Xutos & Pontapés (PT)

About

Also known as: Xutos e Pontapés, Xutos o Pontapés

Few Portuguese rock bands have the staying power of Xutos & Pontapés. Founded in Lisbon in 1978, they built their reputation the hard way, playing live almost every night until crowds started showing up in serious numbers. By 1987, their third album Circo de Feras had gone gold in Portugal and a six month tour closed out with 6,000 people packed into the Belenenses Pavilion. The band's name, by the way, translates roughly as 'kicks', though one half of it doubles as slang for a heroin injection. Their sound sits somewhere across new wave, punk rock and pop rock, and their longevity is remarkable given the internal shake ups along the way. Gui briefly left in the early nineties, finances got tight, and they still came back to sell out the Coliseu dos Porto for their 15th anniversary. They have also branched out beyond records, scoring soundtracks for two films by director Joaquim Leitão. For their 20th anniversary, twenty of Portugal's best known acts recorded covers of their songs, which says a lot about where they stand in the country's musical landscape.