Aqui d'El-Rock

Aqui d’El-Rock
Aqui d’El-Rock
Background information
Origin	Lisbon / Portugal
Occupation	punk-rock

Aqui d'El-Rock was a pioneer band of punk-rock in Portugal, formed in Bairro do Relógio in Lisbon (1977) and the first to achieve record in this music style.

Biography

Aqui d'El-Rock was a band founded in Lisbon, in Bairro do Relógio (aka Bº do Cambodja), by Zé Serra (drums), Fernando Gonçalves (electric bass), Alfredo Pereira (electric guitar) and Oscar Martins (voice) and electric guitar). The first 3 were part of dance ensembles from 1973 that played repertoire aimed at this purpose, later interpreting covers from groups such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, The Stooges among others.

The desire for an exclusive dedication to rock sounds and the composition of songs in Portuguese, inspired by the aesthetics associated with punk, the regime change that occurred in Portugal in the wake of the April 25, 1974 Revolution, determined the reorientation of the philosophy of group, which came to be called Aqui d'El-Rock. The band, which debuted at Clube Atlético de Campo de Ourique (Lisbon, April 29, 1978), was to star in one of the first manifestations of punk-rock in Portugal, which was emphasized in the publication of two phonograms (1978 and 1979 ), in which the term punk appears highlighted on the cover of the first. The scarce resources used in the recording, the low quality of the sound record and the use of some instruments built by the musicians themselves, evidenced the group's wild character, also expressing the ideal of authenticity, one of the central values in the punk movement. Using metaphor and irony, his songs dealt with urban everyday situations such as unemployment, marginality and excesses.

The aggressiveness of the musical and performative style, based on structural simplicity and the vigorous rhythms of rock'n'roll style, reinforced the challenging and provocative character, within the universe of modern music, to the complexity and virtuosity of the so-called “symphonic rock” that had been accentuated since the beginning of the 70s.

After recording the second single (1979), the group shared shows with other recent graduates who developed musical styles also inspired by punk-rock (UHF, Faíscas, Xutos & Pontapés, among others), highlighting the participation in the 1st part of the show by the English group Eddie & The Hot Rods (Coliseu dos Recreios de Lisboa, July 1978). The song ‘You have to violate the system’, a reference in the band’s repertoire, gave rise to one of the first video clips of a Portuguese rock group (RTP, August 1978).

After the departure of Alfredo Pereira (mid-1979), Carlos Cabral (electric guitar) and Alberto Barradas (electric guitar and secondary voice) joined the group and he came to participate in that period in the opening of several shows by foreign artists, namely Lene Lovich (Lisbon and Porto), Wilko Johnson & The Solid Senders and Cheap Trick (Lisbon).

Despite its short career, Aqui d’El-Rock stood out for creating a repertoire in Portuguese and featured one of the first manifestations of so-called Portuguese rock. Its pioneering and marginal character, inspired the appearance of other bands of the style.

Some of his songs integrated revivalist collections such as “Grande Geração Rock” (Metrosom, 1997), dedicated to Portuguese rock groups, and “Killed By Death Vol. 41” (Redrum, 1998), dedicated to punk-rock. In 2001, the Brazilian Ratos de Porão made a version of "I don't know". In Portugal, this theme was covered by the Eskizofrénicos and the Speedtracks re-recorded (with an adapted lyric) the classic "The system must be violated". This song also took a new approach by the Clockwork Boys in late 2005 and Avô Varejeira in 2010.

In 2007, as a celebration of the band's 30th anniversary, it was published by the Italian "Rave Up Records", a limited edition of 500 copies of an EP on vinyl red. The lyrics of the theme "The system must be violated", was one of the lyrics included in the analysis of the book "As Palavras do Punk", by Paula Guerra & Augusto Santos Silva (Alêtheia Editores, 2016). Subsequently (last quarter from 81 to March 82), the group adopted the name Mau-Mau and created a new repertoire shaped by the emerging styles of the new wave sound, of which the themes edited in a 1982 single ('Shanghai' and 'Vietsoul').

Concert inventory

29/04/1978 - Lisbon, Pavilhão CACO
06/05/1978 - Cacia
27/05/1978 - Barreiro, Casquilhos
03/06/1978 - Leiria
08/07/1978 - Lisbon, Coliseu ("Eddie & Hot Rods" opening)
05/08/1978 - Faro, Estádio S. Luís
29/09/1978 - Condeixa-a-Nova
21/10/1978 - Covilhã
18/11/1978 - Lisbon, Brown's Club
24/11/1798 - Lisbon, Cine-Teatro da Encarnação
03/02/1979 - Águeda
10/02/1979 - Castelo Branco
17/02/1979 - Almada, Canecão
29/04/1979 - Tomar
05/05/1979 - Lisbon, Liceu D. Pedro V
12/05/1979 - Chaves
26/05/1979 - Coimbra, Olivais
23/02/1980 - Lisbon, Pav. "Os Belenenses" (1ª parte "Wilko Jonhson" opening)
18/04/1980 - Paço de Arcos, Nautic School
25/04/1980 - Lisbon, Alameda da Universidade
17/05/1980 - Porto, Pav. Infante de Sagres ("Lene Lovich" opening)
18/05/1980 - Cascais, Pav. of Dramático ("Lene Lovich" opening)
06/06/1980 - *Porto, Pav. Infante de Sagres ("Uriah Heep") *The contract was paid but no action was taken.
12/06/1980 - Lisbon, F.I.L.
14/11/1980 - Lisbon, Pav. Alvalade ("Cheap Trick" opening)
03/04/1981 - Caldas da Rainha
11/04/1981 - Lisbon, Clube Oriental de Lisboa
23/04/1981 - Lisbon, Rock Rendez-Vous
11/07/1981 - Glória do Ribatejo
18/12/1981 - Vila Franca de Xira ("Mau-Mau")

Recordings

09/06/1978 - 1st single; Arnaldo Trindade Studios, Lisbon
09/08/1978 - Videoclip "Há Que Violentar o Sistema", RTP (Filming in the area of a ruined palace next to the Curry Cabral Hospital, Lisbon)
??/??/1979 - 2nd single; Arnaldo Trindade Studios, Lisbon
15-16-28/12/1981 & 04/01/1982 - Single "Mau-Mau" ("Xangai" and "Vietsoul"); Arnaldo Trindade Studios, Lisbon

Other events

13/03/1982: Participation in the commercial radio program "Saturday Morning Fever"; Cinema Nimas, Lisbon
28/03/1982: Participation in the RTP television program "Passeio dos Alegres"; Lumiar Studios, Lisbon
18/10/2019: The documentary "Zé Pedro Rock'n'Roll" by Diogo Varela Silva, was shown on this date at DocLisboa'19, which includes the themes "Há Que Violenta o Sistema" and "Quero Tudo". This doc became available to the public in theaters on 30 July 2020.

Discography

Há que violentar o sistema / Quero Tudo (Single, Metrosom, 1978)
Eu não sei / Dedicada (a quem nos rouba) (Single, Metrosom, 1979)
Grande Geração do Rock (collection, Metrosom, 1997)
Killed By Death Vol. 41 (LP, collection, Redrum Records, 1998)
In 2001, the Brazilian Ratos de Porão made a version of "Eu não sei". In Portugal, this theme was covered by the Eskizofrénicos and the Speedtracks re-recorded (with an adapted lyric) the classic Há violante o sistema. This song also took a new approach by Clockwork Boys at the end of 2005 and Avô Varejeira in 2010.
Brava Dança (2006) – The song Dedicada (a quem nos rouba) was included in the soundtrack of the documentary by Jorge Pereirinha Pires and José Francisco Pinheiro about the band Heróis do Mar.
Há que violentar o sistema / Quero Tudo / Eu não sei / Dedicada (a quem nos rouba) (EP, Rave Up Records, 2007) was released in celebration of the band's 30th anniversary in red vinyl.

Related Publications

"As Palavras do Punk" by Paula Guerra & Augusto Santos Silva (Alêtheia Editores - 2016)

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