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. They were considered by some to be

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

for their time and part of la Movida Madrileña countercultural movement. They had a brief comeback in 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 Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

band, while in the second stage Mecano followed a more acoustic

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

direction, with elements of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

, bossa nova,

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

, salsa,

rumba flamenca Rumba flamenca, also known as flamenco rumba or simply rumba (), is a ''Palo (flamenco), palo'' (style) of flamenco music developed in Andalusia, Spain. It is known as one of the ''cantes de ida y vuelta'' (roundtrip songs), music which diverged i ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

, and even

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

. The unprecedented success also hit

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

. 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 Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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

The band started as a

ensemble (''tecno pop'' in Spanish) by brothers Nacho and José María Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, in 1981 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

influenced by English new wave band

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

. 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

hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol (beverage), alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than ...

s. Their first, self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

. 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 Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a David di Donatello and three Goya Awards. Cru ...

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 A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, giving Mecano their first global hit. The single which was released in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

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. ''Aidalai'' (

nonsense word In linguistics, a nonce word—also called an occasionalism—is any word (lexeme), or any sequence of sounds or letters, created for a single occasion or utterance but not otherwise understood or recognized as a word in a given languag ...

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 A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

''. 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 The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

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. Other media such as the newspaper

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

, confirmed the news and the world tour.

Band members

* Ana Torroja – lead vocals * Nacho Cano – keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals * Jose Maria Cano – guitars, backing vocals

Awards and nominations

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Lo Nuestro Awards The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, "Una Rosa Es Una Rosa" , Video of the Year , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=2,

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, "El 7 de septiembre" , rowspan=2, Viewer's Choice , , - ,

, "Una Rosa Es Una Rosa" ,

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Mecano'' (1982) *'' ¿Dónde está el país de las hadas?'' (1983) *'' Ya viene el Sol'' (1984) *'' Entre el cielo y el suelo'' (1986) *'' Descanso Dominical'' (1988) *'' Aidalai'' (1991)

Other releases

* ''Mecano: Obras Completas'' – 2005 (collection, released in a limited and numbered edition. The CDs inside the box are in

digipack Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

format. The box contains 8 original-CDs of their official

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

in Spanish, yet it doesn't include

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

in Italian or French. The box contains: 6 studio-albums + 1 live-album + 1 "CD Bonus" with previously unreleased songs) * Tripack: ''Mecano: Grandes Éxitos'' – 2005 (a pack in the shape of 3-

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for gramophone record, LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½-inch 2.7-centimetresquare). ...

that contains 2 audio-CDs (15 songs each one, singles and non-singles) + 1

with 20 official videoclips) * Digipack: ''Mecanografía (La Historia En Imágenes)'' – 2006 (Luxury digipack with 4 DVDs, it contains presentations of Mecano in

Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in Equatorial Guinea. T ...

(TVE) + extra unpublished songs) * Mecano contributed the song "Canción Cortita Para Antes que Nos Abandone el Mar" to the compilation album "Greenpeace, Salvemos al Mediterráneo" (1985).

Foreign-language recordings

Mecano recorded some of their songs in English, one of which was released as a single: "The Uninvited Guest", which is the English version of " Me Colé en Una Fiesta" ("I crashed a party"). Other songs recorded in English by Mecano are: ''Hawaii-Bombay'' and ''You'', but these were never released officially. ;Italian Mecano also recorded many of their songs in Italian, such as: *''Figlio Della Luna'' (Hijo De La Luna) *''Croce Di Lame'' ruz de Navajas ("Cross of Knives")*''Un Anno Di Più'' n Año Más ("Another Year")*''Uno Di Quegli Amanti'' os Amantes ("The Lovers")*''Per Lei Contro Di Lei'' ujer Contra Mujer*''Il Cinema'' l Cine ("The Movie Theatre")*''Vado A Nuova York'' o Hay Marcha En Nueva York ("Nothing Happens in New York")*''Fermati A Madrid'' uédate En Madrid ("Stay in Madrid")*''Mi Costa Tanto di Scordarti'' e Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte*''Responso Positivo'' l Fallo Positivo ("Positive Sentence")*''Anna e Miguel'' aturaleza Muerta ("Still Life")*''Una Rosa e Una Rosa'' na Rosa es Una Rosa ("A Rose is a Rose")*''Tu'' ("You") (Italian version) *"Dalai Lama" (Italian version) *''Il 7 Di Settembre'' l 7 De Septiembre*"La Forza Del Destino" a Fuerza del Destino ;French Mecano recorded some songs in French including: *''Une Femme Avec Une Femme'' ujer Contra Mujer*''Dis-Moi Lune D'Argent'' ijo De La Luna*"Une Histoire À Trois" l Uno, El Dos, El Tres ("The One, The Two, and The Three")*''Nature Morte'' aturaleza Muerta*''Le Paradis Artificiel'' l Lago Artificial ("The Artificial Lake")*''Toi'' ú*"J.C." (French version) *"Le 7 Septembre" l 7 de Septiembre

Unreleased songs

Some unreleased Mecano songs are ''Me Non Parle Vous Français'' ("I Don't Speak French"), ''Me he declarado en guerra'' ("I've Declared Myself At War"), ''Cristóbal Colón'' ("Christopher Columbus"), ''El Caballo de Espartero'' ("Espartero's Horse"), ''Solo'' ("Alone"), ''Lía'' ("Tie"), ''El Pez'' ("The Fish"), ''El Romance de la Niña María Luz'' ("The Romance of the Girl María Luz"), ''Arlequín'' ("Harlequin"), ''Al Alba'' ("At Dawn"), ''¿Qué Haces Tú en el Mundo?'' ("What Do you Do in the World?"), among others.

Covers by other artists

Due to the popularity of their songs, Mecano has been covered by other artists in the Spanish-speaking as well as in the non-Spanish-speaking world. Songs from ''Entre el cielo y el suelo'' have been covered by

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

and Celia Cruz. Also, the unpublished song ''Lía'' was sung by

Ana Belén María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta (born 27 May 1951), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer. She and her husband are considered symbols of the Spanish Transition, and her songs and albums often feature boldly-titled ...

. The Eurodance band

Loona Loona (stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; , ) is a South Korean girl group created by Blockberry Creative. The group is composed of eleven members: Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Vivi, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves (singer), Yves, Go Won ...

covered the song "Hijo de la luna" in 1998 and achieved a major hit with it. Laura Branigan recorded a version of "Mujer Contra Mujer" on her 1993 album '' Over My Heart''. In 2008, Mexican singer

Daniela Romo Teresa Presmanes Corona (born 27 August 1959), known professionally as Daniela Romo, is a Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess. During her career, she has sold 15 million records, making her one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Biog ...

included the song in her album, ''Sueños de Cabaret.'' ''Cruz de Navajas'' was covered in a salsa style by Dominican singer Raulin Rosendo. In 2004, Mexican pop singer Fey recorded the album '' La Fuerza Del Destino'', an album consisting of 12 Mecano covers. This album was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards in 2005.

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n Latin grammy winners, Editus covered the song "Hijo De La Luna" in their album ''Siempre...''. Non-Spanish covers include

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

, who sang the songs "Tú", "Hijo de la luna", "Naturaleza Muerta". Mario Frangoulis covered "Hijo de la luna" and "Naturaleza Muerta." The Belgian-Spanish Belle Perez did the same. Greek singer Eleni Dimou covered "Hijo de la luna" translating it in Greek ("Πέφτει το φεγγάρι" - "Moon is falling"). The Spanish heavy metal band Stravaganzza covered the song "Hijo de la luna" in their most recent studio work: an EP called ''Hijo del Miedo'' (Son of Fear). Recently the crossover soprano Geraldine Larrosa covered a French/Spanish version of "Naturaleza Muerta". A Portuguese-language cover of "Hawaii–Bombay" was performed by Brazilian new wave band Metrô on their 1985 album '' Olhar''. Portuguese singer José Cid also sung a version of his own. In their 2008 album, '' Tales of Ithiria'', the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

band Haggard made a cover for "Hijo de la Luna". A Finnish pop-folk artist Tuula Amberla released a cover in Finnish of "Hijo de la Luna" called "Kuun poika" in 1992, later a

band Katra made the same cover in their 2008 album '' Beast Within''. In 2009, the Mexican singer

Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known professionally as Gloria Trevi, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her emotional lyrics, performances, and lasting influence on Latin music, being ...

sang a live cover of the song "''Hijo de la Luna''" on the Mexican television show, ''El Show de los Sueños''. Also that same year the Brazilian-Venezuelan singer, Elisa Rego, did an electronic version of "''Aire''" song (Air) included in her fifth studio album titled "''Temperamental''". It is noteworthy that also in her beginnings (1982) Rego was the lead singer of ES-3, an underground rock band who specialized in performing Mecano covers in Caracas city night clubs long before this Spanish trio visited

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

for the first time in 1984 during the Promotional Tour of the "''Ya Viene El Sol''"-album (The Sun is Coming). Then their second visit to Venezuela was in 1986 in the promotional tour of "''Entre el cielo y el suelo''". The

extreme

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

band Theatres des Vampires made an Italian-language cover of "Hijo de la Luna" in their 2011 album '' Moonlight Waltz''.

Bibliography of Mecano

# Book: "'' Mecano: La Explosión Del Pop Español''", Author: Joan Singla, editions: "Martínez Roca", 144 pages, 20 × 13 cm., . # Book: "'' Mecano (El Libro)''", several authors, editions: "Luca", 128 pages, 24 × 20 cm., . Includes a CD-PROMO with two

Audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

-tracks, "track 1" sung in Italian; "track 2" sung in French. Date of publication: August 1, 1992. # Book: "'' Mecano: La Fuerza Del Destino''", authors: Carlos Del Amo and Javier Adrado
PopAdrados
publishing house(editorial): "La Esfera De Los Libros", edition: 1st: 436 pages, . Date of publication: April 20, 2004.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Spanish pop music groups Spanish new wave musical groups Musical groups from Madrid Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 1981 establishments in Spain 1998 disestablishments in Spain Latin pop music groups French-language musical groups from Spain Italian-language musical groups from Spain