The Legendary Tigerman

Paulo Furtado, the Portuguese vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who also performs with WrayGunn and Tédio Boys, fronts the one-man blues-rock project known as the Legendary Tigerman. Born in Coimbra, Portugal, he launched his professional path in the late 1980s by serving as guitarist and principal songwriter for the psychobilly outfit Tédio Boys. Before exiting the group at the close of that decade, Tédio Boys issued the albums Porkabilly Psychosis!!! (1994), Outer Space Shit! (1996), and Bad Trip (1998) while completing a tour of the United States. Furtado then established WrayGunn, a blues-rock ensemble in which he handled guitar and shared vocal duties with frontwoman Raquel Ralha. Under the NorteSul imprint, WrayGunn debuted on record with Amateur (2000) and continued with Soul Jam (2001), Ecclesiastes 1.11 (2005), and Shangri-La (2007). Concurrently, Furtado created the Legendary Tigerman, a solo blues-rock vehicle that placed him alone onstage handling vocals, guitar, and drums. His first full-length release under that name, issued via Subotnick Enterprises, was Naked Blues (2001); subsequent projects on the same label included Fuck Christmas, I Got the Blues (2003) and the remix collection In Cold Blood (2004). He later moved to Rastilho Records, where the third Legendary Tigerman album, the critically acclaimed Masquerade (2006), appeared. After that record’s strong reception and a tour supporting former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, the project signed with EMI and delivered Femina (2009). The album, which paired Furtado with an array of female vocalists, became a major success and climbed into the Top Five on the Portuguese albums chart. Its singles comprised “Life Ain’t Enough for You” with Asia Argento, “These Boots Are Made for Walking” with Maria de Medeiros, and “Hey, Sister Ray” with Rita Redshoes.