kuyas. They played the music of the Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Rolling Stones and collaborated with the renowned Turkish pop singer Barış Manço. Later on, Özkan Uğur joined the band, and in 1972 the trio was renamed MFÖ, after the initials of the members. While Özkan was serving his military duty, Mazhar and Fuat released their first album Türküz Türkü Çığırırız. The album song Güllerin İçinden brought the group to a broader audience. In 1974, Galip Boransu and Ayhan Sicimoğlu joined the band, and the quintet took the name İpucu Beşlisi. However, the band dissolved after a short time, and the group MFÖ continued to play as a trio again. Between 1972 and 1982, Mazhar Alanson played as an actor at the Ankara State Theatre, performing a number of leading roles in major plays. MFÖ represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1985 with Didai Didai Dai and in 1988 with Sufi, both written and performed by themselves. Aside from the band, he released two solo albums: Herşey Çok Güzel Olacak and Türk Lokumuyla Tatlı Rüyalar. The album "Türk Lokumuyla Tatlı Rüyalar was written in the U.S. when he was abroad and apart from his group members. He is a former jury member in most viewed TV Show of TurkeyO Ses Türkiye''.
Songwriting
Before MFÖ, he mostly composed folk rock. Mazhar Alanson wrote almost all of the MFÖ's songs, including "Bu Sabah Yağmur Var İstanbul'da", "Güllerin İçinden", "Bodrum", "Peki Peki Anladık", "Gözyaşlarımızı Bitti mi Sandın", "Sen ve Ben", and "Sarı Laleler". Sufism items attract attention in his songs, such as "Buselik Makamına", "Uç Oldum", "Adımız Miskindir Bizim" and "Yandım".
Acting
He played in several TV commercials and some films. In the film Arkadaşım Şeytan, directed by Atıf Yılmaz, he played the role of Mephistopheles. He wrote also the film score. In his second film Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak directed by Ömer Vargı, Mazhar Alanson shared the leading roles with Cem Yılmaz and Ceyda Düvenci. The film, which he also wrote the score for, became the highest-grossing movie in 1998. He shared in 2002 the leading role again with Cem Yılmaz in the film Yıldızlı Pekiyi. The same year, he played in the TV series Çekirdek Aile produced for Kanal D. In 2006, he appeared in the Cem Yılmaz movie Hokkabaz.
Personal life
He married Hale Alanson in 1972. The couple had two children and divorced in 2003. Mazhar got married for a second time to Biricik Suden, a fashion designer.
Discography
Solo albums
Türk Lokumuyla Tatlı Rüyalar
Yazan Aşık
Other albums
Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak - Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak movie soundtrack
Söz Müzik Mazhar Alanson - published together with Mazhar Olmak's book
