Mutantes

The band was formed in São Paulo, in the 60s, and switched members and names quite often, until the original trio - Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias - settled with "Os Mutantes", in 1966, right before appearing on a TV show. In the following year, they were placed second in a music festival, backing up Gilberto Gil on the song "Domingo no Parque". In 1968, they recorded the classic LP "Tropicália ou Panis et Circensis", with Gil, Caetano, Gal, Tom Zé and Nara Leão. Their first album came out that same year, featuring the hits "Bat Macumba" (Gil), "Panis et Circensis" (Caetano/Gil) and "A Minha Menina" (Jorge Ben). The Mutantes started making a name as a creative band, mixing equal doses of irreverence and debauchery. They went out to perform in France in 1969, and released their second album. They played other festivals, as a back-up band for Caetano Veloso, in 1968 ("É Proibido Proibir") or going solo with "Dom Quixote" and "2001"; and in 1970, with "Ando Meio Desligado". The historic show "O Planeta dos Mutantes", presented in Rio de Janeiro in 1969, established the band within the rock scene in Brazil. In 1972, they released "Mutantes e Seus Cometas no País dos Baurets", which featured one of their greatest hits ever: "Balada do Louco". By the end of that year, they broke up the band, which was later re-grouped with yet different members. Rita Lee went on to experience a very successful solo career as a rocker; the Mutantes became history and deserved a tribute album, "Triângulo sem Bermudas", made in 1996. In 2000, Universal Music put out "Technicolor", an album made in France, in 1970, with versions in English of "Ando Meio Desligado" ("I Feel a Little Spaced Out"), "Panis et Circensis", "A Minha Menina" ("She's My Shoo Shoo") and others.