Sitiados

Os Sitiados were a Portuguese band from the 1990s, under the leadership of João Aguardela, known for songs such as Esta Vida de Marinheiro and Vamos ao Circo.

In 1987, José Resende (guitar), João Aguardela (vocals) and Mário Miranda (bass), all ex-Meteoros, joined drummer Fernando Fonseca to form the band Sitiados. From the outset, they sought to create a fusion between rock and traditional Portuguese music, in a similar way to the work of The Pogues, in Ireland.

They participate in the fifth Rock Rendez Vous competition where they qualify in 2nd place. With this classification they get a place in the compilation “Registos”, published by Dansa do Som with the theme “A Noite”.

Sandra Baptista joins the group to replace accordionist Manuel Machado. Also joining are Jorge Buco (mandolin) and ex-Clandestinos João Marques who replaces Mário Miranda. José Resende also started to collaborate only in the studio and in composition.

In 1992 they released their debut album, “Sitiados”, which was to be called “A Última Valsa”, as they thought that this would be the end of Sitiados. The theme “Vida de Marinheiro”, dedicated to Necas, drummer of Clandestinos, gave the album great success and it sold more than 40 thousand copies.

New changes to the composition, this time with the entry of João Marques (bass), João Cabrita (saxophone), Jorge Quadros (drums), Ani Fonseca (guitar and vocals) and Jorge Ribeiro (trombone).

On June 26, 1993, they opened the first edition of Portugal ao Vivo, at Estadio Jose de Alvalade, leaving more than 45 thousand people excited with their impressive energy and total dedication. The second album, “E Agora?!” is released in September 1993. The compilation “Johnny Guitar” is also released, which includes the theme “Marcha dos Electrodomésticos”, a version of “A Minha Sogra É um Boi” by Mata-Ratos.

In 1994, the band was part of the “Filhos da Madrugada” project in homage to José Afonso, with the version “A Formiga no Carreiro”. On June 30th, a concert was held at Estádio José Alvalade with the participation of Sitiados and the other bands present in this compilation.

That year, they also participated in the compilation “As Canções de António”, a tribute to António Variações, with “O Corpo É Que Paga”.

In 1995, the album “O Triunfo dos Electrodomésticos” was released. This includes a version of “Lá Isso É” written by Sérgio Godinho. However, this fell far short of the results obtained in previous works, going unnoticed by the public.

In 1996, they released their fourth album, again called “Sitiados”. This contains a version of “A Menina Yé Yé” by the group António Mafra. They also participate in the compilation of the Galician Television program “Xabarín” with “Aí Ven Ela”.

In 1999 they participated in the album “XX Anos XX Bandas”, a tribute to Xutos & Pontapés, with the song “P’ra Ti Maria”.

Former Censored Samuel Palitos joins the group. At this time they also changed labels, moving from BMG to Sony, where they released the album “Mata-me Além”, in 1999.

In 2000, the band stopped giving shows and disappeared from the music scene. The name of the project comes from a song by the band Mão Morta.

João Aguardela, leader of the band, passed away at the age of 39 on January 18, 2009 from cancer.

Six years later, on January 25, 2015, Fernando Fonseca (founding drummer) passed away at the age of 48, a victim of lymphoma.