Los Berrones

Los Berrones are a Spanish rock band formed by Ramón Blanco, Tante Blanco, Olegario Méndez and Rubén Buelga in the late 1980s. With a punk style and popularly considered as the creators of agro-rock, they sing in Asturian and are characterized by the naturalness and spontaneity of their music, their performances and their lyrics, in which ironic humor is always present.

Los Berrones
OriginTolivia, Asturias, Spain
GenresAgro-rock
LabelsKm. 444
Pasión Discos
Boomerang Records
Santo Grial Producciones
Llimaz Records
MembersRamón Blanco
Olegario Méndez
Julio Gilsanz
Miguel Herrero
José Ramón Feito
Past membersTante Blanco
Velino Blanco
Rubén Buelga
Chema Fombona (deceased)

Origin

They are originally from the small town of Tolivia, in the municipality of Laviana, Asturias, where its two members were born and raised. Despite the fact that the band is currently made up only of Ramón Blanco and Olegario Méndez, it is completed for the gigs with the collaboration of Julio Gilsanz on the guitar, Miguel Herrero on the drums (after Chema Fombona's death in December 2015) and José Ramón Feito on the keyboards.

History

In the mid-eighties, what would later become Los Berrones began to form.

In 1988, the most decisive event in their career occurred when they decided to participate in a demo contest organised by Los 40 Principales without much expectation. They were finalists and got as a prize the chance to record a two-song single. The unexpected result was the best-selling single in the history of Asturias and a huge media impact, especially with the song Nun yes tú (It's Not You), which continued with the release of their first album, Voy dicítelo (Fechu n'Asturies) (I'm Going to Tell You (Made in Asturias)), in 1989, which reached 20,000 copies sold.

The following year, their success crossed the borders of Asturias with the recording of Si rompe, que rompa (If It Breaks, Let It Break), an album they recorded in Madrid and published at a national level, achieving sales that almost gave them a gold record, making it the best-selling album in Asturian language in history.

In 1992 they recorded ¿Lo tuyo cómo ye? (How's Yours?), also in Madrid and with the collaboration of Antonio Vega, who played the guitar in the song La pensionista (The Pensioner); and in 1993 they published their fourth album, No, home, non (No, man, no).

After that album, and as they told some time later, fed up with the abuses of the record companies, they began a hiatus that would last until 1998. They they came back with Da-y fuerte (Hit It Hard), a new album as a trio and with a change of label included. The passage of time is noticeable in this work, as the largely acoustic sound of their beginnings was replaced with much more rock, powerful and complex songs.

In 1999, celebrating the tenth anniversary of their first album, they released the compilation 10 años berrando (10 Years Squalling). For this album they re-recorded some of their oldest songs due to problems with the rights of the old recordings.

It was not until 2003 that the band published new songs, with their acclaimed return with República Independiente de Tolivia (Independent Republic of Tolivia). This album showed a cleaner and more refined sound than the previous one, albeit still in a rock style, and incorporates in a much more remarkable way their social criticism in the lyrics, without leaving aside the irony and sarcasm characteristic of the band.

In 2004 they were on tour all over Asturias and in August they held their biggest concert, on the Beach of Poniente in Gijón, in front of 20,000 people. Later on they published the concert as a digipack (a box with 2 CDs and a DVD) entitled Directo (Live)

At the end of the same year, they recorded at the request of a local TV channel a song entitled Fai deporte (Exercise) in which various Asturian sportsmen collaborated, with some success. The song was released in a single format along with a reissue of República Independiente de Tolivia.

For Christmas 2005, they launched La caxa azul de Berrones (Los Berrones' Blue Box), a pack that included their last two albums along with a T-shirt, a cap and other official products of the band.

At the end of 2009, they released a new studio album entitled VII: Ad Libitum, a Latin expression meaning "at your own pace", as they assumed all the recording roles, from production to distribution of the album. For the second time they made a cover, in this case of the song Comfortably Numb of Pink Floyd, one of their references, as the cover of the album, which is dedicated to the memory of Richard Wright, shows. It was the first album without Tante Blanco, who left the band in 2005 to undertake other musical projects.[1]

In May 2010, the DVD Aprende a jugar al fútbol con David Villa (Learn to Play Football with David Villa) was published, including a song of Los Berrones dedicated to the player entitled Villa maravilla.

In June 2011, they participated in a tribute album for the Asturian children's music band Xentiquina, where they covered in a country style the song La moto Pachín (Pachín's Motorcycle)

In 2013, the band received an honorary award at the seventh edition of the AMAS Awards.[2]

In 2017, they released a video clip with a new song, Menudu talibán (What a Taliban) in preparation for the release of a new album.

The new album came out in 2018, under the title ¿Ónde vas con eses traces? (Where Are You Going Looking Like That?). Ten songs made up this new album, in which they took over the production again and recovered some songs that were over 30 years old, like Nun tas bien (You're Not Ok), but they had played live on tour in 1989, when they introduced it with the title Unos tan como cepillos y otros tan por cepillar (Some Are Like Brushes and Others Aren't Brushed Yet). In this album they continue their trend, going deeper into socially relevant issues, and some songs end with a certain bitterness due to the situation in the country. The cover of the album, inspired by a painting by Dalí, is a work by Rafa Caballero, being the fourth cover he designed for the band. Furthermore, that year hey add José Ramón Feito in the keyboards for the gigs. Even though he had participated regularly in their recordings, he was absent in live performances until then.

Discography
  • Voy dicítelo (Fechu n'Asturies) - km 444, 1989
  1. La de les vacaciones
  2. La de la escuela
  3. Tiénesme apolmonáu
  4. Nun yes tu
  5. Pasamos del porro
  6. La del borrín
  7. Tais de yogur
  8. La de Sindo el cabreru
  • Si rompe, que rompa - Pasión, 1990
  1. Chacho
  2. Borrachón
  3. La del estudiante
  4. Como un perru ensin amu
  5. La del tiempu
  6. Nun yes tu
  7. Toi fechu caldo
  8. Vagu sempiternu
  9. La del llágrima
  • ¿Lo tuyo cómo ye? - Pasión, 1992
  1. La de la tele
  2. Manolo, por favor
  3. Un mundu de llocos
  4. Dar siempre la cara
  5. Toi sanu
  6. ¿Lo tuyo cómo ye?
  7. La pensionista
  8. La clave setenta
  9. Soi un inútil total
  10. Los del bote Pelargón
  • No, home, non - Zafiro, 1993
  1. Doite un güevu
  2. Animal del disco-bar
  3. Ponte en postura
  4. Ente les fabes
  5. No, home, non
  6. Agárrate al mangu
  7. Compra una consola
  8. Nun me cuentes batalles
  9. Igual tu que yo
  10. El mio pueblu
  11. Como Prince (extra song for the CD edition)
  12. Beverly Hills (extra song for the CD edition)
  • Da-y fuerte - Boomerang Discos, 1998
  1. Polo
  2. Un sinvergüenza
  3. Nun me toques les campanes
  4. Calcar na tená
  5. Sé d'un llugar
  6. Venti años
  7. Yá la caguemos
  8. Amor ciegu
  9. Solitariu
  10. País tropical
  11. Le grand cochon
  12. Mierda pa ti
  • 10 años berrando - Santo Grial Producciones, 1999
  1. Chacho (remake)
  2. Nun yes tu (remake)
  3. La de la escuela (remake)
  4. Calcar na tená
  5. La de les vacaciones (remake)
  6. ¿Lo tuyo cómo ye? (remake)
  7. Agárrate al mangu
  8. Nun me toques les campanes
  9. Manolo, por favor (remake)
  10. Doite un güevu
  11. El mio pueblu
  12. La de la tele (remake)
  13. La de Sindo'l cabreru (remake)
  14. La del estudiante (remake)
  15. Le grand cochon
  16. Chacho (agro-house cover)
  • República Independiente de Tolivia - Santo Grial Producciones, 2003
  1. Mentires
  2. ¡Qué guapa yes!
  3. A cabruñar
  4. País de pandereta
  5. Suañaba yo
  6. ¡Cuántos queden pel camín!
  7. Amor de mil duros
  8. A dos nenos
  9. Calamocanu
  10. Esa atrocidá llamada amor
  11. Les calentures
  12. Puente sobre agües braves (cover of Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel)
  • Directo - Santo Grial Producciones, 2004

CD 1

  1. Polo
  2. Soi un inútil total
  3. Suañaba yo
  4. Calcar na tená
  5. Chacho
  6. Amor ciegu
  7. ¡A cabruñar!
  8. La de la escuela
  9. Un mundu de llocos
  10. Borrachón
  11. La del llágrima
  12. Rap de la sapa
  13. Mentires
  14. El mio pueblu
  15. La de Sindo'l cabreru

CD 2

  1. La del estudiante
  2. Ponte en postura
  3. Nun yes tu
  4. País de pandereta
  5. Como Prince
  6. Popurri (includes La del borrín, Pasamos del porro, Tais de yogur, Vagu sempiternu and Tiénesme apolmonáu)
  7. Manolo, por favor
  8. Dar siempre la cara
  9. Calamocanu
  10. La de les vacaciones
  • VII: Ad Libitum - Llimaz Records, 2009
  1. Toi que me lleva Dios
  2. Carabines y escopetes
  3. Caverna d'usureros
  4. Nun me controles más
  5. Nun ye más qu'un esame
  6. Empufáu
  7. Ya nun canta'l vaqueru
  8. Señardá
  9. Pueblos pequeños
  10. Ciudad Juárez
  11. Vicentón
  12. Tírate pal monte
  13. Paraísu natural (?)
  14. El furacón
  15. Como un tapín (cover of Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd)
  • ¿Ónde vas con eses traces? - Llimaz Records, 2018
  1. Parásitos
  2. ¡Vaya guchu que yes!
  3. Bienaventuraos los mansos
  4. Hippies del 68
  5. Ansia de goces
  6. Menudu talibán
  7. Nun tas bien
  8. Tamos en Spanishtan
  9. ¿Ésto pa que val?
  10. ¿Ónde vas con eses traces?

Band members
1987-1989
  • Ramón Blanco: lead vocals, guitar
  • Olegario Méndez: bass, vocals
  • Tante Blanco: guitar, vocals
  • Rubén Buelga: drums
1990-1992
  • Ramón Blanco: lead vocals, guitar
  • Olegario Méndez: bass, vocals
  • Tante Blanco: guitar, vocals
  • Velino Blanco: guitar
  • Rubén Buelga: drums
1993-1998
  • Ramón Blanco: lead vocals, guitar
  • Olegario Méndez: bass, vocals
  • Tante Blanco: guitar, vocals
  • Velino Blanco: guitar
1999-2004
  • Ramón Blanco: lead vocals, guitar
  • Olegario Méndez: bass, vocals
  • Tante Blanco: guitar, vocals
2005-currently
  • Ramón Blanco: lead vocals, guitar
  • Olegario Méndez: bass, vocals

References
  1. Europa Press. "L'ex guitarra de Los Berrones, Tante Blanco, presenta'l so nuevu proyectu musical en solitario esta nueche na RPA" (in Asturian). Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  2. Europa Press. "Los Berrones, Hevia y el festival de Lorient reciben los galardones honoríficos en la gala AMAS" (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 September 2013.
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