Los Bravos

The band was an amalgamation of two pop groups, Los Sonor from Madrid and The Runaways from Mallorca. Los Bravos' lead singer, Mike Kogel, is from Germany. His vocal styling was sometimes likened to Gene Pitney's. "Black is Black" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1966,[1] No. 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has sold over one million copies worldwide.[2]

"Black is Black" was written by Michelle Grainger, Tony Hayes and Steve Wadey, in their recording studio for cutting demo discs in Hoo St Werburgh, near Rochester, Kent, England.[2] The song was later covered by Johnny Hallyday and then by French-based outfit Belle Epoque, whose disco version coincidentally also reached No. 2 in the UK in 1977.

Los Bravos' follow-up single, "I Don't Care", reached No. 16 in the UK in October 1966.[1] In 1967, the band participated in the San Remo Music Festival, failing to qualify for the final with the song "Uno come noi" in Italian.[3] The band were the subjects of two Spanish comedic movies: in 1967 Los chicos con las chicas (The Boys With the Girls), directed by Javier Aguirre and in 1968, ¡Dame un poco de amooor...! (Give Me a Little Looove!), directed by José María Forqué and Francisco Macián. Their song "Going Nowhere" from the soundtrack to Los chicos con las chicas was re-issued as a part of the Rhino Records series, Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969.

One of Los Bravos' founding members, Manuel Fernández, committed suicide on 20 May 1968, at the age of 23,[4] after the death of his bride, Lottie Rey, in an auto accident. Also that year, Kogel left the group to develop a solo career under the name Mike Kennedy. He was replaced as singer by Bob Wright and then Anthony (Tony) Anderson.[5] Anderson sang with The Warriors, with his brother Jon Anderson, before joining Los Bravos.

In 1975 and 1976, Kogel rejoined the group.

In 2004, the group reformed with Pablo Sanllehí, Miguel Vicens and Mike Kogel/Kennedy.

In 2015, Mike Kennedy reunited with Miguel Vicens Danus under the name Los Bravos, to record a new studio version of "Black Is Black."[6] The new recording was officially released on iTunes and edited to create a music video.[7]

In 2019, Miguel Vicens Danus and Pablo Sanllehi inducted Bruce Game as the new lead singer to record a new album. They have released two singles in 2020 on iTunes and spotify under the name Los Bravos. These are "Gotta Be Strong"[8] and "Chariot".[9]

On 20 March 2019, "Bring a Little Lovin'" by Los Bravos was featured on the soundtrack and first teaser trailer for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a black comedy crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.[10]

• Michael 'Mike' Kennedy (born Michael Volker Kogel, 25 April 1944, Berlin, Germany) — vocals
• Anthony 'Tony' Anderson (born 1941, Accrington, Lancashire, United Kingdom) — vocals, harmonica
• Antonio Martinez Salas (3 October 1945, Madrid – 19 June 1990, Colmenar Viejo, Spain) — guitar. Martinez died in a motorcycle accident en route to his recording studio.[11][12]
• Manuel Fernández Aparicio (29 September 1943, Seville, Spain – 20 May 1968) — organ
• Miguel Vicens Danus (born 21 June 1944, Ferrol, Galicia) — bass guitar
• Pablo Sanllehí Gomez (born 5 November 1943, Barcelona, Spain) — drums
• Jesús Glück (born Jesús Glück Sarasibar, 1941, Valencia, Spain – 24 January 2018, Madrid)[13] — organ (from 1967)
• Ari Leeonx (born, Paris, France) — (1974-75) — vocals
• Bruce Game (born Behrouz Ghaemi, 9 March 1980, Qazvin, Iran) — vocals

• RPM number-one hits of 1966
• List of artists under the Decca Records label
• List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
• List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks
• Music of Spain

• Video for "Black is Black"
• Video for "Going Nowhere"