Casal was born in
Tudela Veguín,
Oviedo,
Asturias, and began his musical career, aged 13, in a group called "Los Zafiros Negros" (The Black Sapphires). In 1967 he joined "Los Archiduques" (The Archdukes), replacing their lead singer, who had fallen ill. He then left for London, in order to follow one of his other great passions - painting. It was there, that Casal had his first contact with
glam-rock, attracted by the stream led by
David Bowie,
Sweet and
T. Rex among others. In 1977, after a series of trips abroad, Casal returned to Spain, where he signed a recording contract with
Philips when Spanish music lovers were looking for a substitute for well-loved crooners
Nino Bravo and
Bruno Lomas. During the 1970s, he performed at a number of different music festivals, and in 1978 he took part in the
Benidorm Festival, where he won "Best Young Singer" and "Best Musical Composition.". After breaking his recording contract, Casal threw himself into painting until 1980, when he returned to music, producing other artists, such as Goma de Mascar or the
Obús, the first
heavy metal group in Spain.
EMI took a keen interest in Casal's dual-role and offered him a contract in 1981. In 1983 the release of
Etiqueta Negra, consolidated Casal's position as a major player on the Spanish music scene with the success of "Embrujada" ("Bewitched") and "Póker para un perdedor" ("Poker for a Loser"). Despite having seen the album sell exceptionally well, Casal decided to edit and re-release the record with additional tracks. The following year, he released "
Hielo Rojo" ("Red Ice"), from which appeared the hit single, "Pánico en el edén" ("Panic in the Garden of Eden"). In 1985 suffered from a heavy ankle sprain, whilst touring in
Valencia. He chose to ignore medical advice and toured for two further months, self-medicating with anti-inflammatories and analgesics up until the point where he found himself hospitalised and on the brink of death with necrosis in both hips. As a result, Casal used a wheelchair for several months. He was admitted to hospital in August 1985 and after 19 days in the
Intensive Care Unit, without food or water, four litres of infectious fluid was removed from his left leg. The original diagnosis of
AIDS, was soon dismissed.
Reappearance Following a long convalescence, Casal returned in 1987 with a cane and a new album, recorded at
Abbey Road Studios. The album, entitled,
Lágrimas de cocodrilo (
Crocodile Tears), contained his own versions of other artist's songs but also some of his own original recordings. It was produced under the orchestral direction of Julián Ruiz and
Andrew Powell, in charge of musical arrangement of
Alan Parsons Project. The album's biggest success was the cover of
Barry Ryan's "
Eloise", which reached number 1 in
Los 40 Principales (the Spanish Top 40) and became one of his best-known works. At the time (1988), his was the second biggest-selling album in Spain, behind
Descanso Dominical by
Mecano. In October 1989, he released his last album,
Histeria, which revisited the main themes of his musical career during the 1970s. After this release, Casal dedicated his latter years to painting and sculpting, in addition to collaborations with other artists. In May, Casal released a compilation album of his greatest hits,
Etiqueta Negra, grandes éxitos, and had begun preparations to release another album in 1992, with the intention of recording in Tokyo.
Death Tino Casal died on 22 September 1991 in a car accident in
Madrid), aged 41. Casal and other three people were at a nightclub after they had had a dinner and went to Tino's house in order to bring microphones with them to a recording studio they wished to visit in Pozuelo, when heavy rain caused the driver of the
Opel Corsa to lose control of the car, which crashed into a lamp post after sliding down through muddy soil. Casal was sitting in the passenger seat without fastening his seatbelt and was the only fatality. He died while flying on the emergency helicopter which had been sent to the scene. Unsurprisingly, the news was a huge shock to the Spanish music industry. A year later,
EMI paid a posthumous tribute to Casal, by re-releasing the compilation album.
Etiqueta Negra. Other artists, such as
Alaska,
Marta Sánchez and
Stravaganzza have since covered and sampled his songs. ==Discography==