Silence 4
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| Silence 4 | |
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| Origin | Leiria, Portugal |
| Years active | 1996–2001 |
| Genres | Rock Alternative rock |
| Members | David Fonseca Sofia Lisboa Rui Costa Tozé Pedrosa |
Silence 4 is a Portuguese band, formed in 1996, whose songs are mostly sung in English. They released two albums to highly critical acclaim, Silence Becomes It (1998) and Only Pain Is Real (1999). The band officially disbanded in 2001, and lead singer David Fonseca is currently undergoing a solo career.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Formation
The band's genesis begun in 1995. David Fonseca, after having had a good feedback from showing some demo tapes to a music shop owner in Leiria, approached Sofia Lisboa with the idea of forming a band. That approach only materialized one year later, when both of them invited Rui Costa (Silence 4) to the band — who suggested they turn off the amplifiers and play in silence.
They won a 500 thousand escudos (roughly 2500 euros) prize in a band festival, which was spent totally in making demos. When presenting these to labels, the answer was always the same: "Singing in English? No Way!" Refusing to balk at the demand of recording totally in Portuguese, they ended up recording a cover of Erasure's A Little Respect, which was included in the compilation Sons de Todas as Cores (released in 1998), giving it massive airplay and good critical acclaim.
[edit] Silence Becomes It
Polygram (now Universal) finally accepted to work with them, but with some restrictions: minimum budget (5 million escudos — 25 thousand euros), and they would only receive royalties after selling 10 thousand records. The resulting album was Silence Becomes It, which was certified platinum 5 times (over 100 thousand records sold), spending months on #1 of the Portuguese charts. A national tour ensued, with 90 concerts in 6 months. On December 18, the mytical Pavilhão Atlântico concert took place.
[edit] Only Pain Is Real
They kept touring in 1999, though with less concerts. Then came a period of absence, when they "escaped" to London. It was there, at the Ridge Farm Studios, that their second album, Only Pain Is Real, was born. The album was presented in Leiria, in 2000, and took 2 weeks to reach platinum certification. Then came another tour, with over 100 concerts in one year, ending with two unique concerts at the Coliseu dos Recreios de Lisboa, on December 19 and 20.[1]
[edit] Live performances
[edit] Members
- David Fonseca - lead vocals, guitar
- Sofia Lisboa - vocals
- Rui Costa - bass guitar
- Tozé Pedrosa - drums
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- July 1998 - Silence Becomes It
- August 1999 - Only Pain Is Real
- February 2000 - Only pain Is Real:The Remixes (EP)
- December 2000 - Silence 4 no Coliseu dos Recreios
[edit] Singles
[edit] External links
- (Official website was at Silence4.net, but the domain expired)
- Unofficial website, by fan Leonor Fontainhas
