Miguel Mateos, the rocker who opened for Queen, sold records and was a pioneer of “rock in your language”, turns 70

This Friday, January 26, the musician turns 70 Miguel Mateos. His career is full of successes and challenges that seemed impossible to achieve, but which he managed to complete perseverance and talent.

Although early in Argentine rock he joined a group called Cristal (they played at the Pinap Festival in 1969), his successful career began in 1981, when he played as the opening act for Queen in Vélez and only four years later he had the same audience numbers in four of his shows at Luna Park.

With the group’s first albums Zaz He had big hits like It’s for you, A little satisfaction, Eggs in the kitchen, A cat in the city, I have to stop AND Cheer up.

Once the national territory has been conquered, He wanted to play in the United States and Latin America and became a pioneer. He focuses heavily on an international level sound, records in the United States and settles in Los Angeles to finalize his arrival in the North American market.

In this section, his achievements were the themes When you grow up, MY shadow on the wall, it’s so easy to break a heart and the Cars-style ballad Only in America.

On that trip he discovered that the target was not the Saxon public, but the immense Latin population, and In Mexico their albums were released with the slogan “Rock in your language”which was a revolution and a sales frenzy.

Solo and classical

Since then, Miguel Mateos – soloist since 1990 – has given rise to a vast discography which he usually presents live with performances throughout the American continent. His fans listen attentively to the new songs and explode with fervor to the old hits.

In Argentina he once again easily filled the Luna Park stadium and emblematic places such as Obras and the Gran Rex theater.

At the moment He has had a work under his arm for more than a year, ready but not yet registered. He had already teased a song in February 2022, when he was invited to play at the Teatro Colón.

The recording of that concert became the album almost by accident Symphony by Miguel Mateos and now he is touring the country, playing with local orchestras and achieving enormous success.

Just a couple of months ago a biography is out by Miguel Mateos called The boss, written by rock journalist Gustavo Bove. It is an in-depth investigation of a fascinating career, full of challenges and adversities, triumphs and even some failure or frustration. It includes dozens of interviews and reaffirms Mateos’ pioneering role.

A debut in Vélez with Queen

Queen’s shows at the Vélez stadium in Buenos Aires had as their opening act the Zas, the group led by Miguel Mateos until then quite unknown.

The story is this Miguel had sent a demo as if someone threw a bottle into the sea. “I really don’t know if it mattered. “We won a competition for new bands and that’s why we supported Queen,” once confessed the musician whose project set a historic sales record with his album. living rocks.

In 1981 Zas was basically a family couple consisting of Miguel Mateos and his brother Alejandro. Keyboards, vocals and drums. They couldn’t imagine sharing the stage with the super band that came to Argentina to inaugurate a new market, riding the album. The game.

When they elected him, Zas was simply an interesting project, who hadn’t released a single album. The problem is that it was a protogroup not yet fully formed and the news led them hastily to look for a guitarist and bassist.

“I remember? I remember I was shit in my pants! My brother and I played in bars or pubs for 24 deaf people and playing for 50 thousand people was a big challenge, we were in a panic,” Miguel said in an interview in Mexico.

Mateos, as part of a competition, had sent a TDK with a demo to the production company that brought Queen. And they chose them. “The only one I had contact with – continued Mateos – was Brian May, the guitarist. I still have a penny, a coin with which I played certain solos. An exchange of words and that was it, I left there with the conviction that I would be a musician.”

How did they receive them? The memories aren’t the best. Obviously no one had them and since Zas’s album debut was still almost a year away, indifference was the outfit that best suited him. “And then… we weren’t received very well and when we finished people didn’t even applaud. They didn’t know our songs, we hadn’t recorded anything.”

Freedom, credit limit and credit

“This is an interesting time in my career and my life, and also very prolific,” Miguel said during a 2023 speech in his historic living room and studio in Liniers. He knows that there is a young audience that is fascinated by the artists of the 80s and that he also has unconditional fans who joined at different points in their careers.

“It’s something that happens on a continental level,” he explains, “and not just in Argentina. It’s a strange thing. Luckily I still have a formidable band that makes me a great support, and I have been playing with my brother Alejandro for 43 years. I still feel the same excitement live and we keep rocking that rock and roll, there’s no going back. And if you want Mateos’ best hits, we’ll give them to you, and if you want Mateos Sinfónico too. And at some point I will have to incorporate the Mateos Opera option.”

-Can you specify a moment when you realized you were a classic?

-I’m going to make a mistake: recently, for my wife’s birthday, August 17, we spent three days in Bariloche and while we were there she made the same comment to me. “Don’t you realize you’re already a classic?”

It was born because I asked him what repertoire to do in shows with provincial orchestras, if I play this or remove that, if I have to play the entire Colón album or not. Because I have tribulations like every neighbor’s son! And he said to me: “You have hits, you are a classic, you can do whatever you want.” Obviously I didn’t give him the ball. (laughs) But yes, I have that freedom, that ceiling, that credit.