Titãs

One of the most important groups of the Brazilian rock style that blossomed in the '80s, Titãs' singularity was affirmed by their intelligent lyrics, which sometimes resorted to concrete poetry and social criticism. The group eventually became mainstream and lost their cutting edge through orchestrations and a declared pop approach, simultaneously selling one million copies of their Acústico album. The band was formed in São Paulo in 1982 (at first called Titãs do Lê-iê) by Arnaldo Antunes (vocals and main songwriter), Ciro Pessoa (vocals), Paulo Miklos (vocal, saxophone), Marcelo Fromer (guitar), Sérgio Brito (keyboards), Toni Belotto (guitar), Branco Melo (vocals), Nando Reis (bass), and André Jung (drums). In the late '70s, Fromer, Belotto, and Melo were the Trio Mamão. Four other musicians joined, and the new group formed was called Maldade. Reis and Miklos were in the group Sossega Leão. Reis also played with the Camarões, while Miklos also worked with the Bom Quixote. Paulo Miklos and Arnaldo Antunes also played in the Aguilar & Banda Performática. Melo, Pessoa, and Charles Gavin were the Jetsons. Gavin, who would later join the group, was playing with Ira. In that period, a group of composers with popular inclination (like Arrigo Barnabé, Grupo Rumo, Itamar Assumpção, and Premê) constituted a core of vanguard musicians who became known as Vanguarda Paulistana (São Paulo city vanguard). They met at the Lira Paulistana theatre. In this encouraging atmosphere, new bands were formed and presented their works. In August 1982, the Titãs do Lê-iê opened in that theatre (without Jung). Departing from a common background constituted by the Beatles and Tropicalia, they began to write their own material, which was quite strange, beginning with the song titles: "Bichos...