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By the time Mano Negra got together in the early 80's the alternative French music scene had become a thriving hotbed of new talent. A whole generation of French 'indie' bands had surfaced on the alternative circuit, playing gigs in bars, squats and disused factories. These 'indie' groups, who performed to an audience of teenage fans eager to get away from the musical mainstream, were of a brave new militant breed. Their verve and energy were directly inspired by the punk movement and their songs were radically anti-establishment. A support system of fanzines and small independent labels would soon grow up around this alternative scene, creating a veritable music 'underground'.
Manu Chao, the singer who would go on to become the charismatic frontman of Mano Negra, got involved with the Paris 'underground' in his late teens. Born to Spanish parents living in Sèvres (in the Paris suburbs), Manu soon made a name for himself on the alternative music scene, performing with a group called Les Hot Pants. When Les Hot Pants went their different ways, Manu decided to form another group, teaming up with his brother Tonio Chao (on trumpet), and his cousin Santi Caseriego (on drums). The trio was soon joined by a host of other musicians from the alternative scene - Daniel Jamet (guitar), Jo Dahan (bass), Philippe "Garbancito" (percussion) and Thomas Darnal (on keyboards). La Mano Negra, the group which would go on to become the 'alternative rock phenomenon of the decade', was officially born in 1987.
"Patchanka"
The musicians of Mano Negra went on to concoct their own alternative style, inventing a heady musical cocktail by fusing elements of rock, salsa and reggae with a healthy dose of rap and Rai. They baptised their new invention "Patchanka". Manu Chao, who became Mano Negra's official songwriter, described Patchanka as "modern musette supported by Apache lyrics and a 'chorizo' mentality!" Mano Negra certainly wasted no time in promoting their new sound. Indeed, they promptly embarked upon an extensive national tour, playing a series of gigs right across France. By October '87 La Mano Negra already had a firm following of fans.
Thanks to the success of their vibrantly energetic concerts and word-of-mouth recommendations on the alternative grapevine, La Mano Negra's reputation spread like wildfire. What's more, la Mano would soon go on to reach even wider audiences when their single "Mala Vida" proved an unexpected hit in the musical mainstream. With their popularity reaching new heights, the group went directly into the studio to record a debut album (released on the small independent label Boucherie Productions). The album did relatively well for an alternative group, selling over 50,000 copies without any promotion whatsoever.
After the release of their album, La Mano Negra embarked upon another major tour, playing dates right across Europe. Then in September 1989 La Mano brought the house down at the Fête de l'Humanité (the annual Communist Party festival in Paris), supporting the American rockabilly group Stray Cats.
By this stage of their career La Mano Negra's success on the alternative scene had started to reach the ears of the major record labels and the group were soon bombarded with offers of lucrative recording contracts. La Mano eventually decided to take up an offer with Virgin, signing their first major recording deal in September 1989. Fellow musicians on the alternative scene declared that La Mano had sold out and started predicting that the group would end up losing their soul.
Puta's Fever
But La Mano Negra soon proved their critics wrong. When the band released their second album, "Puta's Fever" just a few months later, they showed they had lost none of their rebellious spirit. In fact, "Puta's Fever" turned out to be as resolutely alternative as it was commercial. "Puta's Fever" (which featured songs recorded in Spanish and Arabic as well as French) proved to be phenomenally successful and went on to spawn a whole string of hit singles - including "King Kong Five" and the famous "Pas assez de toi". Even "Sidi h'bibi" (a song which was censored by French radio stations during the Gulf war because the lyrics were in Arabic) went on to sell like hotcakes.
"Puta's Fever" not only did phenomenally well in the French album charts (selling 400,000 copies), it also exported Mano Negra's 'Patchanka' sound beyond French borders (selling 300,000 copies abroad). Mano Negra were hailed as heroes in their homeland and in May 1990 a jury of French journalists presented the group with the "Grand prix du rock français" at the Bus d'acier awards.
1990 proved to be a hectic year for Mano Negra as far as touring was concerned. After completing a mini tour in Paris (playing the round of clubs in the city's 18th arrondissement), the group went on to perform a series of gigs in Europe. Mano Negra also proved a huge hit when they played in South America later that year. Indeed, tickets for the group's concerts were sold out weeks in advance!
However, when Mano Negra flew out to America to support Iggy Pop on tour it turned out to be a different story altogether. The band was bitterly disappointed by their trip to the US and became rapidly disillusioned with American musicians' way of working. Despite the fact that American rock had formed a part of la Mano's Negra's earliest musical influences, the band ended up hating the US. As a result la Mano began cutting all ties with the Anglo-Saxon music world and from September '91 they started refusing to play in English-speaking countries. (This move inevitably led to serious friction with their record company, but la Mano Negra refused to budge on the issue).
Doing It Their Way!
By this stage of their career, la Mano Negra had matured considerably, both on a personal and a musical level. At the same time the group were beginning to become aware of the enormous pressure on them as they continued their lightning rise to fame. In spite of several (well-founded) rumours that the group were on the verge of splitting up, the band soon flew out to Cologne (in Germany) to begin work on a brand new album entitled "King of Bongo".
The album, which la Mano insisted on producing themselves, came out in April 1991 and on it fans discovered a radically eclectic mix of styles. "King of Bongo" featured everything from reggae ("Out of time"), ska ("It's my heart") and salsa ("El jako 1") to Mano-style java ("Madame Oscar") and revamped chanson réaliste ("le Bruit du frigo"). "King of Bongo" was recorded in a much more violent, aggressive vein than la Mano's previous work. But fans seemed to like it that way - in spite of the fact that the group refused to do any promotion for the album, "King of Bongo" went on to sell 200,000 copies in France and foreign sales soon topped 140,000!
Mano Negra maintained their anti-showbiz stance when it came to touring too. Following the release of "King of Bongo" the group set off on a mini-tour of the Paris suburbs in April '91, avoiding the capital altogether. They then went on to play a series of 41 dates in the French provinces, fitting in a couple of performances at music festivals over the summer months. After that la Mano set off for Mexico and Japan, where fans turned out in full force at their concerts.
By now Mano Negra were renowned for their frenetic live shows, and fans around the world would end up dancing and pogoing in the audience almost as energetically as la Mano did on stage. The vibrant atmosphere of a typical Mano concert was captured on the group's first live album "In the Hell of Patchinko" (which was recorded in Japan and released in December '92).
Latin America
Harbouring fond memories of their last trip to South America, la Mano had been thinking of heading back to this side of the world for a while. Being Mano Negra, of course, they decided to organise their own 'alternative' kind of tour with the French street theatre troupe Royal de Luxe. The two groups came up with the highly original idea of touring on a boat and immediately set to work transforming a disused ship into a futuristic stage set.
In the spring of '92 Mano Negra and Royal de Luxe climbed aboard their ship - baptised "Cargo 92" - and set sail for Latin America, where on arrival they performed in all the major ports along the coast (from Caracas and Buenos Aires to Rio and Havana). Given the unstable political situation in many towns, la Mano Negra's 5-month tour was not without its difficulties. But all the artists involved in "Cargo 92" would agree that the trip was ultimately a very rewarding experience.
Mano Negra continued their 'cultural militancy' when they returned to Europe too, becoming involved with the "Caravane des quartiers", an association which organises concerts, theatre shows and festivals in run-down neighbourhoods and housing estates in France and other European countries.
Throughout their career Mano Negra refused to get sucked into the glittery world of showbiz, remaining resolutely on the 'marginal fringe' of the music scene. In 1993 the group would come up with another ambitious idea for an alternative tour, deciding to head back through Latin America on a battered old express train. The expedition was organised by Daniel Jaconelli a.k.a. Coco (who had also been involved in the "Cargo 92" trip). Jaconelli commandeered an old express train, which la Mano rebaptised "l'Expreso de hielo" (the Ice Express) and the group embarked on a trip along Colombia's crumbling old railway lines.
The "Expresso de hielo" tour (which ran from the autumn of '93 through to January '94) involved several shows and performances including, of course, the wild concerts of Mano Negra. Like the group's 1992 trip around Latin America, the "Express de hielo" proved to be an exhausting, often gruelling, experience but the rapturous welcome the performers received from local audiences made the tour more than worthwhile. Manu Chao's father, Ramon (a renowned writer and journalist) joined the group on board the "Expresso de hielo" and kept a daily diary of the trip. ("Un Train de glace et de feu" was published by La Différence in 1994).
End of the Road
When Mano Negra returned to France, they immediately set to work on a new album entitled "Casa Babylon" (the fourth studio album of their career). The album, which was released in April '94, was heavily influenced by the group's recent experiences in Latin America - hence la Mano's new single "Santa Maradona" (dedicated to the famous Argentinean football player Maradona).
Later that year la Mano would also get involved in another local community project organised by the "Caravane des quartiers". In July '94, while World Cup fervour mounted to fever pitch, Mano Negra performed in the Paris suburbs at "Les Nuits Foot". This series of free concerts and stage shows revolved around live broadcasts of World Cup football matches projected on a giant screen over the audience's heads.
Sadly, in 1994 the Mano Negra adventure reached the end of the road. When several members of la Mano decided to leave the group later that year the band quietly dissolved, without making any official announcement to fans through their record company. But the Mano Negra legacy lives on today.
It is difficult to measure the impact la Mano Negra had on the French music scene (let alone the Hispanic world), as so much of their career was spent touring rather than recording. But no one has forgotten the group's extraordinary trips through Latin America and Colombia. Indeed, French journalists are forever questioning la Mano's former lead singer Manu Chao (who has gone on to launch a successful solo career), if there's the slightest chance that the legendary combo will ever get back together again in the future!
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