UHF

UHF is a Portuguese rock band formed in the late 1970s in Almada by António Manuel Ribeiro (vocals, guitar and keyboard), Renato Gomes (guitar), Carlos Peres (bass) and Zé Carvalho (drums). They were the driving force behind the Portuguese rock boom of the early 1980s. At this time very few rock bands had success singing in Portuguese. UHF already had released their first single, "Jorge morreu" ("George died"), about a death by overdose, when Rui Veloso, considered by many people as "the father of Portuguese rock", released his monumental first album Ar de rock ("Looks like Rock", a pun on "hard rock", which is how it sounds in Portuguese). After Veloso's success, a second single, "Cavalos de corrida" ("Racing horses"), was released, followed by three very successful albums in Portugal: À flor da pele, Estou de passagem, and Persona non grata. The group has celebrated 35 years of existence in 2014, with the only member from the original formation being António Manuel Ribeiro, the leader and frontman of the band, and considered to be one of the best rock poets in the history of Portuguese Rock. History In 1976, while punk rock captivated England and the United States, Portugal sought to adjust to the newly gained freedom with the April revolution. Rock was seen by young people as a counterculture movement, an escape from the dictatorial principles of the Salazar regime. Rock was synonymous of freedom, a musical language without connection to the past. The UHF were among the first to quench an immense rock thirst in this new social and political reality. António Manuel Ribeiro (voice and guitar), Carlos Peres (bass), Alfredo Antunes (drums) and a Brazilian guitarist formed in 1976, in Almada, a cover band called Purple Legion that played on the dance circuit, of the time because the rock that was made in the world was little publicized in the press and the radio. At the end of 1977, the drummer Américo Manuel joined Carlos Peres and António M. Ribeiro and started the compositions of the author. They changed the name of the band to Flower of the Skin and later, already with Renato Gomes in the guitar, for UHF. The process of evolution of the name of the band was explained by the singer: