The Búgócsiga ensemble made its public debut in Târgu Mureş in early October 1971. Among its founding members were guitarists Endre Deák and Barna Fülöp, who were classmates in high school from 1967 to 1971 and later studied music and physical education at the local Pedagogical College from 1971 to 1974. Bassist András Gáll worked at a local glass factory, while drummer Miklós Kerekes was serving a mandatory eighteen-month military enlistment. Subsequently, Balázs Sikó took over as drummer. Initially, the band performed under the name HUMMING TOP, a title suggested by Gáll, who sourced the words from an English dictionary. Their repertoire primarily featured adaptations of songs in both English and Hungarian, and they played at various venues, including student festivals and university events.
The Siculus festival, a prominent light music event for Hungarians in Romania, was held four times between 1970 and 1973. Búgócsiga participated in the 1972 edition, marking a pivotal moment in their career when they were encouraged to showcase their original compositions. Endre Deák began crafting songs inspired by folk music for the band. Alongside the founding members, violinist and vocalist Sándor Dobránszky, a college classmate, also performed at the Siculus'72 festival, with Kerekes returning to the drums. After Barna Fülöp's departure in early 1973, the group continued as a quartet at the last Siculus Festival in September 1973, where they received special prizes in both Siculus competitions.
During the spring and summer of 1973, the ensemble briefly performed under the name Adonis due to local authorities' disapproval of Hungarian names, a restriction that proved to be temporary. The band regularly recorded for the Hungarian-language program of Târgu Mureş Regional Radio and appeared in films produced by the Hungarian-language editorial staff of Romanian Television. The contemporary press recognized Búgócsiga as one of the most appealing names in orchestral music.
In early 1974, the band composed and recorded additional material in a fully acoustic format, featuring Deák, Dobránszky, and new member Gábor Bereczki. Some of their original songs were penned by József Babrik, a music student at the Pedagogical College and a respected expert in Transylvanian early music. Babrik led the ensemble Camerata Transsylvanica, which included three members of Búgócsiga from the spring of 1974. A notable tour organized by the House of Culture in Sepsiszentgyörgy took place that summer, featuring Búgócsiga alongside other duos. This tour had a lasting impact on all involved. Shortly after the series of performances, the heart patient József Babrik passed away, marking the end of a significant three-year period for the band. Consequently, the members were required to pursue teaching jobs and opportunities abroad, as dictated by Romanian regulations at the time.
In the autumn of 1974, Deák and Dobránszky continued to perform as a duo under the Búgócsiga name for a brief period. Their final activity during the winter holidays of 1974-75 involved one last studio recording, featuring the summer 1974 lineup. This recording included not only their original songs but also four Neo-Renaissance pieces by József Babrik, which were later included on his 1976 album, Ej, haj löngyvirág (Electrecord ECE 01695).
The recordings of Búgócsiga were regularly aired on Târgu Mureş radio until the early 1980s. While their exposure was largely local, the song "Hej, ladilom" gained recognition outside Transylvania in the 1990s, emerging as one of the well-known “modern folk songs” in Hungarian folk music.
