Café Bagdad

With a name taken from the 1987 German film directed by Percy Adlon, the Café Bagdad project was formed in Lisbon in 1990, with a view to participating in the 1st Modern Music Competition of the Lisbon City Council, consisting of Sofia (voice), Ricardo (guitar) and later Hernâni (bass, ex-K4 Quadrado Azul) and Paulo Neto (drums, ex-Essa Entente). They recorded a model that was circulated by publishers and radio but without any success.

Initially they practiced a more pop sound sung in Portuguese which, over time, they hardened, starting to sing only in English.

Live, they played interesting versions of “I Wanna be Sedated” by the Ramones, “Get It On” by T.Rex and “Suffragette City” by Bowie”, revealing their primary influences.

They were somewhat unfairly accused of being a band with a sound too close to that of Rádio Macau, solely and exclusively because Ricardo was Xana’s brother.

They included a song on the “100%” compilation by Música Alternativa/Antena 3 in 1995 and disappeared just as they had appeared, in silence and without fuss.