Gipsy Kings

Gipsy Kings
The Gipsy Kings a progressive pop-oriented band, whose music is fused up with flamenco, are called Sevillana in Spain, to the world.

The Gipsy Kings are members of two interrelated families: the Reyes and the Baliardos (Reyes means Kings in Spanish). They are cousins of the flamenco great Manitas de Plata. Lead vocalist Nicolas Reyes is the son of flamenco great Jose Reyes.

The Gipsy Kings are:Nicolas Reyes: lead vocals, guitar, Pablo Reyes: backup vocals, guitar, Canut Reyes: backup vocals, guitar, Patchai Reyes: backup vocals, guitarAndre Reyes: guitar/vocals,Diego Baliardo: guitar,Paco Baliardo: guitar,Tonino Baliardo: lead guitar, and Chico Bouchikhi was also a member of the Gipsy Kings, but quit after the album Mosaique.

The band started out in Arles, a village in southern France during the '70s when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of well-known flamenco artist Jose Reyes, joined hands up their cousins Jacques, Maurice and Tonino Baliardo, sons of Manitas de Plata. They originally called themselves Los Reyes and started out as a gypsy band playing at weddings, festivals, and in the streets. Because of their style similar to gypsies, the band adopted the name the Gipsy Kings. Later, the Gipsies played traditional, passionate flamenco music with Tonino's precise guitaring and Nicolas' outstanding voice. Their success paced up in 1986 when they hooked up with creative producer Claude Martinez who could see that the Kings had the makings of a world-class band.

Resultantly, the Kings turned to play more contemporary edge, combining their traditional songs with sounds from the Middle East, Latin America, North Africa, a hint of rock, and their inimitable joy. It was, in a music industry filled with flamenco classicists who resisted any kind of change and it was being assumed that the Gipsy Kings would fall flat and disappear. On the contrary, in 1987, they released Djobi Djoba and Bamboleo, on an independent label and scored two smash hits in France. Their success led them to sign with Sony Music and release their eponymous debut album later that year. Unfortunately, they had tremendous sales in France and then found their album was appearing on the Top Ten album charts in 12 European countries including England, which is traditionally unreceptive to international music. In the late '80s, the Gipsy Kings, debuted in the U.S. at a New York New Music Seminar.

This led them to sign to Sony in America. In 1989, they were invited to perform at the inaugural ceremony for George Bush, but they chose to return home to rest and be with their families. Later that year, an SRO concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall, where the Gipsy Kings socialized with some of the world's biggest pop stars including Elton John and Eric Clapton. To top off their great year, the Kings' debut album spent 40 weeks on the U.S. charts and went gold, becoming one of the few Spanish albums to do so. The Kings have had an active release schedule ever since, including the albums Mosaique (1989), Live! (1992), Love & Liberte (1994), Tierra Gitana (1996), Cantos de Amor (1998), Somos Gitanos (2001), Roots (2004) and Pasajero (2007).