Mecano was a Spanish pop band formed in 1981 and active until 1992. Mecano became one of the most successful Spanish pop bands of all time. The band is still the best selling Spanish band, with over 25 million records worldwide. They were considered by some to be anate-garde for their time and part of la Movida Madrilena countercultural movement.
The band started as a synthpop ensemble (tecno pop in Spanish) by brothers Nacho and Jose-Maria Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, in 1981 in Madrid influenced by English new wave band Spandau Ballet. In a period of cultural experimentation in the newly democratic Spain, Mecano achieved its initial popularity with its debut single, “Hoy no me puedo levantar” (“I Can’t Get Up Today”), a song about youth boredom and hangovers. Their first, self-titled album became a collection of classics that would later represent Spanish 1980s pop music.
Having achieved another huge hit in 1986 with “Me cuesta tanto olvidarte” (“It’s So Hard to Forget You”), the band reformed its musical approach with the album Entre el cielo y el suelo (Between the Sky and the Ground). Their new style emphasised pop over techno. It also facilitated the export of their music to Latin America. This new versatility was evidenced by “Hijo de la Luna” (“Son of the Moon”). This song was also submitted by the band as a potential contestant for Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986.
Their follow-up album, Descanso Dominical (Sunday Rest), produced two of their most popular singles. One was, “La fuerza del destino,” (“The force of fate”) in which actress Penelope Cruz debuted in the video clip for it. She later had a relationship with Nacho Cano for several years.
The other single “Mujer contra mujer” (“Woman against woman”), is about a lesbian relationship, seen through the eyes of a friend, who only later realises what is going on. It was recorded in French (“Une Femme avec une Femme”), and still holds the record for most weeks spent at the top of the French charts. English and Italian versions were also released, giving Mecano their first truly global hit. The single which was released in Latin America in 1989, became a number one hit, it also remained seven consecutive weeks on the French number one position from 10 November to 22 December 1990; the song became one of the greatest hits of all time in that country.
Aidalai their following album, was published in 1991 and was as successful as their previous two works. “El 7 de septiembre” (“7 September”) was dedicated to Coloma Fernández Armero, who was Nacho Cano’s girlfriend for several years. “El 7 de septiembre”, which was released in the summer of 1992, was the last Ibero-American number one hit for the band, a music video was released for the song and it was inspired by the 1927 German silent film Metropolis. It was the last original album of the band. In 1993, the band announced a temporary hiatus. In 1998, the band released the album Ana, Jose, Nacho, which mixed new songs with greatest hits. The band separated later that year and all three members went on to have solo careers, though only Ana found success as a singer. In 2005 keyboardist Nacho Cano wrote a musical based on 32 Mecano songs, named after their first single.
