Mano Negra was a French/Spanish/Portuguese band fronted by Manu Chao, born in Paris, France to Spanish parents. The band was founded in 1987 by Manu, his brother Antoine, and his cousin Santiago Casiriego. It split circa 1995, but many members had already left in 1992.
The band was formed from the fusion of 2 smallers bands, The Hot Pants and the Casse-pieds.
Mano Negra mixed a number of styles: straight rock (with a lead guitar), latin music (with a brass section), punk (influenced by The Clash). Their songs often mixed French, Spanish and English lyrics.
Frontman Manu Chao later reappeared as as the lead in Radio Bemba Sound System to record their eponymous 2002 live album. He has also released four solo albums, Clandestino and Proxima Estacion: Esperanza in 1998 and 2002,Siberie M’Etait Conteee in 2005 and La Radiolina in 2007.
Former band member Tom Darnal was one of the founders of the band P18
About name
La Mano Negra (“The Black Hand”) was a supposed anarchist organization in Andalucía, Spain, accused of many terrorist acts. Although, in latter studies, its existence was found unlikely and was probably an excuse used by the government under Sagasta to oppress anarchist activity in southern Spain.