Gipsy Kings

The Gipsy Kings are a group from Arles and Montpellier in France. Their ancestors fled from Catalonia in the Spanish civil war. They are Cale (gypsy) musicians, best known for bringing rumba Catalan, a pop-oriented version of traditional flamenco music to mainstream audiences.

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They became popular with their album, self titled Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bamboleo" and "Un Amor". The song "Volare" on their second album Mosaique is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu". The Gipsy Kings were enormously popular in France despite harsh criticism from flamenco purists. Gipsy Kings was successful throughout Europe, especially France and England. In 1989, Gipsy Kings was released in the US and it spent 40 weeks on the charts, one of very few Spanish language albums to do so.

Related Topics:
Domenico Modugno - Gipsy Kings - France - England - Spanish language

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Their albums include Gipsy Kings, Estrellas, Mosaique, Love & Liberte, Compas, Este Mundo, Somos Gitanos and Roots.

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The Gipsy Kings are members of two related families: the Reyes and the Baliardos (Reyes means Kings in Spanish). They are cousins from the flamenco great Manitas de Plata. The Gipsy Kings are:

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• Nicolas Reyes - lead vocals
• Pablo Reyes - backup vocals, guitar
• Canut Reyes - backup vocals, guitar
• Patchai Reyes - backup vocals, guitar
• Andre Reyes - guitar
• Diego Baliardo - guitar
• Paco Baliardo - guitar
• Tonino Baliardo - lead guitar

Chico Bouchikhi was also a member of the Gipsy Kings, but quit after the album Mosaique.

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