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Biografia : Interterror

While ignored in most of the written work about Spanish rock in the 80's, Interterror were still one of the most significant and interesting bands in Valencia's musical scene of that era. During the first years of the 80's, Interterror, along with Seguridad Social (which soon became famous in the Iberian peninsula) and other less fortunate bands like Ceremonia, Los Scooters, La Resistencia, Garage, Los Autenticos and Esgrima were part of the vanguard of the post-dictatorship Spanish guitar army, even though initially, they had a much punkier musical attitude then the other bands, including Seguridad Social. At the time in Valencia (situated in the centre of Spain's eastern coast), the only bands that seemed to have some future were those with synthesizers as the main focal point.

Interterror were formed in 1980 by a teenage guy named Willy (vocals) and some other fans of British punk, although it wouldn't be until November 1981 that the band was completely constituted. The lineup then included Victor (drums), Paco (bass) and Miguel (guitar). Soon they became known by their pounding sound and funny lyrics, even though their musical parameters later on moved towards a faster and cleaner rock sound, denouncing war and social ills.

When Interterror recorded their first 7" in 1983, the members were between 17 and 18 years old. The record was produced by the indie label RS Editora and included the tracks "Adiós Lili Marleen" and "Felices días en Auschwitz" ("Happy Days in Auschwitz"). That piece of vinyl soon sold out of it 1500 copies, much more than originally expected, but it still was not repressed. It soon became one of the most sought after releases of 80's Spanish music.

In 1984, Paco (whom his band's members referred to as the "infiltrated dwarf") decided to leave the group because of disagreements with the vocalist, and formed a more committed punk band called La Resistencia. His departure was a heavy blow for Interterror, as he was the one behind most of the band's repertoire. The remaining three soon found a replacement in Guillermo, from near Barcelona, who previously played bass for The Sprays, a relatively well-known power pop/mod band which recorded a 7" for the Flor Y Nata label in 1982.

The new lineup was well received live and started to gain national attention with their new sound, closer to power pop than punk, even though everybody remembered them from their version of the "Lily Marleen" tune, originally by Lale Andersen.

The 12" released at the beginning of 1985 was made up not of new material but of recordings made with their old bassist Paco, and was moderately successful in punk terms. But they still didn't achieve the attention they hoped for, without generating the interest needed for a major to pick them up. The members became tired of the band and broke up soon thereafter. Only recently, with the increasing interest in 80's Spanish punk (mostly in Spain itself and in Latin America), their out-of-print material and unreleased stuff became available.

Source : Federico