Joaquín Sabina

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Joaquin Sabina
Background information
Birth name	Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina
Born	February 12, 1949
Origin	Jaén, Spain
Genre(s)	Latin Pop, Rock
Years active	1978–Present
Label(s)	BMG Ariola Spain
Website	JSabina.com

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Joaquín Sabina is a Spanish singer-songwriter, well-known in several Spanish-speaking countries.

1 Biography and career
2 Discography
3 Books
4 External links

[edit] Biography and career

He was born on February 12, 1949 in the city of Úbeda (Jaén Province, in Andalusia), Spain. His father was a policeman.

At the age of 14, he started writing poems and composing music with friends. In 1968 he enrolled in the University of Granada, but went into exile in London, using a fake passport, to avoid Francisco Franco's persecution. This same year, his father received an order to arrest Joaquín due to his anti-Franco ideals. In London, he collaborated with other young artists in theater and cultural events.

In 1975, he started composing songs and singing at local bars. In a local bar called "Mexicano-Taverna" Sabina performed in the presence of George Harrison, who was celebrating his birthday. The ex-Beatles then gave Sabina a five-pound bill as tip. Sabina still preserves the bill to this day. When the dictatorship ended in 1977 he returned to Spain and enrolled in the military.

In 1978 his first album, Inventario was released (Inventory) by the small label Movieplay, but went unnoticed. Afterwards, he moved to the powerful CBS (today Sony) and released Malas compañías (Bad Companies). This album gave Joaquín his first number-one hit single Pongamos que hablo de Madrid (Let's say I´m talking about Madrid) and wide recognition. He released a live album called 'La mandrágora (The Mandrake), sharing the spotlight with mates Javier Krahe and Alberto Pérez. The trio was currently enjoying much popularity thanks to their participation in a TV program. La Mandrágora created much controversy due to the racy content of the lyrics.

In 1983 Sabina released his third album Ruleta Rusa (Russian Roulette) and two years later, Juez y parte (Judge and Side). His political views led him to take part in the anti-NATO movement. He later published Joaquín Sabina y Viceversa.

In 1987 he released Hotel, dulce hotel (Hotel, Sweet Hotel), which sold a large number of records in Spain. That success followed with his next album El hombre del traje gris (The Man in The Gray Suit), and followed with a successful tour of South America.

In 1990 he released Mentiras piadosas (White Lies) and two years later Física y química (Chemistry and Physics), which led to another successful tour of the Americas.

His later albums Esta boca es mía (This Mouth is Mine), Yo, mi, me contigo (I, my, myself... with you) and 19 días y 500 noches (19 Days and 500 Nights), won him more recognition and multiple platinum albums.

After recovering from a stroke, he returned to the stage in 2002 with Dímelo en la calle (Dare to Say That Outside). He later released a double album called Diario de un peatón (A Pedestrian's Log), which included both his previous album and 12 new songs, along with a book illustrated by him.

In 2005 his new record Alivio de luto (Mourning Relief), put him in track to being one of the biggest names in Spanish musical stardom. The album comes with a DVD that includes interviews, music videos, acoustic versions of the songs and some home-made recordings.

[edit] Discography

Inventario (1978)
Malas compañías (1980)
La mandrágora (by Javier Krahe, Joaquín Sabina & Alberto Pérez) (1981)
Ruleta rusa (1984)
Juez y parte (Joaquín Sabina y Viceversa) (1985)
En directo (Joaquín Sabina y Viceversa) (1986)
Hotel, dulce hotel (1987)
El hombre del traje gris (1988)
Mentiras piadosas (1990)
Física y química (1992)
Esta boca es mía (1994)
Yo, mi, me, contigo (1996)
Enemigos íntimos (Sabina y Páez) (1998)
19 días y 500 noches (1999)
Nos sobran los motivos (Sabina y Cia) (2000)
Dímelo en la calle (2002)
Diario de un peatón (2003)
Alivio de luto (2005)

[edit] Books

De lo cantado y sus márgenes (1986). Sabina's poems (based on Inventario album).
El hombre del traje gris (1989). Scores.
Ciento volando de catorce (2001). Sonnets.
Con buena letra (2002). Lyrics compilation.
Esta boca es mía (2005). Compilation of Sabina's satirical poems published in Interviú magazine.