Mecano
Mecano was a Spanish pop band formed in 1981 and active until 1992. Mecano became one of the most successful Spanish pop bands of all time. The band is still the best-selling Spanish band, with over 20 million records worldwide.[1] They were considered by some to be avant-garde for their time[2] and part of la Movida Madrileña countercultural movement. They had a brief comeback in 1998.
This article is about the Spanish pop band. For the construction toy, see Meccano. For other uses, see Mecano (disambiguation).
Mecano
Madrid, Spain
- 1981–1992
- 1998
The band's line-up consisted of singer Ana Torroja and brothers Nacho and José María Cano, who worked alongside session musicians such as Arturo Terriza, Manolo Aguilar, Nacho Mañó, Javier Quílez, Ángel Celada and Óscar Astruga. The trio's musical career spanned two distinct stages. The first, up to 1985, was essentially as a synthpop band, while in the second stage Mecano followed a more acoustic pop rock direction, with elements of ballad, dance, flamenco, bossa nova, tango, salsa, rumba flamenca, bolero, pasodoble, and even reggae.
The unprecedented success also hit Hispanic America. Also, thanks to adaptations to other languages of several of their songs, they influenced non-Spanish speaking countries such as Italy and France, as with their song "Une femme avec une femme". In 2005, Mecano's music was adapted into the successful musical Hoy no me puedo levantar, which opened productions in Spain and Mexico. After two years, it was announced that the musical had been seen by more than 1,500,000 spectators in both countries, making it the most successful original production in Spanish of all time.
Some of their biggest number one singles include "Me cuesta tanto olvidarte", "La fuerza del destino", "Hijo de la luna", "Cruz de navajas", "Une femme avec une femme" ("Mujer contra mujer", a worldwide number one hit), and "El 7 de septiembre".
History[edit]
The band started as a synthpop ensemble (tecno pop in Spanish) by brothers Nacho and José María Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, in 1981 in Madrid influenced by English new wave band Spandau Ballet.[3][4] In a period of cultural experimentation in the newly democratic Spain, Mecano achieved its initial popularity with its debut single, "Hoy no me puedo levantar" ("I Can't Get Up Today"), a song about youth boredom and hangovers. Their first, self-titled album became a collection of classics that would later represent Spanish 1980s pop music.
At the same time, Nacho Cano branched out into producing other bands, and both brothers started writing songs for other pop up-and-comers. Although those secondary acts wouldn't achieve the level of success Mecano gained, they turned out to be new testing grounds for Mecano.
After switching recording labels, passing from then CBS-Columbia (later Sony Music) to the Ariola label (later acquired by BMG music group) and having achieved another huge hit in 1986 with "Me cuesta tanto olvidarte" ("It's So Hard to Forget You"), the band reformed its musical approach with the album Entre el cielo y el suelo (Between the Sky and the Ground). Their new style emphasised pop over techno. It also facilitated the export of their music to Latin America. This new versatility was evidenced by "Hijo de la Luna" ("Son of the Moon"). This song was also submitted by the band as a potential contestant for Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, but TVE selected another band, Cadillac.
Their follow-up album, Descanso Dominical (Sunday Rest), produced two of their most popular singles. One was, "La fuerza del destino," ("The force of fate") in which actress Penélope Cruz debuted in the video clip for it. She later had a relationship with Nacho Cano for several years. The other single "Mujer contra mujer" ("Woman against woman"), is about a lesbian relationship, seen through the eyes of a friend, who only later realises what is going on. It was recorded in French ("Une femme avec une femme"), English and Italian, giving Mecano their first global hit. The single which was released in Latin America in 1989, became a number one hit, it also remained seven consecutive weeks on the French number one position from 10 November to 22 December 1990; the song became one of the greatest hits of all time in that country.[5]
Aidalai (nonsense word meaning, "Oh Dalai"), their following album, was published in 1991 and was as successful as their previous two works.
"El 7 de septiembre" ("7 September") was dedicated to Coloma Fernández Armero, who was Nacho Cano's girlfriend for several years. "El 7 de septiembre", which was released in the summer of 1992, was the last Ibero-American number one hit for the band, a music video was released for the song and it was inspired by the 1927 German silent film Metropolis. It was the last original album of the band.
In 1993, the band announced a temporary hiatus.
In 1998, the band released the album Ana, Jose, Nacho, which mixed new songs with greatest hits. The band separated later that year and all three members went on to have solo careers, though only Ana found success as a singer. In 2005 keyboardist Nacho Cano wrote a musical based on 32 Mecano songs, named after their first single.
In 2005, the members of Mecano released a double-CD/DVD package commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of the band. The new CD/DVD, Mecanografia (Mecano-graphy), includes a compilation of all their singles, never-before released songs, and a DVD with videos and early concert appearances.
The Cano brothers were innovative musicians in the use of technology, and Nacho was one of the first Spanish musicians to own a Fairlight keyboard. (Its screen can be seen in the back cover of their only live album). José María also commented that he often locked himself in a room with a dictionary and books to write his songs, while Nacho has said that to compose he started off with a rhythm machine, then added the melody, and the lyrics came in last.
In November 2009, the band reunited with a new song to be released later that month.
On 25 November 2011, the journalist José Antonio Abellán announced their reunion in ABC Punto Radio for a world tour in 2012. This was later denied.[6] Other media such as the newspaper El País, confirmed the news and the world tour.[7]