RPM

RPM ranked among the leading acts in Brazilian pop and rock throughout the 1980s. Bassist, vocalist and composer Paulo Ricardo teamed with Luiz Schiavon in 1983; the pair had known each other since 1977 and had played together in the short-lived Aura. Adopting an Eurythmics-inspired duo format, they cut a demo containing the future hits “Olhar 43,” “Revoluções por Minuto” and “A Cruz e a Espada,” yet CBS rejected the tape. Adding live performers became the next step, and guitarist Fernando Deluqui plus fifteen-year-old drummer Moreno Júnior completed the lineup. The quartet debuted in May 1984 and secured a CBS contract that November. Moreno Júnior soon gave way to Charles Gavin, who exited only weeks before the band tracked the single pairing “Louras Geladas” with “Revoluções por Minuto,” forcing use of a drum machine. Issued in January 1985 on the multi-artist compilation Rock Wave, “Louras Geladas” immediately became a major hit. The debut album Revoluções por Minuto, released in June 1985 with drummer P. A. Pagni, followed and moved 600,000 copies. A 270-date tour drew two million spectators. The second release, Rádio Pirata: Ao Vivo, was captured on 26 and 27 May 1986; 250,000 units sold in advance, and the platinum-certified set ultimately surpassed 2,200,000 copies. The group performed “Olhar 43” in Lael Rodrigues’s film Rock Estrela. In 1987 RPM cut a single with Milton Nascimento featuring songs co-written by Nascimento and Paulo Ricardo. A memo signed that August by Paulo Ricardo and Schiavon informed CBS of the band’s breakup, citing disagreements over rights allocation. Contractually obligated to deliver another record, the members completed RPM, also titled Quatro Coiotes, which sold 170,000 copies. Although the group split for good in February 1989, Paulo Ricardo and Schiavon reunited briefly to make the later albums Pérola and É Natal in 1993. Co-founder Luiz Schiavon died on 15 June 2023 at the age of 64.