Born in 1960 in Basel, Switzerland, to a Swiss father and Italian mother, she moved to Porto in 1971.
Still a student at Colégio Alemão, she meets José Calvário at Lisbon Airport to whom she reveals that she loved to sing. She is invited by the maestro to audition. On that day she would record the three themes of the album “Hoje Há Conquinhas Amanhã, Não Sabe” by Banda do Casaco.
In 1978 she achieved great success with the single “Põe os Teus Braços à Volta de Mim”. The following year, she takes second place at the Festival da Canção with “Eu Só Quero”.
In the summer of 1979, the album “Video” is recorded in Zurich. The first single is “Amor É Mais” but the most popular Gabriela Schaaf song was “Homem Very Hot”.
After the Song Festival, the opportunity arose to leave Portugal. In this decision making, she also weighed some disenchantment with the artistic environment and the desire to travel. She will live in Zurich, Switzerland, where she does amateur theater, works in advertising and does translations.
After some adventures in the Caribbean, she goes to New York. To survive, she teaches Portuguese and German. She takes the opportunity to take singing and dancing lessons, including a jam-session with pianist Peter Allen.
The album “Outra Vez” was recorded in New York, in June 1982. The album was produced by Jerry Marotta and Nuno Rodrigues.
She returns to Portugal in 1985. Despite wanting to record a new album and give shows, she cherished the desire to dedicate herself more seriously to the world of fashion, an activity that fascinated her.
She performs at the 1986 Festival da Canção where she interprets the theme “Cinza e Mel”. In November of that year, a maxi-single was released with the themes “Only a Fool” and “Same Mistake”. This album was recorded at Landsdown Studios in Bath, a small town west of London.
In 1988 she returned to Zurich where she still lives.
In 1997, the album “Põe os Teus Abraços à Volta de Mim” is released in the Caravela series, which includes songs recorded between 1978 and 1982.
Another record I bought on the release date (Video – Gabriela Schaaf) and which is now a rarity and has never been reissued. This debut album is the first major demonstration of the genius of the duo António A. Pinho/Nuno Rodrigues as writers of pop songs, working alongside Banda do Casaco. It has a fantastic disco theme (“O Amor é Mais”), very simple songs, new wave tics, bossa nova… And the unmistakable voice of Gabriela Schaaf, of whom I am still a fan and who, unfortunately, never recorded anything again from 1986. Here, he could also have chosen the singles “Teu Ponto Final”, by Lara Li, or “Qualquer Dia, Quem Diria”, by Concha – two other examples of Pinho/Rodrigues art in the same year.
Rodrigo Affreixo in statements to Público (2002) about the “SuperGalo” party
DISCOGRAPHY
UK / EN
Put Your Arms Around Me/Cai Boca Cai Beijo (Single, Decca, 1978)
I Just Want (Single, Decca, 1979)
Video, (LP, EMI, 1979)
O Amor é Mais (Single, EMI, 1979)
Very Hot Man (Single, EMI, 1980)
Another Time (LP, EMI, 1982)
Take Me To The Movies/Taxi Girl Of My Heart (Single, EMI, 1982)
Only a Fool (Maxi, Polygram, 1986)
Put Your Arms Around Me – Caravela Collection (Compilation, EMI, 1997)
PT / BR
Põe os Teus Braços à Volta de Mim/Cai Boca Cai Beijo (Single, Decca, 1978)
Eu Só Quero (Single, Decca, 1979)
Video, (LP, EMI, 1979)
O Amor é Mais (Single, EMI, 1979)
Homem Muito Brasa (Single, EMI, 1980)
Outra Vez (LP, EMI, 1982)
Leva-me Ao Cinema/Taxi Girl do Meu Coração (Single, EMI, 1982)
Only a Fool (Máxi, Polygram, 1986)
Põe os Teus Braços à Volta de Mim – Colecção Caravela (Compilação, EMI, 1997)
ON THE TRAIL OF…
She has a production company, “Look and Listen” and sells her voice to radio and television. In 1998 she revealed to the column “What is Made of?” from the newspaper “O Independente” who were preparing an album to be released in Portugal.
