Kurtalan Ekspres is a Turkish Anatolian rock band that has worked with several famous lead singers, such as Cem Karaca, Cahit Berkay, Barış Manço. The band takes its name from a train named Kurtalan Express, which travels between Kurtalan and Haydarpaşa. Kurtalan Ekspres was founded by Barış Manço in 1971, and initially included Murat Ses, Erdinç Avcı, Fuat Güner, Celal Güven, Özkan Uğur and Ali Serdar. In the late-1970s Bahadır Akkuzu joined the group as the lead guitarist. After Barış Manço's death in 1999, the band began working with Cem Karaca. After Cem Karaca's death in 2004, Bahadır Akkuzu took over the vocals, and later died of a heart attack in 2009.
The band took part as the orchestra of the programmes Adam Olacak Çocuk and 4×21 Doludizgin, which Manço used to present.