Artist
Gnr > C

GNR (acronym for Grupo Novo Rock) is a Portuguese pop rock band, formed in Porto, in September 1980, by Alexandre Soares (vocals and guitar), Vitor Rua (guitar) and Tóli César Machado (drums). The group appeared in the period called "Portuguese rock boom", but the members of the band consider that they were at the margin of the phenomenon, because they broke barriers and created a new sound in Portugal. Currently the band consists of Tóli César M ... achado (guitar, keys and accordion), Jorge Romão (bass) and Rui Reininho (vocals). The musical style of the beginning of his career, evident in the singles "Portugal na CEE" and "Sê Um GNR", both from 1981, in which they had a broadly provocative orientation, can be classified as post punk. The use of the acronym GNR was controversial with the organization of the same name. With Rui Reininho's entry, still in 1981, the writing of the songs began to contain a refined humor and sarcasm, complemented by ingeniously stunning compositions, which became the band's brand image. Subsequently they explored experimental and avant-garde pop music in their first album, Independança (1982), which resulted in a failure in sales but with high praise from music critics. After some changes within the formation, they followed a trend mostly pop rock with emphasis on the albums Psicopátria (1986) and Valsa dos Detectives (1989) that won silver records. In the album In Vivo (1990) they exceeded 60 thousand copies sold, obtaining platinum, but it was with Rock in Rio Douro (1992) that they reached the height of their career collecting four platinum records and the feat of being the first Portuguese band to perform concerts that filled two football stadiums - Estádio José Alvalade (1992) and Estádio das Antas (1993). The best known themes are "Portugal na CEE", "Dunas", "Efectively", "Vídeo Maria", "Sangue Occulto", "Pronunciation of the North", "Vale Nunca", among others, included in the usual repertoire of concerts. They participated in events of musical relevance, such as Rock in Rio or Super Bock Super Rock, as well as the distinction on several occasions as one of the best national pop rock bands. In 2005, they obtained the recognition by being awarded the "Medal of Cultural Merit" from the hands of the President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio and, in 2016, they received the "SPA Medal of Honor" from the Portuguese Authors Society. In 2014 they became discographically independent with the creation of their own publisher. They carried out various social and philanthropic awareness actions. See more [+]