Forty-five years of work almost without rest and the loss of a son are some of the reasons that explain the fatigue of Manuel Martínez, iconic singer of Medina Azaharaand consequently, the withdrawal of this legendary Andalusian rock band. After more than four decades on the road, and three years after the tragic loss of Manuel Ángel Mart (estirpe singer, who died of cancer), the band announces that it will say goodbye to the stage in 2025 with a final tour titled ‘Hasta Siempre. ‘, which will be a tribute to all those who have accompanied them since their beginnings, covering the great successes that have forged their history.
It was the year 79 when five young members of a musical group called Retorno, Manuel Martínez (vocals), Miguel Galán (guitar), Manuel Salvador Molina (bassist), José Antonio Molina (drums) and Pablo Rabadán (keyboards), lovers of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Uriah Heep decided to create and compose songs so they could enjoy playing something of their own. Little by little they shared their musical concerns, until they achieved their own musical line that represented the most avant-garde and hard point of the brand new ‘Rock Andaluz’, the cultural movement that, at that time, moved the masses of young rebels against the established forms. and, fundamentally, thirsty for freedom.
In 1980 they managed to record their first album which, in the style of the time, bore the group’s name: Medina Azahara. This album contained a song, ‘Walking through the Mosque’, which from its native Córdoba spread throughout the country, until it became a true anthem of Andalusian sentiment. The success was almost instantaneous and, suddenly, the group of friends was forced to take on a professional career that, in just one year, made them travel around the map twice and, at the same time, compose songs for a new album. ‘La Esquina del Viento’ saw the light in ’81, following the line of success of the previous one, and then came ‘Andalucía’ in ’82, but at the same time that the Madrid scene began to take its first steps, the «Rock Andaluz » was sold out commercially. The result was a recording hiatus in which Medina remained active, tour after tour.
In 1986, the group decided to self-finance their fourth album, tired of waiting for the opportunity that never came. ‘Spanish Caravan’ marked the most difficult moment in the band’s history; It was the turn of escapes and resignations. Although Manuel Salvador and Pablo Rabadán had previously left the band, it was in 1986 when Miguel Galán left the band, and Pablo Rabadán returned again, along with the entry of a new guitarist, Paco Ventura.
It was in July 1989 when a renewed Medina Azahara contacted manager Javier Gálvez and, therefore, with the Avispa record company. In September 1989, recording began on the fifth album and first with Avispa, .’..En Al-hakim’. It was also the first album in which Carlos Martínez’s hand appeared in the production, as a support point for the search for a new sound.
After a year marked by work on the road, the seventh album, ‘Sin Tiempo’, would arrive, which already featured the participation of a new bassist, José Miguel Fernández, after Randy López, a bassist who had been there since Manuel, left the band. Salvador Molina left the training.
The year 2000 represented, among countless other things, the 20th Anniversary of Medina Azahara as a professional group. The album ‘XX’ presented 14 new songs, and the presentation in Madrid was recorded on video with all the luxury of technical means. At the end of May, Medina Azahara returns to the M-20 studios in Madrid, where, together with his usual producer, Carlos Martínez, they begin recording ‘Tierra de Libertad’.
In 2003 they published a new work called Aixa, with the collaboration of Antonio Orozco and the Córdoba Symphony Orchestra, and including a version of Scorpions, ‘Wind of Change’. In 2005, their latest work with the Avispa company, ‘La Estación de los Suenos’, was released, and just in 2006, coinciding with the group’s 25th anniversary, a compilation was released with the best of their repertoire and with the best images of their television performances. Medina Azahara leaves the Avispa company and joins Pias Record, where they begin recording their album ‘Se abre la puerta’, an authentic tribute to Andalusian rock with versions by Triana, Alameda and Medina Azahara themselves, along with collaborations from El Barrio and Josemi Carmona from Ketama. During the recording of this album, José Miguel Fernández leaves the band and Pepe Bao joins.
In 2009 they recorded their next work, ‘Origin and Legend’, and Pepe Bao left and Charli Rivera entered, taking over the bass. In 2012 they recorded the album called ‘La memoria perdida’, an album with the participation of David DeMaría and the Sevillian group Fondo Flamenco. In 2014 ‘Las Puertas del Cielo’ was released, an album that once again placed them in the orbit of the sales charts, in 2016 they published ‘Paraíso Prohibido’ and in 2018 ‘Trece Rosas’. After the pandemic they released a tribute album to Triana, ‘Llegó el día’, and their latest album is ‘El Sueño Eternal’, from 2023.
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