Apparently the whole world knows about Lio but the US. Why I'm just finding out about her is a mystery to me. Lio's name comes from a girls name from the Barbarella comic book. She was born in Portugal and moved to Belgium at age 8. Her real name is Wanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos. Her first album ??Premier Album?? was produced by the Belgium group Telex and was released in 1980. There is something to this album that screams modern Japanese pop to me. When I first heard a song by her I could've swore it was a Japanese song. The music has a sort of disco/new wave/girl group sound to it. Even though I do not understand the lyrics I found this album to be a delightful breath of fresh air. It's really fun and upbeat. Lio has made several albums since this one and has appeared in a lot of movies. She currently is a judge on the French Idol show Nouvelle Star. I'm curious to hear some of her other albums. This album and others were rereleased on the ultra hip ZE Records in 2005.
Bartleby says
Lio is very famous in France where she's had quite some success, especially with Banana Split. She is also an accomplished Thespian both on the stage and on the silver. She used to model. Her sister Helena Noguerra is also quite well regarded as a songstress and an actress. Helena collaborated with Marc Collin (who the mastermind behind "Nouvelle Vague") -- Incidentally, Helena is married to Philippe Katerine who's worth a listen or too.
Lio has been quoted as an influence by Yelle for instance. Her biggest success was her album "Pop Model" released in 1986. This song: "Les brunes comptent pas pour des prunes" was no 1 on the French Top 50 for 3 months. (the title mean: "Brunettes
are not worthless")
From the same album, this song was also no1: "Fallait pas commencer" ("You shouldn't have started")
Here's Lio's sister, Helena singing "Latitudes":
Sorry, Sam. Your post was a trip down the memory lane of my early teens. Thank you ever so much.
Petey Lapides says
Hey, she pronounces "banana" just like Shonen Knife does. And come to think of it, the similarities don't end there. All Lio needs is some buzzsaw guitars and she's almost a dead ringer.
Petey Lapides says
Yeah, when you've got to use every letter of the alphabet - twice - to write your name, something with the-whole-brevity-thing going for it is called for.
fistula spume says
No problem Bartleby. Thanks for the info and the videos. I'll check em out when I get home. I really quite liked this album. I thought "Premier Album" was a dumb moniker. I need to get some more of her albums. There were a lot of coincidences that led me to this album. Glad I got it.
Petey Lapides totally. She has this one song "You Go To My Head" and it was one that I really thought was Shonen Knife or something like that. It was the only song in English but her accent is really strong and doesn't sound very French-like. Sweet title and avatar btw.
scotfree says
Maybe just me, but I hear some echoes of Blondie in this. Sam, ya pulled another rabbit outta the hat!!
Careful, you'll be hummin' this all day tomorrow...
fistula spume says
Dude how dare you! Not only that but now I got Buffalo Soldier stuck in my head too. I wish I had never heard Bob Marley got it from that show. I love the Banana Splits theme but why does it have to be so catchy!?
Apparently the whole world knows about Lio but the US. Why I'm just finding out about her is a mystery to me. Lio's name comes from a girls name from the Barbarella comic book. She was born in Portugal and moved to Belgium at age 8. Her real name is Wanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos. Her first album ??Premier Album?? was produced by the Belgium group Telex and was released in 1980. There is something to this album that screams modern Japanese pop to me. When I first heard a song by her I could've swore it was a Japanese song. The music has a sort of disco/new wave/girl group sound to it. Even though I do not understand the lyrics I found this album to be a delightful breath of fresh air. It's really fun and upbeat. Lio has made several albums since this one and has appeared in a lot of movies. She currently is a judge on the French Idol show Nouvelle Star. I'm curious to hear some of her other albums. This album and others were rereleased on the ultra hip ZE Records in 2005.
Comments (14)
From the same album, this song was also no1: "Fallait pas commencer" ("You shouldn't have started") Here's Lio's sister, Helena singing "Latitudes":
Sorry, Sam. Your post was a trip down the memory lane of my early teens. Thank you ever so much.