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Mecano

(For the toy construction material, see Meccano)

Mecano began as a Spanish language synth-pop (in Spanish música tecno) band from Madrid, Spain. Brothers Nacho and José María Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, formed the band in 1981. Mecano's debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña, a sociocultural movement that occurred in Spain during the 1980's. Soon after forming, they achieved wide-spread popularity with their debut single, "Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar". Nacho Cano branched out into producing other bands, and both he and his brother wrote songs for other pop up-starts. Mecano had another hit in 1986 with "Me Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte". In 1991, the band members decided to set out on solo careers.

Prior to their international success in 1986, Mecano had three successful albums in Spain and Europe. However, it was not until the release of their 1986 album, Entre el Cielo y el Suelo that they achieved international success beyond the Spanish-speaking world. One of their most important songs, "Hijo de la Luna", was covered as an aria by one of Opera's greatest contemporary singers, Montserrat Caballé. Their follow-up album, Descanso Dominical, produced their biggest single ever, "Mujer Contra Mujer", which deals with a lesbian relationship, seen through the eyes of a male friend, who only later realizes what is going on. The song was recorded in French, English, and Italian, giving Mecano their first truly global hit.

Contents

Notable works

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 teenager 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.

Also in 2005, the members of Mecano are scheduled to release a double-CD/DVD package commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of the pop-group. The new CD/DVD, Mecanografia, will include a compilation of all their singles, never-before released songs, and a DVD with videos and early concert appearances.

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.

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", "Croce Di Lame", "Un Anno di Più", "Uno di Quegli Amanti", "Per Lei Contro di Lei", "Il Cinema", "Vado a Nuova York", "Fermati a Madrid", "Mi Costa Tanto di Scordarti", "Responso Positivo", "Anna è Miguel", "Una Rosa è Una Rosa", "Tú", "Dalai Lama", "Il 7 di Settembre", and "La Forza del Destino".

Songs that Mecano recorded in French include "Une Femme avec une Femme", "Dis-moi Lune d'Argent", "Une Histoire à Trois", "Nature Morte", "Le Paradis Artificiel", "Toi", "J.C.", and "Le 7 Septembre".

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"m(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. As said above, Penélope Cruz debutted in the video for "La Fuerza del Destino" to later hold a relation with Nacho.

MECANO contributed the song "Canción Cortita Para Antes que Nos Abandone el Mar" to the compilation album "Greenpeace, Salvemos al Mediterráneo" (1985).

Covers by other artists

Songs from Entre el cielo y el suelo have been covered by Montserrat Caballé and Celia Cruz. The unpublished song Lía ended being sung by Ana Belén. The Mexican singer Fey decided to relaunch her career with La Fuerza Del Destino, an album consisting of 12 Mecano covers. Sarah Brightman covered the songs "Tú", "Hijo de la luna", "Naturaleza Muerta". Mario Frangoulis covered "Hijo de la luna" and "Naturaleza Muerta."

Album Discography

  1. Hoy no me puedo levantar. About a hangover after a weekend of partying.
  2. No me enseñen la lección. Teenager boredom with school.
  3. Perdido en mi habitación. Teenage angst and lack of direction.
  4. Cenando en París. Dining in Paris.
  5. Maquillaje. About disguising one's true appearance through make-up. A reference to the superficiality of modern society.
  6. Boda en Londres (instrumental)
  7. Me colé en una fiesta. About party crashing.
  8. La máquina de vapor. A fantastic tale of love between a scientist and his steam machine.
  9. Me voy de casa. Teenager desire for independence.
  10. 254.13.26. Teenage angst from having to study mathematics. The title is the telephone number of the person to relieve it, apart from a reference to numbers.
  11. El fin del mundo. About the end of the world.
  12. Sólo soy una persona. About being overwhelmed.
  • ¿Dónde está el país de las hadas? 1983
  1. ¿Dónde está el país de las hadas? (instrumental)
  2. Este chico es una joya. A teenager gets fed up with responsibilities.
  3. La bola de cristal. The aliens are coming.
  4. El amante de fuego. A fantastic tale of a misterious entity in love. Talks about schizophrenia and alleged spiritual possession.
  5. Madrid. An ode to the inconveniences of modern life in a big city like Madrid.
  6. Barco a Venus. About artificial paradises.
  7. La fiesta nacional. A criticism of bullfighting.
  8. Un poco loco. Being quirky.
  9. No aguanto más. Being fed up.
  10. Focas. The seals take up the world.
  11. El balón. About being overwhelmed from everywhere; in reference to the complexity and competitiveness of modern society, mixed with cultural references to soccer.
  12. El ladrón de discos. About a record thief.
  • Ya viene el sol 1984
  1. No pintamos nada. On Cold War.
  2. Ya viene el sol. About the summer.
  3. La estación. Leaving parents' home.
  4. Hawaii-Bombay. Dreaming about visiting Hawaii and Bombay.
  5. Mosquito. A mosquito in the room.
  6. Busco algo barato. Shopping in the sales season.
  7. Aire. A fantastic tale about a metamorphosis into air. Some say that this song is an allegory to a suicide caused by overdosing on drugs and barbiturates.
  8. Me río de Janeiro. About carnival and independence of mind. The title is a pun on Rio de Janeiro.
  9. Japón. About the ultramodernization of contemporary Japan.
  10. El mapa de tu corazón. A love song.
  • Lo último de Mecano 1985
  1. La extraña posición. Crime over an infidelity.
  2. Napoleón. A silly song on Napoleon Bonaparte.
  3. Viaje espacial. Space travel.
  4. Super Ratón. To Mighty Mouse.
  5. No pintamos nada (En Concierto)
  6. La Fiesta Nacional (En Concierto)
  7. Busco algo barato (En Concierto)
  8. Me Río De Janeiro (En Concierto)
  • Entre el cielo y el suelo 1986
  1. Ay, qué pesado. A love song about leaving past behind, or not?.
  2. Angel
  3. Hijo de la Luna. The tragic story of a Gypsy woman who was eager to be a mother, but got killed by her husband when she gave birth to an albino baby (a "son of the Moon"), whom he mistook for a bastard son.
  4. 50 palabras, 60 palabras o 100.
  5. Te busqué. A spiritual quest for God ends inside oneself.
  6. Me cuesta tanto olvidarte. After a breakup.
  7. No tienes nada que perder.
  8. Las curvas de esa chica. About love attraction.
  9. No es serio este cementerio. The dead in a cemetery get to party.
  10. Cruz de navajas. A crime of infidelity. It was later covered by Celia Cruz.
  11. Las cosas pares. Happy lovesong with sexual overtones, literally "things which come in pairs" meaning sexy body parts.
  12. Esta es la historia de un amor. A mad story of love.
  • 15 Grandes Éxitos 1987
  • Descanso dominical 1988
  1. El cine. An homage to cinema.
  2. No hay marcha en Nueva York. New York City is not so up there.
  3. Mujer contra mujer. About lesbian love.
  4. Los amantes. About the adventures of a lover who wants be original, but cannot...
  5. La fuerza del destino. About Nacho's love story with Coloma Fernández Armero.
  6. Quédate en Madrid. About a beloved moving to another city.
  7. Laika. The cosmonaut dog and what she might think when seeing the planet Earth from the space.
  8. El blues del esclavo. Sad but funny bluesy song Tango style about slavery in the American South.
  9. "Eungenio" Salvador Dalí. An homage to the Spanish artist.
  10. Por la cara (instrumental). Flamenco featuring guitar star Tomatito.
  11. Un año más. New Year's Eve on Puerta del Sol.
  12. Héroes de la Antártida. The tragic death of Robert Falcon Scott during his voyage to the South Pole.
  13. Hermano sol, hermana luna. About Saint Francis of Assisi and his spirituality of universal brotherhood of all creatures.
  14. Fábula. A fable about everyone's dissent with him of herself, and how we always envy what others have.
  • 20 Grandes Canciones 1989
  1. Hawaii-Bombay
  2. Busco Algo Barato
  3. Perdido en Mi Habitación
  4. No Aguanto Más
  5. Me Río de Janeiro
  6. Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar
  7. Maquillaje
  8. ¿Dónde Está el País de Las Hadas?
  9. No Pintamos Nada
  10. Barco a Venus
  11. Aire
  12. Japon
  13. Balon
  14. Estacion
  15. Me Cole en Una Fiesta
  16. Quiero Vivir en la Ciudad
  17. Fiesta Nacional
  18. Me Voy de Casa
  19. Amante de Fuego
  20. Solo Soy Una Persona


  1. El fallo positivo. Being HIV-positive.
  2. El uno, el dos, el tres. About Mecano's members, and what life has been like for them as a group through the years.
  3. Bailando salsa. A salsa about dancing salsa. Mentioning Pedro Almodovar didn't flatter him.
  4. El 7 de septiembre. After love, this song is dedicated to Coloma Fermández Armero.
  5. Naturaleza muerta. A tale of love between a girl and a sailor and the revenge of the sea who was in love with her.
  6. 1917. (Instrumental) dedicated to the Russian Revolution of 1917.
  7. Una rosa es una rosa. A rose is a rose is a rose.
  8. El lago artificial. About drug addiction.
  9. Tú. Love song.
  10. Dalai lama. The life of the Dalai Lama.
  11. El peón del rey de negras. The hilarious adventures of a lowly black chess pawn and all the injustices that he has to put up with, but also the perks of working for a royal family (like sleeping with the Queen). An allegory of social classes and class struggle.
  12. J.C. Song dedicaded to Jesus Christ,
  13. Sentía. After love.
  • AnaJoseNacho 1998 (22 Greatest Hits + 8 new songs)

CD1

  1. Cuerpo y corazón. A prostitute tells her story.
  2. Otro muerto. On murder and religious extremism.
  3. El club de los humildes. Love song.
  4. Aire (nueva versión). Another take on Aire.
  5. Un año más
  6. Naturaleza muerta
  7. Hoy no me puedo levantar
  8. Dalí
  9. El 7 de septiembre
  10. Me cuesta tanto olvidarte
  11. La fuerza del destino
  12. No es serio este cementerio
  13. Hermano sol, hermana luna
  14. Una rosa es una rosa
  15. Maquillaje
  16. Hijo de la luna

CD2

  1. Stereosexual. Am I bisexual? A guy wakes up after a one-night stand and isn't sure if the person next to him in bed is a man or a woman.
  2. El mundo futuro. "The future world"
  3. Esto no es una canción. "This is not a song" follows a person's life of addiction to drugs.
  4. Los piratas del amor. Going out for girls.
  5. El uno, el dos, el tres
  6. Barco a Venus
  7. Cruz de navajas
  8. Ay, que pesado
  9. No hay marcha en Nueva York
  10. Perdido en mi habitación
  11. Hawaii-Bombay
  12. Dalai Lama
  13. Mujer contra mujer
  14. Me colé en una fiesta
  • Mecano. Obras completas (2005, a compilation of 8 CDs)
  1. Mecano
  2. ¿Dónde está el país de las hadas?
  3. Ya viene el sol
  4. En concierto
  5. Entre el cielo y el suelo
  6. Descanso dominical
  7. Aidalai
  8. CD bonus
    1. Cuerpo y corazón
    2. Otro muerto
    3. El club de los humildes
    4. Aire (1998 version)
    5. Stereosexual
    6. El mundo futuro
    7. Esto no es una canción
    8. Los piratas del amor
    9. Quiero vivir en la ciudad
    10. Viaje espacial
    11. Hawaii-Bombay (remix)
    12. Canción cortita para antes de que nos abandone el mar. On the death of the sea.
    13. Figlio della luna. Italian version of Hijo de la luna.
    14. Une femme avec une femme. French version of Mujer contra mujer.
    15. El 7 de septiembre (acoustic version)
    16. La extraña posición
    17. Croce de lame. Italian version of Cruz de navajas.

External links