Dinho, Sergio Reoli, Samuel Reoli, Alberto Hinoto and Julio Cesar Barbosa, members of the Mamonas Assassinas group. (Ricardo Corrêa / Arquivo Abril)
On March 2, 1996, Brazil woke up with the sad news of the death of all members of Mamonas Assassinas in an air accident. The band was returning home when the jet in which it was hitting Serra da Cantareira. Everyone on board died. The tragedy ended the group’s short and meteoric career, which consisted of Dinho (vocals), Samuel Reoli (bass), Júlio Rasec (keyboard), Sérgio Reoli (drums) and Bento Hinoto (guitar). The band conquered the country, selling more than two million copies of its CD.
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To remember this fun and creative troupe, which emerged in the music scene with songs like Pelados in Santos, we highlight some curiosities about its trajectory. Check out:
– Mamonas Assassinas made 30 presentations a month until the air disaster killed all members.
– The first and also the only CD recorded in the Mamonas studio was released on June 23, 1995 and was certified with a diamond disc. In the repertoire, songs with controversial themes, politically incorrect lyrics and heavy guitars.
– In old notebooks of the members of the band, there are sketches of songs that never got to be recorded. One of them, called Yesterday Eu Era Vagabundo, became known when the band Tihuana came to record a version of the song for a report by Fantástico on the occasion of the ten years of the accident.
– On the day of the accident, Júlio, the keyboard player, dyed his hair red and was recorded by the salon owner saying the following sentence: ‘That night I dreamed of a business like this … It seemed that the plane was falling’. Many believe it is just a coincidence, but some say it was a premonition.
– According to the book Os 10 Mais, written by Luiz André Alzer and Mariana Claudino in 2008, the Mamonas Assassinas album was listed as one of the ten best sellers in history in Brazil, in 9th position, with almost 2.5 million copies .
– In the first sample of their work that the group sent to a record company, there were three songs: Jumento Celestino, Pelados em Santos and Robocop Gay. The artistic director of the EMI record label at the time, João Augusto, started listening to it, but he didn’t like the sound and left it aside. Days later, his 16-year-old son did not remove the tape from the stereo, and the songs were successful among his colleagues. There was a new chance for the Mamonas.
– Chopis Centis’ initial riff is a parody of The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go. 1406, on the other hand, is a satire on the trade of a famous telesales channel and Robocop Gay was based on the Robocop film and on Captain Gay, a character played by Jô Soares in the 1980s.
– The Mamonas recorded a song that ended up being left out of the album because of the excessive swearing. Called Don’t Fart Here, Baby, she was a parody of The Beatles’ Twist and Shout.
– The history of the band with the name Mamonas Assassinas started in 1989 when it was still Utopia. In the formation were Bento Hinoto and the brothers Samuel and Sérgio Reoli. In 1990 Dinho would join and Júlio Rasec would be the last to join the troupe.
