Manu Chao

Key facts and history

He grew up in the Paris suburbs of Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, surrounded by artists and intellectuals.^[1] The group split all proceeds seven ways, though Chao was the main songwriter.^[1] In 1992, Mano Negra performed in South American port cities from a stage built into a ship's hold.^[1] A year later, the band bought an old train and toured Colombia, playing to peasants, guerrillas and drug traffickers.^[1]

After the group disintegrated, Chao became seriously depressed.^[1] His solo album Clandestino was mainly recorded with a small portable studio he carried in his backpack.^[1] Born in Paris on 21 June 1961, Manu Chao's full name is Jose-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao.^[1] The album Próxima Estación: Esperanza, which followed Clandestino, came out in 2001.^[1]

What the cited sources add

Culshaw's 2007 profile notes that Chao's first solo album sold five million copies and that he has played to crowds of 100,000 in Mexico City.^[1] The same source describes Chao performing anonymously in South America, playing to striking dockers, students, and even mental patients.^[1] Culshaw reports that Chao once slept on the floor of a small studio in Paris when the author tried to meet him.^[1]