Loquillo

José María Sanz Beltrán (Barcelona, ​​December 21, 1960), aka Loquillo, or Loco, is a Spanish rock singer. Until the middle of 2007, he was accompanied by the so-called Troglodytes (Simon, the last original troglodyte, he left the band and was left with the name of Troglodytes). At the moment it appears like Loquillo, although, accompanied by his habitual collaborators, like Igor Paskual or Jaime Stinus.

The first group he formed was called Teddy Loquillo and his Friends, along with Carlos Segarra (current member of Los Rebeldes), although he had little success. Then, in 1980, Loquillo and the Untouchables were born, with whom he came to record an album and some singles. At that time, he had to comply with military service, and in his absence the group disintegrated. But Sabino Méndez, guitarist and author of most of his songs, decided to wait for him, and set out to find new musicians for a future formation. The search ended in Vich, where he found three musicians who met his expectations: Ricard Puigdomènech, Jordi Vila and Josep Simón Ramírez. After the return of Loquillo, they would start a new journey, forming the band that consolidated them, and that has accompanied him until a few years ago: Loquillo and the Troglodytes, who made their debut before the public in Tomelloso (Ciudad Real) in the summer of 1983.

Despite the abandonment of Sabino Méndez in 1989 (due to problems with heroin and differences with the rest), and the continuous comings and goings of the other components, the band remained alive for 25 years. In 2007, after the abandonment of Josep Simón, last remaining founding member and legal owner of the name, Loquillo decided to dispense with the nickname "Troglodytes", arguing that it was meaningless since none of the original members remained.

Although Pop and Rock have been its cornerstone, he has also liked to try other styles. In fact, in its beginnings it was even said of him that he was "too rocker for punks, and too punk for rockers". Many years later, under the slogan of Gabriel Celaya "poetry is a weapon loaded with the future", he published two discs of poems, with music and adaptation of Gabriel Sopeña: Life ahead and With elegance, where he puts voice to works of poets of the caliber of Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda, Pedro Salinas or Jaime Gil de Biedma among others.

In 2001 he dedicates a song to the legendary actor John Wayne, with the title in Spanish of his epitaph: Ugly, strong and formal. In addition to singer, he has also played some secondary role on the big screen, he participated in the work of the director Mario Camus (prestigious director of the prize in Cannes The Innocent Saints) to play the character Efrén Castells in the film The city of the prodigies; He has also collaborated as a columnist in several newspapers, and has written two novels, "El chico de la bomba" and "Barcelona Ciudad". In 2008 he represents a Falangist in the film The Good News of Helena Taberna. He has also participated in the soundtrack of "Mujeres en pie de guerra" and "Vindication", two feature films directed by his girlfriend, Susana Koska.

It was definitively separated from Los Trogloditas in 2008, with the edition of Balmoral, disc tribute to the Madrid venue where they used to meet, along with other musicians, intellectuals and artists. For Balmoral he was nominated for the Latin Grammy 20081 in the category of "Best Vocal Rock Album", which was finally awarded to his friend Andrés Calamaro for his album La Lengua Popular. On November 17, 2009, an album came out where Loquillo presented 30 years of his music career (1980-2010) in a deluxe edition, 99 songs on 5 CDs, 3 DVDs with video clips, extra material , etc. Loquillo Rock & Roll Star 30 years / 1980-2010. He currently lives in San Sebastián (Basque Country). On December 3, 2010, Loquillo was sentenced to three months in prison, when he was found guilty of assaulting a man in a bar in the capital of Guipúzcoa. Currently, Loquillo is the host of a program entitled American Chopper. on the Discovery Max television channel. It shows the Teutul family of Orange County Choppers. As a curiosity, the nickname of Loquillo was put by the famous basketball player Epi, with whom he played in lower categories. During his time as a baloncest player, he was trained by one of the most awarded Spanish coaches in history, Aíto García Reneses.