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Legião Urbana
Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian
rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Distrito Federal. The band Legião Urbana
primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, bass and keyboards),
Dado Villa-Lobos (guitar) and Marcelo Bonfá (drums). In its
earlier days, Legião Urbana also had a full-time bassist, Renato
Rocha, but he left the band due to creative divergences.

While Legião Urbana disbanded officially in 1996, after frontman

Renato Russo's death,[1] it is one of the most famous Brazilian rock
bands, alongside Os Paralamas do Sucesso, Titãs and Barão
Vermelho.[2]

Contents
The band in 1987 (picture from the
History cover art of Que País é Este).
The beginning From left to right: Dado Villa-Lobos,
Legião Urbana (1985) Marcelo Bonfá, Renato Russo and
Dois (1986) Renato Rocha
Que País é Este (1987)
Background information
As Quatro Estações (1989)
Origin Brasília, DF, Brazil
1990s
Disbanding Genres Post-punk · art
rock · folk rock
Discography
Singles Years active 1982–1996
Labels EMI
Members
Last line-up Associated acts Aborto Elétrico
Past members Capital Inicial
Dado e o Reino
References
Animal
External links Solana Star
Website www.legiaourbana
History .com.br (http://ww
w.legiaourbana.co
m.br)
The beginning Past members Renato Russo
Dado Villa-Lobos
Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr.) found Legião Urbana
Marcelo Bonfá
in 1982 in Brasília, after leaving his previous band Aborto Elétrico
("Electric Abortion"). Aborto Elétrico broke up due to repeated Renato Rocha
disagreements between Russo and brothers Flávio and Fê Lemos, Eduardo Paraná

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his bandmates.[3] After Aborto Elétrico split and Russo created Ico Ouro Preto
Legião Urbana, the two brothers would also go on to found Capital Paulo Paulista
Inicial.[4]

Legião Urbana was initially formed by Renato Russo (vocals and bass) Marcelo Bonfá (drums), Eduardo
Paraná (guitars) and Paulo Paulista (keyboards), but Paraná and Paulista would quickly leave the band.
Ico Ouro Preto replaced Paraná as the guitarist. Dado Villa-Lobos replaced Ouro Preto in 1983. In the
beginning of 1984, Renato Rocha joined the group as the bass player. Renato Russo would then focus on
the vocals. He also played keyboards and acoustic guitar.

Many elements helped shape the identity of Legião Urbana. Consciously or not, Renato Russo was
heavily influenced by The Smiths and U2,[5] particularly The Smiths lead singer Morrissey, with his
extremely personal lyrics and idiosyncratic on-stage performance. He was also influenced by Joy
Division's Ian Curtis.

Thematically, Russo and the other members were also influenced by literature, especially that of
Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, whose poetry is featured in more than one of the band's songs.

Legião Urbana (1985)

Legião Urbana's self-titled first album was recorded and released in 1985. The album included the hits
"Será" ("I Wonder"), "Ainda É Cedo" ("It's Still Early") and "Geração Coca-Cola" ("Coca-Cola
Generation"). The album was released on the EMI label, and the band would stay with this record label
for their entire career, with both positive and negative experiences.[6]

Dois (1986)

In 1986, the band released Dois ("Two" – the album was planned to have two discs, but EMI refused to
do it). The lyrics, melodies and personality of Renato Russo brought the band considerable notoriety in
Brazil, especially among the younger generation which had grown up under the fear of the authoritarian
Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964–1985). The songs Tempo Perdido ("Lost Time"), Quase sem
Querer ("Almost by Accident"), Eduardo e Mônica, Andrea Doria and "Índios" ('"Natives"') were
particularly popular.

Que País é Este (1987)

The band's success was cemented in 1987, with Que País É Este ("What Country Is This"). They
developed a devoted following, and the band came to carry the nickname "Religião Urbana" (meaning
"Urban Religion"), something Renato Russo professed to hate.

This was the heaviest album Legião Urbana released during its existence. The only one which can in fact
be classified as Punk rock. Two of the songs, "Conexão Amazônica" ("Amazonic Connection" – censored
to contain heavy texts about drugs traffic and its routes by Amazon, and critical intellectuals.) and the
Dylan-esque "Faroeste Caboclo" – the latter with 168 different lines and ten minutes long – were
censored because they contained what was then considered obscene content. "Faroeste Caboclo" was a
huge success, nevertheless. Others, such as Que País é Este?, Eu Sei ("I Know"), Química ("Chemistry"),
Angra dos Reis (a reference to a homonymous nuclear power plant that exists in Brazil) and Mais do
Mesmo ("More of the Same") were hits.

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In the first concert in Brasília after the release of their first album, 200 people were wounded in a riot.
The band would never again perform publicly in Brasília, the city from which Russo and other band
members hailed.

As Quatro Estações (1989)

In 1989, before the release of As Quatro Estações ("The Four Seasons"), Renato Rocha decided to quit
under pressure from Bonfá and Villa-Lobos.[7] Russo returned to play bass, but he joined three touring
musicians (bassist Bruno Araújo, keyboardist Mu Carvalho and guitarist Fred Nascimento). Although
this album had the most financial success of any released by the group (and nearly every song on the disc
garnered significant radio play), many fans disliked the big changes in the band's style, especially punk
rock fans. The songs would now talk about love and soul. "Pais e Filhos" ("Parents and children"), about
broken, intact, happy and dysfunctional families, included the lyrics "É preciso amar/as pessoas como se
não houvesse amanhã/Porque se você parar/pra pensar/Na verdade não há" ("We must love people as if
there was no tomorrow/Because when you stop to think about it/There really isn't").

1990s

V was released in December 1991, considered the band's darkest and most introspective album until
then; at this point, the band was appearing less and less in public, doing only a few (very contentious)
concerts. The album ran a long gamut of emotions and topics, with songs about drug abuse, the confused
sentiments of a soul consecrated to a life of celibacy, and even the bizarre, classic French film The Golden
Age.

"Metal Contra as Nuvens" ("Metal Against the Clouds") clocked in at 11 minutes and is the longest song
ever recorded by the band. Some of the more popular entries on the album are O Teatro dos Vampiros
("The Theater of the Vampires"), Sereníssima ("Most Serene"), Vento no Litoral ("Coastal Wind"), and O
Mundo Anda Tão Complicado ("The World Has Been So Complicated"). One year after V, EMI released
Música P/ Acampamentos (Music 4 Camping), which is a compilation of rarities and live material. A
previously unreleased song, A Canção do Senhor da Guerra ("Warlord Song"), which was to be in Dois
and was rejected by EMI, turned into an immediate hit. The album had got featuring keyboardist Carlos
Trilha and bassist Bruno Araújo, later the recording, Araújo left the band, and joined bassist Tavinho
Fialho and guitarist Sérgio Serra.

The band released O Descobrimento do Brasil ("The Discovery of Brazil", alluding both to Cabral's
discovery and to a new look at Brazil and its problems) in November 1993. "Giz" ("Chalk"), "Perfeição"
("Perfection"), "Vinte e Nove" ("Twenty Nine"), "Vamos Fazer um Filme" ("Let's Make A Movie") and "La
Nuova Gioventù" (Italian for "The New Youth") are the main hits of the CD, though the album as a whole
received a rather chilly critical reception.

"Perfeição" was a scathing rebuke of Brazilian government and society, inviting the listener to celebrate
everything stupid, evil and ugly about the country. The song compares Brazil to a house of marked cards,
a den of thieves, and a State that is not a nation, but the song explodes any pretensions of moral
superiority towards the end by remarking on, above all else, the stupidity of the person singing the song.
After the energy and anger of the main body of the song, this final section is almost wistful. The music
continues to race ahead, but the vocal seems to be trying to pull it back, simultaneously celebrating and
undercutting the belief that perfection is achievable, at least in the heart. The song's popular success is
emblematic of the political changes that had taken place in Brazil since the band's inception: it certainly
could not have been distributed during the days of Brazil's military dictatorship.

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The band members confessed that the track "Giz" was one of Renato Russo's favorite songs among all
Legião Urbana's discography.

The same year, Russo released a solo album in English, The Stonewall Celebration Concert.

A Tempestade, ou O Livro dos Dias ("The Storm" or "The Book of Days") was recorded between January
and June 1996 and released on 20 September 1996. This would be the last album released before Renato
Russo's death less than a month later. This album surpassed V in terms of introspection and sadness in
the lyrics, probably related to the state of Russo's health.

Disbanding

In January 1995 the band performed its last concert. In December

Renato Russo released his second solo album, Equilibrio Distante. A
posthumous album recorded between January and June 1996 and
released on 18 July 1997. Most of the tracks are leftovers from A
Tempestade, which was originally planned as a double album. Uma
Outra Estação ("Another Season") was completed by the remaining
members of the band plus keyboardist Carlos Trilha and guitarist
Tom Capone.[8]

Acústico MTV is an MTV Unplugged album that was recorded on 28 Surviving members of Legião
Urbana performing a 2012 tribute
January 1992 and released on 27 October 1999.
show with actor Wagner Moura as
In September 1996 the band released its last album with Renato lead vocalist. From left to right:
Bonfá, Moura and Villa-Lobos. To
Russo still alive: A Tempestade. The CD has a very sad tone, directly
their right and partially cut out of the
connected to the fact that Russo and his health were deteriorating
picture is touring bassist Rodrigo
very quickly, both psychologically and physically.[9] Favaro.

Renato Russo would die one month after the release of Tempestade,
on 11 October 1996, from an AIDS-related illness. Eleven days later,
Bonfá and Villa-Lobos announced that the band was officially disbanded.

Uma Outra Estação was released in June 1997 and is the last album with previously unreleased songs,
produced and finished by Villa-Lobos.[10] In October 1999 EMI released a Live album, Acústico MTV, a
concert which was presented on MTV Brasil in 1992. Another two albums, As Quatro Estações Ao Vivo
and Como É Que Se Diz Eu Te Amo, are best-of compilations that achieved relative success among the
fans and people whose interest in Legião Urbana grew after the death of Russo.

Discography
Studio albums

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Year Album
1985 Legião Urbana
1986 Dois
1987 Que País É Este
1989 As Quatro Estações
1991 V
1993 O Descobrimento do Brasil
1996 A Tempestade ou O Livro dos Dias
1997 Uma Outra Estação

Live albums

Year Album
1999 Acústico MTV
2001 Como É Que Se Diz Eu te Amo
2004 As Quatro Estações ao Vivo
2009 Legião Urbana e Paralamas Juntos

Compilation albums

Year Album
1992 Música P/ Acampamentos
1998 Mais do Mesmo

Video albums

Year details Album

1999 Acústico MTV
2009 Legião Urbana e Paralamas Juntos

Soundtrack

Year Album
1985 A Era dos Halley

Singles

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Year Single Album

"Será"
"Ainda É Cedo"
1984 Legião Urbana
"Soldados"
"O Reggae"
"Tempo Perdido"
"Eduardo e Mônica"
1986 Dois
"Quase Sem Querer"
"Acrilic on Canvas"
"Que País É Este"
"Angra dos Reis"
1987 Que País É Este
"Faroeste Caboclo"
"Eu Sei"
"Há Tempos"
1989 "1965 (Duas Tribos)" As Quatro Estações
"Pais e Filhos"
"O Teatro dos Vampiros"
1991 V
"Vento no Litoral"
1992 "A Canção do Senhor da Guerra" Música P/ Acampamentos
"Giz"
1993 O Descobrimento do Brasil
"Perfeição"
1996 "A Via Láctea" A Tempestade
1997 "As Flores do Mal" Uma Outra Estação
1999 "Hoje a Noite Não Tem Luar" Acústico MTV
""Índios""/
"Quando o Sol Bater na Janela do Teu Quarto"/
2001 "Que País é Este?" Como É Que Se Diz Eu Te Amo

"Geração Coca-Cola"

Members

Last line-up
Renato Russo – bass guitar (1982–1984, 1989–1996), vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards (1982–1996; died
1996)
Marcelo Bonfá – drums (1982–1996)
Dado Villa-Lobos – electric guitar (1983–1996)

Past members
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Renato Rocha – bass guitar (1984–1989; died 2015)

Eduardo Paraná – electric guitar (1982)
Ico Ouro Preto – electric guitar (1982–1983)
Paulo Paulista – keyboards (1982)

References
1. Do próprio bolso. "1982 – 2012: 30 anos de Legião Urbana" (http://www.dopropriobolso.com.br/inde
x.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1498:1982-2012-30-anos-de-legiao-urbana&catid=44:
musica-brasileira&Itemid=55) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 September 2018.
2. Zun. "Rock nacional dos Anos 80" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121014122241/http://www.zun.co
m.br/rock-nacional-anos-80/) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (http://www.zun.com.br/rock
-nacional-anos-80/) on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
3. Escola contemporânea. "Os Filhos da Revolução" (http://escolacontemporanea.files.wordpress.com/
2012/02/jovens-dos-anos-80.pdf) (PDF) (in Portuguese). Jovens dos anos 80. Retrieved
28 September 2018.
4. Capital Inicial. "Fê Lemos" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120507140919/http://capitalinicial.uol.co
m.br/tag/fe-lemos/) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (http://capitalinicial.uol.com.br/tag/fe-l
emos/) on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
5. Zero Hora (5 April 2011). "Dado Villa-Lobos fala fala sobre a influência do U2 em Legião Urbana" (htt
p://zerohora.clicrbs.com.br/rs/cultura-e-lazer/segundo-caderno/noticia/2011/04/dado-villa-lobos-fala-
sobre-a-influencia-do-u2-em-legiao-urbana-3264029.html) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 September
2018.
6. Dicionário Cravo Alvim. "Renato Russo-biografia" (http://www.dicionariompb.com.br/renato-russo/bio
grafia). Retrieved 28 September 2018.
7. VILLA-LOBOS, Dado. DEMIER, Felipe; MATTOS, Rômulo. "Dado Villa-Lobos: Memórias De Um
Legionário". 1ª edição. Rio De Janeiro. Brasil. Mauad X, 2015. Pág. 158.
8. VILLA-LOBOS, Dado. DEMIER, Felipe; MATTOS, Rômulo. "Dado Villa-Lobos: Memórias De Um
Legionário". 1ª edição. Rio De Janeiro. Brasil. Mauad X, 2015. Pág. 248
9. "Não foi tempo perdido – Cultura – Estadão" (http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/arteelazer,nao-foi-t
empo-perdido,628507,0.htm). estadao.com.br.
10. VILLA-LOBOS, Dado. DEMIER, Felipe; MATTOS, Rômulo. "Dado Villa-Lobos: Memórias De Um
Legionário". 1ª edição. Rio De Janeiro. Brasil. Mauad X, 2015. Pág. 248

External links
Official website (http://www.legiaourbana.com.br/)
Legião Urbana (http://dicionariompb.com.br/legiao-urbana), Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música
Popular Brasileira
Lyrics in Portuguese and English (http://www.lifesabirch.org/legiao)

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