Lio, whose real name is Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos (and yes, just that…), is a Belgian-Portuguese singer, whose particularity, apart from being a singer, is that she comes from one of the largest families of the Portuguese aristocracy. The daughter of a Portuguese officer, she arrived in Charleroi, Belgium in 1968 after her parents' divorce. It was in 1979 that she adopted this patronymic of "Lio" in reference to the comic strip "Barbarella" (the little brunette girl who carries with her everywhere her images which in her eyes are vital to her), adopting at the same time an attitude and a look bordering on provocation. The same year, the year of her 18th birthday, released the huge Single "Banana split", with a double meaning more than ambiguous, which will propel her at the speed of light on the front of the stage and at the peaks parade hits. She will sell a whopping 2,000,000 million copies! Fate in stride in 1980 "Amoureux solitaires and "Amicalement votre' necessarily more modest success. Follow-up to "Mona Lisa" in 1982, still with relative success. Suddenly unavoidable, she took part in Etienne Daho's Single "Week end à Rome", recorded a somewhat crazy but interesting duet with Jacky in 1984, star presenter at that time. And 1986 will be the year for her of the ultimate consecration thanks to the release of the album "Pop model", produced by Alain Chamfort her companion at the time, and which contains the 3 Single hits "Les brunes ne comptes pas pour des prunes","Fallait pas commencer" and "Je casse tout ce que je touche". But the years go by without looking alike…. The year 1987 saw her create controversy when she performed 6 months pregnant at the Olympia. Then in 1988, she posed in Lui and Playboy, accentuating the effect of discomfort. Uneasiness which will stop her in her meteoric rise. The Single "Seules les filles pleurent" released in 1988 will be her last major achievement, at least on a musical level. To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
• Le banana split 1979
80s Decade :
• Amoureux solitaires 1980
• Sage comme une image 1980
• Amicalement votre 1981
• Mona lisa 1982
• Baby Lou 1982
• Zip a doo wah 1983
• La reine des pommes 1984
• Tétéou 1984
• Les brunes comptent pas pour des prunes 1986
• Fallait pas commencer 1986
• Je casse tout ce que je touche 1987
• Pop song 1987
• Seules les filles pleurent 1988
• Tu es formidable 1989
90s Decade :
• Girl from Ipanema 1990
• L'autre joue 1991
• Tristeza 1996
• Idylle à Verz Cruz 1996
2000s Decade :
• Les feuilles mortes 2000
• Dites au prince Charmant 2006
• Le même sourire 2006
• Je ne veux que ton bien 2009
• Ta cervelle est en grève mais ta grande gueule fait des heures sup' 2009
• La veille de ma naissance 2009
• Je ne suis pas encore prête 2009
2010s Decade :
• Poupée pop 2014
• E doce morrer no mar 2018
2020s Decade :
• Basta 2020
Tracks :
1979 ... it will be enough of a single title, THIS title, to make her One Shot into the musical legend of the XXth century. This title will undoubtedly remain as one of the biggest Dance hits of the decade on the French side. MAS-TER-FUL !
1980 ... she repeats with a title of certain quality but difficult to compete with the previous road roller as the bar is high ...
1980 ... and it is not this title there, despite a certain quality, which will compete with the 'Banana split'. But hey, for a start, there's worse as they say !
1980 ... after a career start to say the least shattering, the most was to confirm all the hopes placed in her. And my faith, for the moment, she confirms that she is not there by chance
1982 ... the transition. No more young brainless evaporated, make way for the femme fatale. A necessary turn that will allow her to continue to unfold quietly
1982 ... a nice title with finesse which shows that she can also play in the Intimist category. Not really her business but she can ...
1983 ... we suspected that the 'posed' Lio was not going to last. It was obvious that her explosive temper was not going to be satisfied for long with this sweet break ...
1984 ... suddenly back in the Intimist area with a nice song unfortunately a little too marshmallow to really catch the audience ... But that will change !
1984 ... the nice crazy duo which partly revives a career that is somewhat stopped. A slightly crazy title but with formidable efficiency !
1986 ... the metamorphosis, Lio, season 2 ! She signs here a HUGE title which relaunchingly revives her career and allows her to come back into contact with the best. Jackpot !
1986 ... a HUGE year where everything succeeds ! She reoffends directly in stride with this new hit which makes her essential again
1987 ... the pass of 3 ! Third top hit which confirms that she should not be underestimated ...
1987 ... a playful, light and airy title as she knows how to do it so well. Nothing extraordinary but a good job !
1988 ... another nice title with finesse that works my faith very well. After almost a decade at the top, she shows once again that nothing is ever finished ...
1989 ... an end of decade which sees her disappear little by little from the radars but she resists nevertheless. The proof with this title !
1990 ... when Lio does luxury cover, extremely rare. She dares to take up here a monument of bossa nova, the famous "A garota de Ipanema" interpreted for the first time by Pery Ribeiro in 1962. And my faith, in Eurodance version, the result is quite good
1991 ... a decade in the 90s that saw her completely transform and leave in much darker registers. Daring bet and above all suicidal bet ...
1996 ... a failed decade which sees her gradually die out. Few titles and sounds that de facto marginalize her. Banana is over ...
1996... the adventure continues all the same, but far from rhinestones and sequins. We're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind...
2000...here she takes us back to the old French standards of past years. It starts with a good feeling but her revisited version of 'Les feuilles mortes' will not remain as the best known, that's clear...
2006...we will lose sight of her for almost 6 years and here she is back in this year 2006 in a form that we will qualify as certain. Certain but not sufficient to bring her back to the forefront...
2006...it's clear that it's been a long time since she has been among the front runners, but what she continues to offer is far from being ridiculous. We take, we take...
2009...an end to the 2000s that saw her in great shape, to say the least. Her association with the Belgians of Phantom will work wonders...
2009...the titles are somewhat crazy to say the least, but of a certain quality. We can only rejoice in this sudden return to grace of the singer…
2009...an album of impressive overall quality which allows her an unexpected enhancement. Like it wasn't enough...
2009...everything works perfectly, the style as well as the sound. Frankly a success that this vintage opus 2009 !
2014...an introspective song in the form of a career review. What should we deduce, what should we find there, only her can answer this question...
2018...the art of going from one extreme to another. We are poles apart from the previous title and the shock is violent to say the least. But with her, nothing surprising as always...
2020...and here she is again ! She will go all the way and it doesn't matter whether the titles released are successful or not. With her, you have to know, nothing is ever over !
Wiki :
Facebook Page :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
1996... the adventure continues all the same, but far from rhinestones and sequins. We're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind...