Chiclete Com Banana

From 1981 through 2000 the group produced twenty albums, earned multiple gold and platinum certifications, and maintained a year-round schedule of performances across Brazil, establishing itself as a dominant force in the modern Carnival of Bahia. Originally formed under the name Banda Scorpius, the musicians performed at private parties and graduation dances throughout the late 1970s. Bell Marques handled keyboards and vocals, delivering English-language material by Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, and Elton John, while Wadinho and Rey supplied guitar parts. The band first tested the trio elétrico format—the mobile sound truck pioneered by Dodô and Osmar—during the 1980 Carnival season with the bloco Trás os Montes. The following year Bell and Wadinho’s brother, sound engineer Wilson Marques, constructed a new version of the vehicle whose sides were sealed with speaker cabinets and whose amplification relied on transistors, allowing the players to perform atop the truck and thereby heightening its visual impact in a spectacle-driven tradition. Barcarola Records invited the group to document this innovation on its debut album, Trio Elétrico Traz Os Montes & Chiclete com Banana, released in 1982. At that point the musicians adopted the permanent name Chiclete com Banana, drawn from the classic composition by Gordurinha and Almira that Jackson do Pandeiro had made famous, reflecting their fusion of rhythms and direct rapport with listeners. Their first major success arrived with the 1984 single “Mistério Das Estrelas,” though sales of the accompanying album were curtailed when censors removed “Apenas Vença” and “Minha Gatinha Emacrou” on moral grounds and the release was pulled from stores. After guitarists Missinho and Rubinho departed in 1986, the lineup stabilized with Bell, Wadinho, Rey, Joni, Walter Cruz, and Deni. The album Gritos de Guerra went on to sell 800,000 copies, boosted by twenty-three appearances on Chacrinha’s widely watched national program. Over four successive years the band performed in the bloco Internacionais before moving to Camaleão, a partnership that gave rise to the corporate bloco Nana-Banana; they remain associated with Camaleão to this day. In addition to their regular Carnival engagements in Bahia, Chiclete com Banana appears at micaretas and regional carnivals in as many as twenty-three different locations each year. The group became the first to capture a live recording directly from the trio elétrico with Banana Coral in 1995. For the 1999 album Borboleta Azul, track selection was determined by fan votes gathered through a promotional campaign, and the following year they issued São João de Rua.