Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo was an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982. The band's lineup consisted of lead singer and guitarist Gustavo Cerati, bassist Zeta Bosio, and drummer Charly Alberti. During their career, the band released seven studio albums before disbanding in 1997.
This article is about the band. For its self-titled album, see Soda Stereo (album).
Soda Stereo
The band's 1984 self-titled debut album featured a new wave and ska influenced sound, which evolved into a post-punk style found on their subsequent albums Nada personal (1985), Signos (1986), and Doble Vida (1988). The band's 1990 album Canción Animal featured the alternative rock anthem "De Música Ligera", their best-known song in Latin America. On their last two albums, Dynamo (1992) and Sueño Stereo (1995), their sound evolved to incorporate genres such as shoegaze and art rock. Their farewell concert on 20 September 1997 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires was released later that year on the live albums El Último Concierto A and B.
Soda Stereo are the best-selling band in the history of Argentina, setting landmarks in record sales and concert attendances.[1] The band has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide as of 2007.[2]
All three members remained musically active following the band's split, with Cerati embarking on a successful solo career. Soda Stereo reunited for the Me Verás Volver concert tour in 2007 and played their final concert on 21 December 2007. Cerati suffered a stroke after performing a solo show in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 15, 2010. He was hospitalized in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and fell into a coma for 4 years. He died on September 4, 2014 from respiratory arrest. Bosio and Alberti reunited Soda Stereo in 2020 for the Gracias Totales tour, which featured several guest singers including Cerati's son Benito and Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin.
History[edit]
Formation and early years (1982–1984)[edit]
In the summer of 1981, Gustavo Cerati and Hector Zeta Bosio, then 22 and 23 respectively, met at Punta del Este, Uruguay, both studying majors. At the time, both men were part of rock bands, Cerati with his group Sauvage and Bosio with the Morgan. Cerati and Bosio, each drawn together by the other's musical tastes, established a friendship and a musical bond that encouraged them to start playing together. Cerati first joined Bosio's group The Morgan, then formed Stress with Charly Amato and drummer Pablo Guadalupe, also working on the project Erekto with bandmate Andres Calamaro. Both projects did not meet Cerati's expectations, however, and both fell through.
Meanwhile, Cerati's sister, Maria Laura Cerati, got asked out repeatedly by Carlos Ficicchia, a man she had met in River Plate, Argentina, who called repeatedly to ask her out, all advances of which she rejected.[3] On one occasion, when Cerati answered the phone for his sister, he entered a deep musical conversation with Ficicchia, who mentioned that he was a drummer, and the son of famous Argentine jazz drummer and songwriter Tito Alberti.[4] Interested in his talents after hearing him play, Cerati and Bosio would ask him to join the band–if he would cut his hair. It was during this time that Ficicchia would adopt the stage name "Charly Alberti".
The band, after experimenting with multiple names, eventually settled on the name los Estereotipos (the Stereotypes), which referenced a song by the Specials which they enjoyed listening to.[5] The band would record a demo under this name, with Richard Coleman on backing guitar, a short-lived member of the band who was recruited to "beef up" the guitar sound.[3] The songs recorded would include "Porque No Puedo Ser Del Jet Set?" (Why Can't I be Part of the Jet Set?), which would become a hit single for the band on their debut studio album. Other songs recorded included "Dime Sebastian" (Tell Me Sebastian) and "Debo Soñar" (I Must Dream) by Ulises Butrón, in which Ulises Butrón played guitars and Daniel Melero played keyboards; Melero, a growing figurehead of Argentina's electronic rock scene, would become an instrumental influence on the band's sound in its final years.
The trio, regretting using cliches in their band name (claiming that "Los" (The) in a rock-band name was overused), would often brainstorm random words and write them down, a university pastime for Cerati and Bosio–eventually coming up with Soda Stereo, thanks in part to Cerati's excessive soda consumption during band rehearsals.[6]
The first show under Soda's new name occurred in December 1982, at Alfredo Lois birthday party, Cerati and Bosio's university classmate. Lois would go on to become Soda's video director as well as their visual and stylistic guru; he would later be recognised by Cerati himself as "the fourth Soda member".[7] Shortly after this first show, Richard Coleman, fourth member, left the band on good terms, recognizing that the band sounded better without him.
In July 1983 the now-trio made their debut at the Discothèque Airport in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Belgrano, Buenos Aires. The band reminisced on this show:
Influences[edit]
The main influence that Soda Stereo received during their career was of British rock. Among the most influential artists for the band sound are the Beatles and solo careers of George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon; the Police, the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Virus, XTC, the Specials, Squeeze, Pink Floyd, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Queen (in 1997 band recorded tribute song "Algún día"), My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins.[44][45][46]
