Gustavo Ceratithe Argentine musician who achieved international recognition for being the leader of Soda Stereo —and later, with a distinguished solo career—, would have turned 65 this August 11. Son of Lilian Clarke and Juan José Cerati, he was born in 1959 in the City of Buenos Aires. At the age of nine he began to study guitar and, at twelve, he formed his first band with which he performed at private parties and school events.
At the age of 20, he was already playing almost every night at the El arca de Noé cabaret, with the group Savagein which two English girls sang that they did covers and they improvised songs. Cerati composed and, at the same time, joined the group TricycleWhen the Falklands War began, the English returned to their country.
“Oh, baby, how are you going to do it?”, a song by Tricyclewas often heard on “El tren fantasma”, Daniel Morano’s program on Radio Rivadavia. “It was Gustavo’s favorite song, his musical school since his military service, when he listened to it on a portable radio during the endless nights on duty,” say Laura Ramos and Cynthia Lejbowicz in the now emblematic book Hearts on fire. Stories of Argentine rock in the 80s.
In 1979, Cerati had met Hector “Zeta” Bosio at the University of Salvador (USAL) –where they both studied Advertising– and with whom, three years later, he would form Soda Stereo after adding to Charly Alberti on drums. Before forming a trio, they tried out different formations through which they passed Richard Coleman, Daniel Melero y Andres Calamaroamong other musicians.
Soda Stereo burst onto the scene under in the eighties, performing in iconic venues of the time such as Café Einsten and the Stud Free Pub, where bands such as Sumo and Los Twist played.
Gustavo Cerati, Charly Alberti and “Zeta” Bosio
Such was its impact that, in 1984, the band released their first self-titled album. with the artistic production of Federico Moura, leader of the legendary VirusThat same year, Moura performed live at the end of that same year at the Astros Theater.
The disk Nothing Personal (1985) was the next, which had its official presentation at the Stadium WorksWith four concerts that brought together 16,000 people, he quickly achieved a sales record that was awarded with a gold record and another platinum record.
“Employed in a biochemistry laboratory, (…) Cerati began to think that he was not going to continue studying: music, what mattered most to him, was beginning to take up a lot of time in his life. By then the trio, girlfriends and friends went out in groups and one of the favorite programs consisted of going dancing at Fire, a trendy discotheque where Soda Stereo’s songs were played for the first time,” Ramos and Lejbowicz continue the story in Hearts on fire.
After the release of his third album Signs (1986), in which Fabián Von Quintiero, Richard Coleman and Celsa Mel Gowland participated, the band toured the main cities of Latin America, which would open the doors of the Latin American market to national rock. Soda Stereo was so well received that, in 1987, the group toured Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Mexico. All of these performances were recorded on the live album White Noise (1987).
Puff. Photo: Gaby Herbstein
The following year the band recorded the album Double Life in New York with the artistic production of Carlos Alomarwho worked with stars such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop y Paul Mc Cartneyamong others. The plaque was presented at the Obras Stadium, attended by 25,000 people, and later at the mass event at the “Three Days Festival for Democracy” in front of 150,000 spectators.
In early 1990, the band performed for the first time in a football stadium in Argentina: in Velez Sarsfield with the English duo Tears For Fears in front of 32,000 people.
He also recorded that year Animal Song with the conceptual contribution of Daniel Meleroand the participation of Andrea Alvarez y Tweety Gonzalezwhich meant the opening to the Spanish market with their subsequent shows in the cities of Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. The “Animal Tour” was a marathon, including thirty cities in Argentina, among them some where no important band had ever performed before. The high point of the tour was their return to the Vélez Sarsfield stadium in front of 40,000 people.
In 1992 Gustavo Cerati edited Holy Colors next to Daniel Meleroin addition to recording Dynamo (1992) con Soda Stereowhich was presented for six days at the Stadium Works.
In January 1993 the group embarked on its sixth tour Latin American. He visited Mexico, Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela. And, at the end of that same year, the book was published Promise Zone (1993): a compilation of classic songs from the band with a bonus track from an unreleased song that gave the album its title.
One year later, Gustavo Cerati released his first solo album, Yellow Lovewhich was recorded in Chile and Buenos Aires with the participation of Zeta Bosio. In 1995 the group returned to the scene with the release of Stereo Dream (1995) which was presented in the theater Gran Rex and in a free recital for the celebration of the 113th anniversary of the city of La Plata: it brought together 200,000 people.
During a break from the band, Gustavo Cerati put together an electronic project called Plan V together with Chilean musicians Andres Bucci, Guillermo Ugarte y Christian PowditchWith them he recorded the albums Plan V (1996) y Plan Black V Dog (1998).
On May 1, 1997, Soda Stereo confirmed the rumors of separation. To say goodbye, the band organized a tour through Mexico, Venezuela and Chile, and the historic concert on September 20 at the Estadio de River Plate in front of more than 70,000 people. There, Cerati closed the show with the phrase: “Thank you so much!”The show was immortalized on a double album titled The last concert A and B (1997).
Since then, Gustavo Cerati developed his solo stage recording the albums Puff (1999), It’s always today (2002), Here we go (2006) y Natural force (2009).
In 2001 he had recorded 11 Symphonic Episodesa live album accompanied by a 43-piece orchestra. In 2007, he interrupted his work as a soloist to participate with Soda Stereo on the tour You will see me returnwhich led the group to give 22 concerts in nine countries (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, United States, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Peru) and the live album that was released in 2008.
While giving a concert in Caracas, Venezuela, Cerati suffered a stroke in the early hours of Sunday, May 16, 2010. After being transferred to our country, he remained hospitalized until his death on September 4, 2014.
Fuentes: Official website of Gustavo Cerati and “Hearts on Fire. Stories of Argentine Rock in the 80s” (new edition), by Laura Ramos and Cynthia Lejbowicz. Aguilar. Buenos Aires. 2016.
Cover image: Gustavo Cerati, dressed as a “prince” by designer Pablo Ramírez, for his symphonic concert in August 2001, at the Teatro Avenida. Source: Gustavo Cerati’s official website.
