Legião Urbana - "Urban Legion" in English - is one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil's history. Originally created in 1983, the band continued to exist until 1996, with the death of its vocalist, Renato Russo.

The Beginning

Renato Russo created Legião Urbana in 1983, in Brasília, and after a short presence in Aborto Elétrico ("Electric Abortion") - a older band which Renato was part of. Aborto Elétrico ceased to exist due to repeated disagreements between Renato and the Fe and Flavio Lemos brothers. The two brothers would go on to create another rock band, Capital Inicial, that would also go on to success, even on to present days, but being far behind what Legião Urbana accomplished. Curiously, some famous songs of Capital Inicial were written by Renato Russo.

Legião Urbana

At first, the band was formed with Marcelo Bonfá (drums), Eduardo Paraná (guitars) and Paulo Paulista (keyboards). After little time, both Paraná and Paulista would abandon the band. Finally, Dado-Villa Lobos entered in the band as the former guitarrist. In the beggining of 1985, Renato Rocha entered, with the bass, letting Renato Russo free to sing. In the same year they would go to the studio in order to release their first album, "Legião Urbana", with the hits "Será", "Ainda é Cedo" and "Geração Coca-Cola", under the EMI label. The band would stay with this record label for their entire career, passing altogether for good and bad moments.

Dois

In 1986 they released "Dois", which many consider to be the best brazilian rock album that had ever existed. The powerful words of the songs and the personality of Renato Russo started to make the band very well-known in Brazil, especially among the youngs, the generation which had grown under the fear of the Brazilian Military Authoritary Dictatorship (1964-1985). The songs "Daniel na Cova dos Leões", "Quase Sem Querer", "Eduardo e Monica", "Central do Brasil", "Andrea Doria" and "Índios" became very big hits.

Que País é Este

Success was finally cemented in 1987, with "Que País é Este". Many people started to name the band "Religião Urbana", that means "Urban Religion", something Renato Russo hated. This album was heavy on rock with very heavy words. Two of the songs (Conexao Amazonica and Faroeste Cabloco, the latter with 159 different verses and 10 minutes long) were censured to the media because they contained what was then considered obscene content, while others, such as "Que País é Este", "Eu Sei", Quimica", "Angra dos Reis" and "Mais do Mesmo" turned onto hits.

In a concert in Brasilia, the first concert in that city after the release of their first album, 200 people were wounded after a series of confusions that caused the band quitting the show. The band would no longer appear in concerts in the city where the band was created.

As Quatro Estações (The Four Seasons)

In 1988, before the release of "As Quatro Estações", Renato Rocha decided to quit, under the pressure of Marcelo and Dado. Although this album is the most sold of the band, and that every single song of the band turned big hits which played in every single brazilian radio, many disliked the big changes in the style of the band and the changes that the band had passed, especially the punk-hardcore rock fans. The songs would now talk about love and soul. In "Meninos e Meninas" (Boys and Girls), Russo would suggest that he was bisexual. He would later confirm the rumour. The songs of the album are:

• Há Tempos
• Pais e Filhos
• Feedback song for a dying friend
• Quando o Sol Bater na Janela do teu Quarto
• Eu era um Lobisomem Juvenil
• Duas Tribos
• Monte Castelo
• Mauricio
• Meninos e Meninas
• Sete Cidades
• Se Fiquei Esperando Meu Amor Passar

V

"V" was released in december 1991, considered by many as the darkest and most introspective album of the band released; at this point, the band was appearing less and less in public, doing a few (and very disputed) concerts. "Metal Contra as Nuvens" is 11 minutes long and is the longest song made by the band, other hits are "A Ordem dos Templarios", "A Montanha Magica", O Teatro dos Vampiros", "Serenissima", "Vento no Litoral", and "O Mundo Anda Tao Complicado".

One year later EMI would release "Musica Para Acampamentos", which is the first compilation album of the band. A previously unreleased song, "A Canção do Senhor da Guerra", which was to be in "Dois" but was rejected by EMI, turned onto an immediate hit.

Descobrimento do Brasil

The band released "Descobrimento do Brasil" in november 1993. By then Russo had released a solo album sung in English, "The Stonewall Celebration Concert". "Giz", "Perfeição", "Vinte e Nove", "Vamos Fazer um Filme" and "La Nuova Giuventu" are the main hits of the CD, which was received coldly by the critics. With the exception of "Perfeição", the others songs didn't do good at the radios.

Renato Russo's Death

In November 1995 the band presented its last concert. In December Renato Russo would release his second solo album, "Equilibrio Distante", sung in Italian.

In september 1996 the band released its last album with Renato Russo still alive: "A Tempestade". The CD has a very sad tone, direcly connected to the fact that Russo and its health were deteriorating very quickly, both psychologically and physically.

Renato Russo would die one month after the release of "Tempestade", in October 11, 1996. The cause of his death is still unknown. Bonfá and Villa-Lobos announced that the band was officially gone one day later.

"Uma Outra Estação" was released in June 1997 and is the last album with previously unreleased songs, produced and finished by Villa-Lobos. In october 1999 EMI would release a Live album, "MTV ao Vivo", a concert which was presented on MTV Brasil in 1992. Other two albums, "Mais do Mesmo" and "Como é que se diz eu te amo", are collections of the best songs released by EMI that made relative success among the fans and people whose interest in Legião Urbana grew after the death of Russo.

Reasons for the Success

Despite the death of Russo and the group's disbanding, Legião Urbana continues to be the third artist with more albuns annually sold - approximately 350,000 per year, as of 2003. With more than 13 million records sold, the band continues to be very well-known among young Brazilians. Legião Urbana was, and remains, loved because of the songs whose words told of many aspects: love, spiritualism, politics, family, sex, drugs. The raw reality of these issues struck a chord with many, including Russo himself.

A well-known characteristic of the band is that they made very few musical video-clips, and by the bad quality of the few ones they agreed to made. Renato Russo hated to make video-clips.

Renato Russo was the former creator of the band, vocalist, played guitars, bass or keyboards, and was the writer of aproximally 95% or more of the songs of the band.

Legião Urbana's albums sold (in 000's)

• Legião Urbana (1985) - 970
• Dois (1986) - 1800
• Que País é Este (1987) - 1300
• As Quatro Estações (1989) - 2000
• V (1991) - 900
• Musica Para Acampamentos (1992) - 820
• O Descobrimento do Brasil (1993) - 875
• A Tempestade (1996) - 1000
• Uma Outra Estação (1997) - 525
• Mais do Mesmo (1998) - 1000
• Acustico MTV (1999) - 1250
• Como é que se diz eu te amo (2001) - 750

External Links

Unofficial, but complete site of the band (in Portuguese)