Originating from the ashes of Ulisses Cobarde and Os Heróis or Pine-Up Palhaço Atómico, Turbo Junkie were born in 1991 in Vila do Conde, formed by the brothers Simão (vocals), Paulo (guitar, vocals) and Domingos Praça (bass), accompanied by Luís Dio (drums) and Paulo Agra (guitar).
They were, in essence, one of the Portuguese revelation bands of the 90s and, over the years, managed to build a solid cult status. They were also one of the first national groups to defend, without hesitation, the option of singing in English. “It’s a question of aesthetics and feeling in doing things. The Portuguese language doesn’t have enough musicality. We have to lose these patriotic prejudices. We are citizens of the world and not of Portugal. The idea that we are Portuguese is retrograde.”
The group was never exactly innovative – because practically everything in their style has already been invented – but they were always competent. In this regard, Turbo Junkie has always been the best: “We want to make the best music that has ever been made. And that’s what happens: every time we create a song, we surprise ourselves, our skin gets goosebumps and that’s the best thing that can happen.”
They debuted at the Lisbon City Council Modern Music Competition held at Johnny Guitar and soon caught the interest of Aurora Pinheiro, who ended up securing the band’s management. They participated in the compilations “Distorção Caleidoscópica” (with the theme “Paraexcited Dreams”) “The T Secret Sessions” (with “The Last of The Lonesome Cowboys”); They made two videos for Latina Europa and released their first album with the Numérica label. The album was produced by the band and Daniel Lazarus, and mixed by Marston Bailey.
Insistently announced and which never saw the light of day was the edition of the tape “As Putas do Rock’n’Roll”, which was scheduled for release by EI Tatu. The name for this model was not chosen at random: “We are Rock’n’Roll whores, at least the only ones who admit it. Without prejudice. We are children of rock’n’roll, we are the generation that was born and grew up listening to rock, in other words, we are a privileged generation.”
After going through some changes in its formation, the band was now composed of Simão Praça (vocals), Paulo Praça (guitar and vocals), Nuno Almeida (drums), Joaquim Soares (bass), Renato Dias (guitar) and Susana Marques (vocals).
In 1995 they released the album “Junkie For Sale” and two years later “Used” was released, an album where they featured Viviane in a version of “Bonnie & Clyde” by Serge Gainsbourg. If, with the first album, they won the sympathy of the public and the press, in “Used” they explored new directions, allowing an almost rebirth of the group that then presented a new attitude and a lot of relaxation, thanks in large part to the presence of producer Marsten Bailey who encouraged the idea of mixing traditional instruments with rock structures.
The box set “Three, Two, One”, released in 1998, included the band’s first two albums and “Junkie Radio Sessions”, a live recording at Antena 3 with three original songs (“Nameless”, “Free as a Fucking Bird” and “Eye Believe”), versions of “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles and “She’s So Fine” by Jimi Hendrix, as well as a multimedia track with the music video for “Switch On” (honorable mention in the II Ovarvideo).
In 2000, the album “Turbojunkie” was released, which included the songs “Happy” and “Sun In My Face”, which were also released as a single. The album featured special appearances by Quico (loops, programming, ex-Poke and Salada de Frutas) and Elísio Donas (keyboardist for Ornatos Violeta).
