Antonio Vega

Antonio Vega ranks among the most accomplished Spanish pop/rock songwriters of his generation. As a vocalist and composer, he enjoyed both critical acclaim and strong sales in the 1980s while performing with Nacha Pop before achieving comparable solo success throughout the following decade. His life ended prematurely when he succumbed to lung cancer on May 12, 2009, in his fifty-first year. Born Antonio Vega Tallés on December 16, 1957, in Madrid, Spain, he established Nacha Pop alongside his cousin Nacho García Vega in 1978. The group released its self-titled debut album in 1980, featuring the enduring Spanish pop staple “La Chica de Ayer,” which Vega wrote. The subsequent Nacha Pop releases, spanning Buena Disposición (1982) through El Momento (1987), earned praise from reviewers and listeners alike; the band’s 1988 dissolution drew widespread attention within Spanish pop/rock circles and marked the conclusion of one of the decade’s defining acts. Vega then launched his solo career with the 1991 album No Me Iré Mañana, overseen by producer Carlos Narea, who had previously contributed to several Nacha Pop projects. Later solo efforts included Océano de Sol (1994), produced by Phil Manzanera; Anatomía de una Ola (1998), produced by Joan Bibiloni; and De un Lugar Perdido (2001), produced by Nacho Béjar. His last solo release, the Top Ten-charting 3000 Noches con Marga (2005), yielded the single “Angel de Orión.” Following Vega’s death, the retrospective collection Canciones 1980-2009 (2009) climbed to number three on the Spanish albums chart, while one of his signature solo tracks, “El Sitio de Mi Recreo,” entered the Top 30.