Gipsy Kings

Descended from a family of Spanish travellers who fled to Arles, France during the Spanish Revolution, the Reyes brothers (sons of flamenco great Jose Reyes) and their cousins the Baliardo brothers (sons of legendary guitarist Manitas de Plata) brought flamenco music to the masses in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming worldwide stars in the process. Originally known as Los Reyes, they started out busking and playing at weddings before their popularity led to high class parties in St. Tropez and a meeting with producer Claude Martinez. He encouraged them to loosen their strict traditional melodies and embrace a more accessible pop sound; which resulted in third album Gipsy Kings (1987) becoming a huge success across Europe and the Middle East before spending an incredible 40 weeks in the US charts. Their vibrant passion continued to shine on successful albums Mosaique (1989), Love And Libertre (1994) and Compas (1997) and the band's popularity grew when their cover of The Eagles' Hotel California was featured in the cult movie The Big Lebowski. They still perform today and can count Elton John and Eric Clapton as big fans.

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