Mecano

Mecano was a Spanish pop band whose debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña, a sociocultural movement that occurred in Spain during the 1980's. Although Spanish music critics do not consider the band one of the most representative ensembles of the aforementioned cultural wave,^[1] Mecano's found more commercial success in the 80s and the early 90s, both in its native country and Latin America, France, and Italy with 25 million worldwide sales.^{[citation needed]}

History

The musical group was started as a synth-pop ensemble (música tecno in Spanish) by brothers Nacho and José María Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, in Madrid in 1981. In a period of cultural experimentation in the newly democratic Spain, Mecano achieved its initial popularity with their debut single, "Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar". The initial album, named after the band, turned out to be a collection of classics that would later represent La Movida Madrileña.

At the same time, Nacho Cano branched out into producing other bands, and both brothers wrote songs for other pop up-starts. Although those secondary acts wouldn't achieve the level of success Mecano gained, they turned out to be new testing grounds for Mecano.

Having achieved another huge hit in 1986 with "Me Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte", the band reformed its musical approach with the album Entre el suelo y el cielo. The new style emphasized more pop over techno. It also facilitated the export of the music to Latin America. This new versatility was evidenced by the cover of "Hijo de la Luna" by Opera artist Montserrat Caballé.

Their follow-up album, Descanso Dominical, produced their most popular single, "Mujer Contra Mujer."^{[citation needed]} The song deals with a lesbian relationship, seen through the eyes of a friend, who only later realizes what is going on. It was recorded in French ("Une Femme avec une Femme"), English, and Italian, giving Mecano their first truly global hit.

"Aidalai", their following album, was published in 1991 and carried the same success of the previous two works. In 1993 the band announced a "temporary split".

In 1998 the band released the album "Ana, Jose, Nacho" that mixed new songs with greatest hits. The band separated later that year and all three members went to have solo careers, though only Ana has found success as singer. Nacho Cano also wrote a musical based on the songs of the group, named after their first single "Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar". This opened in early 2005 on the Gran Via in Madrid and is now being shown also in Mexico City with great success.

In 2005, the members of Mecano released a double-CD/DVD package commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of the pop-group. The new CD/DVD, Mecanografia, includes a compilation of all their singles, never-before released songs, and a DVD with videos and early concert appearances.

Discography

Main article: Mecano discography

• Album: "Mecano" ℗1982
• Album: "¿Dónde Está El País De Las Hadas?" ℗ 1983
• Album: "Ya Viene El Sol" ℗ 1984
• Album: "Mecano En Concierto" ℗ 1985
• Album: "Lo Último De Mecano" ℗ 1986 album not official published by CBS Columbia. Album with 4 unpublished songs in studio: 3 songs of 1982 and 1 song of 1984 and too 4 live-songs of 1985's Tour (Concert at "Frontón De Segovia").
• Album: "Greenpeace, Salvemos Al Mediterráneo" ℗ 1986 album not official published by RCA/Ariola. Only 1 song of Mecano: "Canción cortita para antes que nos abandone el mar" (I. Cano - 00 min. 57 seg.)
• Album: "Entre El Cielo Y El Suelo" ℗ 1986 (Spain edition) 12 songs.
• Album: "Entre El Cielo Y El Suelo" ℗ 1986 (USA & Latin-America edition) 10 songs.
• Album: "Entre El Cielo Y El Suelo" ℗ 1986 (France edition) 14 songs.
• Album: "Figlio Della Luna" ℗ 1989 (Italy edition) 9 songs in Italian + 1 instrumental.
• Album: "Descanso Dominical" ℗ 1988 (edition in spanish) 14 songs.
• Album: "Descanso Dominical" ℗ 1990 (France edition) 1 song in French + 11 songs in Spanish.
• Album: "Aidalai" ℗ 1991 (edition in Spanish) 12 songs + 1 instrumental.
• Album: "Aidalai" ℗ 1991 (Italy edition) 6 songs in italian.
• Album: "Aidalai" ℗ 1991 (France edition) 7 songs in french.
• Album: "Ana|Jose|Nacho" ℗ 1998 compilation double-album in Spanish: 7 "new" songs + 23 old hits.
• Album: "Ana|Jose|Nacho" ℗ 1998 (France edition) compilation unique-disc: 3 new songs in French + some of 7 "new" songs in Spanish and old songs in French.
• Box set: "Mecano: Obras Completas " ℗ (2005) It's a black box of collection, published in limited and numbered edition. The CDs inside box are in format digipack. The box contains 8 original-CDs of their official discography in Spanish; it isn't included albums in Italian and French. The box contains: 6 studio-albums + 1 live-album + 1 "CD Bonus" with unpublished songs..
• Tripack: "Mecano: Grandes Éxitos " ℗ (2005) It's a pack in the shape of 3-gatefold that contains 2 audio-CDs (15 songs each one, singles and not-singles) + 1 DVD with 20 official videoclips.
• Digipack: "Mecanografía (La Historia En Imágenes)" ℗ (2006) Luxury digipack with 4 DVDs, it contains presentations of Mecano in Televisión Española (TVE) + files extra unpublished.

Foreign Language Recordings

Mecano recorded some of their songs in English, one of which was published as a single: "The Uninvited Guest", which is the English version of "Me Colé en una Fiesta". Other songs that were recorded in English by Mecano are: "Hawaii-Bombay" and "You", but these were never published on official discs.

Mecano also recorded many of their songs in Italian, such as: "Figlio Della Luna" [Hijo De La Luna], "Croce Di Lame" [Cruz De Navajas], "Un Anno Di Più" [Un Año Más], "Uno Di Quegli Amanti" [Los Amantes], "Per Lei Contro Di Lei" [Mujer Contra Mujer], "Il Cinema" [El Cine], "Vado A Nuova York" [No Hay Marcha En Nueva York], "Fermati A Madrid" [Quédate En Madrid], "Mi Costa Tanto Di Scordarti" [Me Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte], "Responso Positivo" [El Fallo Positivo], "Anna È Miguel" [Naturaleza Muerta], "Una Rosa È Una Rosa" [Una Rosa Es Una Rosa], "Tu" (Italian version), "Dalai Lama" (Italian version), "Il 7 Di Settembre" [El 7 De Septiembre] and "La Forza Del Destino" [La Fuerza Del Destino].

Songs that Mecano recorded in French include: "Une Femme Avec Une Femme" [Mujer Contra Mujer], "Dis-Moi Lune D'Argent" [Hijo De La Luna], "Une Histoire À Trois" [El Uno, El Dos, El Tres], "Nature Morte" [Naturaleza Muerta], "Le Paradis Artificiel" [El Lago Artificial], "Toi" [Tú], "J.C." (French version) and "Le 7 Septembre" [El 7 De Septiembre].

Unpublished Songs

Some unpublished Mecano songs are "La Extraña Posición" (original version and disco-mix version), "Quiero Vivir en la Ciudad", "Viaje Espacial", "Napoleón", "Súper-Ratón", "Me no Parle Vous Français", "Me he Declarado en Guerra" (demo), "Cristóbal Colón", "El Caballo de Espartero" (demo), "Solo"(demo), "Lía", "El Pez", "El Romance de la Niña María Luz", "Arlequín", "Al Alba", "¿Qué Haces Tú en el Mundo?", "La Bola de Pelo" (a demo for "Mujer contra mujer"), "Fábula"(demo), and others.

The songs "La Fuerza del Destino" and "El 7 de Septiembre", are dedicated to Coloma Fernández Armero, who was Nacho Cano's girlfriend for several years.

Covers by other artists

Due to the popularity of its 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 and Celia Cruz. Also, the unpublished song Lía ended being sung by Ana Belén. The euro-dance-band Loona covered the song "Hijo de la luna" in 1998 and achieved a major hit with it.

In a more drastic manner, the Mexican singer Fey decided to relaunch her career with La Fuerza Del Destino, an album consisting of 12 Mecano covers.

Non-Spanish covers include Sarah Brightman, who covered the songs "Tú", "Hijo de la luna", "Naturaleza Muerta". Mario Frangoulis covered "Hijo de la luna" and "Naturaleza Muerta."

S Club 7 star Tina Barrett is rumored to have covered the song "Hijo de la Luna" to launch her solo career. Nothing has been released from her, yet.

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".

Trivia

• The majority of the lyrics were written by one of the Cano brothers from a male perspective, and sung by Ana Torroja.
• The early lyrics deal with teenage boredom and unrest. Other themes are drugs and love.
• The actress Penélope Cruz debuted before the Spanish public in a Mecano video clip, La fuerza del destino. She later held a relationship with Nacho Cano for several years.
• In March 2005, a musical written by Nacho Cano, entitled Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, opened in Madrid. It features Mecano songs sung by the actors within a new story.
• Ana Torroja wrote the lyrics to the chorus of "Mosquito", which was her only lyrical contribution to the group. The rest of the song was written by Nacho Cano and José María Cano.
• Mecano contributed the song "Canción Cortita Para Antes que Nos Abandone el Mar" to the compilation album "Greenpeace, Salvemos al Mediterráneo" (1985).

Bibliography of Mecano:

1. Book: "Mecano: La Explosión Del Pop Español", Author: Joan Singla, editions: "Martínez Roca", 144 pages, 20 × 13 cm., ISBN : 84-270-0871-6, (© 1984).
2. Book: "Mecano (El Libro)", several authors, editions : "Luca", 128 pages, 24 × 20 cm., ISBN : 84-87491-05-7. With the buy from this book comes included one CD-PROMO with two Audio-tracks, "track 1" sung in italian; "track 2" sung in frensh. Date of publication : August 1st, 1992 (© 1992).
3. Book: "Mecano: La Fuerza Del Destino", authors : Carlos Del Amo and Javier Adrados, publishing house(editorial) : "La Esfera De Los Libros", edition: 1st: 436 pages, ISBN: 8497341775. Date of publication : April 20th, 2004 (© 2004).ca:Mecano

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