Tino Casal

One of the more flamboyant vocalists to have emerged from the Spanish pop scene, Tino Casal's contributions to both the music and art worlds played a pivotal part in the La Movida Madrileña of the 1980s. Born José Celestino Casal Álvarez in Oviedo in 1950, he began his career fronting the bands Los Zafiros Negros and Los Archiduques, and continued to combine his passion for painting with his love of glam rock throughout the '70s. Following a brief stint with the Philips label and production duties for Spanish heavy metal pioneers Obús, he released his first album, Neocasal, in 1981, which spawned the number one single "Champu de Huevo." Etiqueta Negra (1983) and Hielo Rojo (1984) followed, but his career was then sidelined after a serious leg infection, brought on by an untreated ankle sprain, left him in intensive care for 19 days. After 1987's covers-heavy Lagrimas de Cocodrilo and 1989 swan song Histeria, he tragically lost his life in a car accident, aged just 41. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi