Renato Russo
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Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr., March 27, 1960 – October 11, 1996) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band
Legião Urbana Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Distrito Federal. The band primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, bass and keyboards), Dado Villa-Lobos (guitar) and Marcelo Bonfá (d ...
. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was released in 2013, called '' Somos Tão Jovens (We Are So Young)''.


Childhood

Renato Manfredini Jr. was born in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
. He started his studies at an early age, at Colégio Olavo Billac. During this period he wrote an essay titled "Old house, in ruins". His father was an executive at
Banco do Brasil Banco do Brasil S.A. ( en, Bank of Brazil) is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. The oldest bank in Brazil, and among the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world, it was founded by John VI, King ...
, and the family moved to Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1967, when he was assigned a job in the city. Renato and his family returned later to Rio de Janeiro and moved in with his uncle Sávio. At 18 years old, he came out as bisexual to his mother, and in 1988 he made it public by writing the song "Meninos e Meninas" ("Boys n' Girls") with the chorus stating, in English, "I like St. Paul, I like St. John, I like St. Francis and St. Sebastian, and I like boys and girls."


Adolescence

In 1973, his family moved from
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
to
Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
,
Distrito Federal A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...
, moving to the "Asa Sul" sector. In 1975, aged 15, Renato went through one of the hardest phases of his life when he was diagnosed as suffering from epiphysiolysis, a bone disease. He underwent surgery and had three platinum pins implanted in his pelvis. He suffered greatly throughout his convalescence, being confined to bed for 6 months, almost immobile. While he was under treatment, he did little more than listening to music, collecting an extensive and varied album collection. In an interview, Renato stated that this period was crucial in shaping his musical ear.


Musical career

During the years of 1978 and 1979, he was the bass player of punk rock band Aborto Elétrico (''Electric Abortion'') which lasted 4 years, from 1978 to 1982, but broke up due to constant arguing between Fê Lemos, the drummer, and Renato. Although the band did not last long, during this period Renato Russo wrote many songs that would later become hits of
Capital Inicial Capital Inicial is a Brazilian rock band that flourished in the 1980s, saw a resurgence in the late 1990s, and extended into the 2000s. History The band has recorded fifteen studio albums, six live albums and seven DVDs in their 40-year career ...
(founded by the remaining members of Aborto Elétrico) and Legião Urbana (founded by Renato Russo). After the end of Aborto Elétrico, Renato began a solo career as the "Trovador Solitário" (Lonely Minstrel). This period only lasted a few months, as in 1982, he joined Marcelo Bonfá (the drummer of the band Dado e o Reino Animal), Eduardo Paraná (guitar player, known as Kadu Lambach) and Paulo Guimarães (keyboard player, known as Paulo Paulista) to form Legião Urbana. Renato was the lead vocal and bass player. Their main influences were the post punk bands of the time, especially Robert Smith from
The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
and Morrissey from
The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...
. After the first few concerts, Eduardo Paraná and Paulo Paulista left the band. Dado Villa-Lobos then took over the guitars, creating the classic line-up of the band. The band also had Renato Rocha as a bass player from 1984 to 1989. Leading Legião Urbana, Renato Russo reached the peak of his career as a musician, being recognized as the most important songwriter of Brazilian rock, securing a cult status within his fanbase. He used to write long songs. The Dylan-esque "Faroeste Caboclo", for instance, lasts 9:05, "Clarisse" is 10:33 long and "Metal Contra as Nuvens" is 11:29 minutes. The song "Fátima" was written in ten minutes. He recorded two solo albums, with both English and Italian songs, in the 1990s.


Personal life

During his career he had four books published and, after his death, another four books were released about him, one of them being "''Conversações com Renato Russo''", which contains excerpts from interviews showing his point of view on rock, bisexuality (including his own), the world, drugs and
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
. He later told ''
Folha de S. Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã co ...
'', in a 1980s interview, that he was pansexual, saying, "I am part of a minority...in this country. I consider myself pansexual".


Illness and death

Renato Russo was diagnosed
HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...
in 1989, although he did not talk about it publicly. He suffered greatly with the side effects of the antiviral medicines he had to take: "''When I take the cocktail, it's like I'm eating a dog alive. And the dog eats me from the inside''"''.'' During a recording session in February 1996, he confided to friend and fellow singer Paulo Ricardo that he had stopped taking the medicines. He died on October 11, 1996, at 1:15 a.m., weighing only 45 kilograms (99.2 pounds), due to complications caused by AIDS. He left a son, Giuliano Manfredini, at the time 7 years old. His body was cremated and the ashes were spread at the Parque Burle Marx in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
– coincidentally, Legião Urbana's ex-bassist Renato Rocha was hanging out with his girlfriend at the moment of the ashes' spreading and he got a flat tire right in front of the park. On October 22, 1996, eleven days after his death, Dado and Bonfá announced the end of Legião Urbana. The band's estimated sales in Brazil during Renato's life amounted to roughly 25 million albums. More than a decade after his death, sales of his albums are still considerable.


Discography


With Legião Urbana


Solo


Studio albums

* '' The Stonewall Celebration Concert'' (1994) * '' Equilíbrio Distante'' (1995) * '' O Último Solo'' (1997) * '' Presente'' (2003)


Compilation albums

* ''Série Bis: Renato Russo - Duplo'' (2000) * ''Série Para Sempre: Renato Russo'' (2001) * ''Série Identidade: Renato Russo'' (2002) * ''O Talento de Renato Russo'' (2004) * ''Renato Russo - Uma Celebração'' (2006) * '' O Trovador Solitário'' (2008) * '' Renato Russo: Duetos'' (2010) * ''Sinfônico'' (2013) * ''Somos Tão Jovens'' (movie soundtrack, 2013)


References


External links


Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Renato 1960 births 1996 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian rock musicians Brazilian people of Italian descent Gay musicians Brazilian LGBT singers LGBT songwriters People from Brasília People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian rock singers 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 20th-century LGBT people LGBT people in Latin music Brazilian people of Irish descent Pansexual men Pansexual musicians Bisexual men Bisexual artists