Initially created in 1979 as a trio called Dia d’Água, formed by Lena d’Afgua (voice), Luís Pedro Fonseca (keys, ex-Chinchilas) and Zé da Ponte (bass, ex-Homo Sapiens) they recorded a children’s album entitled “What is the Thing? What is It?”
In September 1980, they changed the name of the project and founded Salada de Frutas, immediately releasing the album “Sem Açúcar”, released on Rossil, an album with a sound close to the 60s and appealing to a certain ecological taste avant la lettre, which represented, more or less, the full survival of the freak culture of the Woodstock decade in Portugal in the 1980s.
Keyboardist and main composer of the group, Luís Pedro came from Chinchilas. Rise and Fall or Avante Robot! are two possible designations for the band’s sweet little year 1981. At the beginning of the year, the original trio abandoned the initial decision to make Salada a small formation to include Guilherme Inês (drums) and Zé Carrapa (guitar).
Along the way, Luís Pedro Fonseca and Zé da Ponte had become responsible for the national repertoire of a new label, Edisom, for which the group’s second album would be recorded. During the year, Salada released “Robot”, a very popular new wave single. Despite the «technological» atmosphere of the music clashing with the dietary and sixties flavor of the debut album, the album sold more than 30 thousand copies, a sensation for a Portuguese group at the time and once and for all popularized the image of Salada and Lena d’Água .
In July, it is known that the second album will be recorded in September at the studios in Hilversum, in the Netherlands, where the Police had recorded Zenyatta Mondatta. However, Lena d’Água and Luís Pedro Fonseca would not travel to the Netherlands, nor would some of the songs already written by the keyboardist for the album be recorded there, such as «Olhos d’Água» and «Tanahora», this one with lyrics by the singer.
In September there was, indeed, a real coup d’état in the band that split Salada de Frutas in two. It all happened at the Festa do Avante!, in Alto da Ajuda. After the group’s performance, Luís Pedro Fonseca was informed by the three other instrumentalists that Lena d’Agua had been expelled, following a majority decision involving only one of the three founders, Zé da Ponte. Luís Pedro da Fonseca, obviously, also leaves.
The varnish cracks once and for all. Lena d’Água accuses her former group mates of machismo. To complete the coup, Zé Nabo, then bassist for Banda Sonora de Rui Veloso, is hired to play Salada de Frutas at the very same Festa do Avante! Replacing Lena d’Agua was Carlos Pereira, the former lead singer of Chinchilas, who had since retired from music. For the keys comes Quico. The dust from the controversy had yet to dissipate and the five Saladas were already leaving for Holland.
At the end of the year, they were back with a new album: Se Cá Nevasse, executive produced by Ton van der Bremmer. The album is criticized for the group’s attempt to sound “à la Police”. In 1982, Salada de Frutas recorded their third album, “Crime Perfeito”, again at Edisom, where they exchanged songs with immediate appeal for a more elaborate and instrumental sound, where they could explore their virtuosity.
The public reacts badly to the album, the concerts don’t go well and the band breaks up.
