09 July 2010

TGIF Rock n Roll Oldies: Los Bravos 1966

Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965 and based in Madrid, Spain. Singing impressively well in English, they saw success overseas with the single Black is Black, which  reached #2 in the UK and #4 in the US -the first Spanish group to do so- and selling over a million records.
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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 style sometimes likened to Gene Pitney's. Black is Black was written by Brits Tony Hayes and Steve Wadey. The song was later covered by Johnny Hallyday and the French-based outfit Belle Epoque, and in 1977 their disco version of the song coincidentally also reached #2 in the UK.
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Los Bravos' follow-up single, I Don't Care, reached #16 in the UK in 1966, but that was pretty much the end of it. The band were also the subjects of two Spanish comedic movies...