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Spanish rock band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965 and based in Madrid. They are most well known for their debut single "Black Is Black" which reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966 and No. 4 in the United States (the first Spanish group to do so), selling over a million records worldwide.
Los Bravos | |
|---|---|
Los Bravos in 1966 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Madrid, Spain |
| Genres | Beat, blue-eyed soul, rock, pop, freakbeat |
| Years active | 1965–1971, 2004, 2015–present |
| Labels | Decca, Press, Parrot |
| Past members | Mike Kogel Antonio Martínez Manuel Fernández Miguel Vicens Danus Pablo Gómez Bob Wright Tony Anderson Pablo Sanllehí Jesús Glück Ari Leeonx Bruce Game |
The band was an amalgamation of two pop groups, Los Sonor from Madrid and The Runaways from Mallorca. Los Bravos' lead singer, Mike Kogel (aliases: Mike Kennedy, Mike Keller), is from Germany. His vocal styling was sometimes likened to Gene Pitney's. "Black Is Black" reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart,[1] No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1966,[2] No. 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has sold over one million copies worldwide.[3]
"Black Is Black" was written by Michelle Grainger, Tony Hayes, and Steve Wadey in their recording studio for cutting demo discs in Hoo St Werburgh, near Rochester, Kent, England.[3] The song was later covered by Johnny Hallyday and then by French-based outfit Belle Epoque, whose disco version coincidentally also reached No. 2 in the UK in 1977.
Los Bravos' follow-up single, "I Don't Care", reached No. 16 in the UK in October 1966.[2] In 1967, the band participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, failing to qualify for the final with the song "Uno come noi" in Italian.[4] The band was the subject of two Spanish comedic movies: in 1967 Los chicos con las chicas (The Boys With the Girls), directed by Javier Aguirre and in 1968, ¡Dame un poco de amooor...! (Give Me a Little Looove!), 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 and Beyond, 1964–1969. The song had reached No. 55 in Canada.[5]
Their single release of the Harry Vanda/George Young penned song, "Bring a Little Lovin'", reached No. 22 in Canada on 13 July 1968.[6]
One of Los Bravos' founding members, Manuel Fernández, committed suicide on 20 May 1968, at the age of 23,[7] after the death of his wife, Lottie Rey, in an auto accident. Also that year, Kogel left the group to develop a solo career under the name Mike Kennedy. He was replaced as singer by Bob Wright and then Anthony (Tony) Anderson.[8] Anderson sang with The Warriors, with his brother Jon Anderson, before joining Los Bravos.
In 1975 and 1976, Kogel rejoined the group.
In 1990, guitarist Antonio Martínez died in a motorcycle accident en route to his recording studio.[9][10]
Miguel Vicens died of pneumonia in Palma on 12 February 2022, at age 78.[11]
In 2004, the group reformed with Pablo Sanllehí, Miguel Vicens Danus and Mike Kogel/Kennedy.
In 2015, Mike Kennedy reunited with Miguel Vicens Danus under the name Los Bravos, to record a new studio version of "Black Is Black."[12] The new recording was officially released on iTunes and edited to create a music video.[13]
In 2019, Miguel Vicens Danus and Pablo Sanllehí inducted Bruce Game as the new lead singer to record a new album. They released two singles in 2020 followed by four more singles in 2021 on iTunes and Spotify under the name Los Bravos. These include "Gotta Be Strong"[14] and "Chariot".[15]
On 20 March 2019, the Los Bravos song "Bring a Little Lovin'" was featured on the soundtrack and first teaser trailer for the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.[16]
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