Los Bravos
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Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965, and based in Madrid.
The band were an amalgamation of two pop groups, Los Sonor and The Runaways. Los Bravos' lead singer, Mike Kogel, was from Germany. His vocal styling was similar to Gene Pitney's. As the first Spanish group,[1] their single "Black is Black" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1966 [2], and #4 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The world wide sales of the song were over one million copies. The track was written by Tony Hayes and Steve Wadey, in their recording studio for cutting demo discs in Hoo St Werburgh, near Rochester, Kent, England.[1] The song was later covered by the French based outfit Belle Epoque. In 1977 their disco version of the song coincidentally also reached #2 in the UK. Their follow-up single, "I Don't Care", reached #16 in the UK in October 1966. In 1967 the band participated in Sanremo Music Festival, failing to qualify to the final with the song "Uno come noi" in Italian.[3] The band were subject to two Spanish comedic movies, in 1967 "Los Chicos Con las Chicas", directed by Javier Aguirre, and in 1968, "¡Dame un poco de amooor...!", directed by José María Forqué and Francisco Macián. Their song "Going Nowhere" from the soundtrack to "Los Chicos Con Las Chicas" was re-issued as a part of the Rhino Records series "Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire & Beyond".
One of Los Bravos' founding members Manuel Fernandez committed suicide on 20 May 1967, at the age of 23,[4][5] after the death of his bride Lottie Rey in an auto accident. He drove the car and was riddled with guilt.
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[edit] Band members
- Mike Kogel (born 25 April 1945, Berlin) - vocals
- Antonio Martinez (born 3 October 1945, Madrid) - guitar. Tony died in a motorcycle accident en route to his office several years ago.
- Manuel Fernandez 29 September 1943, Seville — died 20 May 1967 - electric organ.
- Miguel Vicens Danus (born 21 June 1944, Palma de Mallorca, Majorca) - bass guitar
- Pablo Gomez (born 5 November 1943, Barcelona) - drums
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
The following singles reached Billboard Hot 100 or UK Top 40[6]
- "Black is Black" (1966) - UK #2 U.S. #4
- "I Don't Care (1966) - UK #16
- "Bring a Little Lovin'" (1968) - U.S. #51
[edit] Albums
Original studio albums[7]
- Black is Black (1966) - Sindrome - U.S. #93
- Bring a Little Lovin' (1968) - Parrot
- All the Best (1993) - compilation album - Decca
[edit] See also
- RPM number-one hits of 1966
- List of artists under the Decca Records label
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks
- Music of Spain
[edit] References
- ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Disc, 2nd, London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd, p. 206/207. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 329. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Sanremo 1967 (17a Edizione) hitparadeitalia.it
- ^ Rock and Roll Heaven classicbands.com
- ^ The 1960s The Dead Rock Stars Club
- ^ Los Bravos allmusic.com
- ^ Los Bravos allmusic.com
