{"id":9366,"date":"2026-03-12T20:37:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/gipsy-kings-interview\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T20:37:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:37:32","slug":"gipsy-kings-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/gipsy-kings-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Gipsy Kings Have Sold 25 Million Albums Since Leaving the Streets of Southern France, and a New Era Is Just Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/Gipsy_Kings.jpg\" width=\"1584\" height=\"1056\" alt=\"Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo. (Courtesy of Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo)\"><figcaption>Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo. (Courtesy of Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>As legend goes, there was a night in the late \u201980s <\/strong>when Princess Diana was hellbent on joining her friends Freddie Mercury, DJ and TV host Kenny Everett, and actress Cleo Rocos for a night out at the notorious London gay bar Royal Vauxhall Tavern.<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/mike-mccready-graphic-novel-album\/\">Mike McCready Mines The Many \u2018Seasons\u2019 Of Seattle Music<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/beabadoobee-the-marias-new-single\/\">beabadoobee Enlists The Mar\u00edas For New Single<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spinmagazine.com\/2026\/03\/john-lennon-yoko-ono-concerts-cinemas\/\">1972 John Lennon\/Yoko Ono Concerts Head To Cinemas<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Knowing she\u2019d need a good disguise, the group came up with a ruse to dress Lady Di in \u201cmale drag\u201d\u2014a camouflage jacket, leather cap, and a pair of aviator sunglasses. Surprisingly, it worked. And really, it\u2019s only because the friends had the gumption to hatch the idea after some cocktails and dancing to the vibrant flamenco-rumba of the Gipsy Kings and wanted to keep the party going.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"861\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-1290x861.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-656190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-1290x861.jpg 1290w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-340x227.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164-498x332.jpg 498w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-638499164.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Gipsy Kings in France, May 16, 1989. (Credit: Alain BENAINOUS\/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Whether <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/04\/28\/royal-family\/princess-diana-wore-male-drag-to-sneak-into-gay-bar-with-freddie-mercury\/\" target=\"_blank\">that story<\/a> is true or not, you\u2019d have to ask Rocos, who first shared details of the night in her 2013 biography. But what is for sure true is that the beloved royal really did love losing herself to the rhythm of legendary Gipsy Kings songs like \u201cBambol\u00e9o.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had heard through various sources that Lady Diana used to love dancing to Gipsy Kings,\u201d affirmed the band\u2019s manager Ray Levy. To this day, he still has a letter from Kensington Palace thanking him for sending over some CDs and saying how much the princess loved them.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just one of many fond memories Levy and band leader Tonino Baliardo bring up while discussing Gipsy Kings\u2019 near-50-year career and expressing how much there is still to come. On March 14, the legendary music group will kick off a U.S. tour followed by their new album <em>Historia <\/em>out May 15, the same day that Amazon Prime will debut the first-ever documentary on the band and their incredible story that begins in Arles, France in the 1970s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gipsy Kings were born as a family act looking to keep alive the musical traditions of their Spanish Romani roots, offering a combination of flamenco, rumba, pop, and salsa and Spanish\/Catalan\/French lyrics, often performed in the streets as a communal celebration. The earliest iteration began with a duo of cousins, Jos\u00e9 Reyes and Ricardo Baliardo (better known as Manitas de Plata), who were born into a nomadic caravan in Southern France after their parents fled Spain in the 1930s during the height of the Spanish Civil War.<\/p>\n<p>Over his career, de Plata would become a world-renowned guitar player whose praises were sung by everyone from John Steinbeck to Marlon Brando, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso. In fact, the Cubist visionary once drew on de Plata\u2019s guitar and immortalized the musician in one of his stylistic portraits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GypsyKingsHistoriaCOVER.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-656191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GypsyKingsHistoriaCOVER.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GypsyKingsHistoriaCOVER-340x340.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GypsyKingsHistoriaCOVER-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/GypsyKingsHistoriaCOVER-498x498.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d like to know where it is,\u201d joked Tonino Baliardo, speaking through a translator, about the influence his uncle had on him. \u201cHe was the original Gipsy King, taking our music to the world, and it was inspiring to see someone with just an acoustic guitar, getting so much attention. My uncle told me to just keep going, and that you do this for the love of the music itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soon, de Plata teamed up with his cousin Reyes who provided vocals and rhythmic palmas. Around the same time, Reyes began performing with his sons, Nicolas, Fran\u00e7ois, Andr\u00e9, Patcha\u00ef, and Pablo\u2014and when Reyes died in 1979, the sons believed the only way to carry on his legacy was to keep the act going. They invited their cousins Diego, Paco, and Tonino into the fold and called themselves the Gipsy Kings. In the beginning, the troupe traveled around the south of France, packing up their instruments to serenade revelers at restaurants, weddings, and beaches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople knew that when we would grab our guitars, that meant we would start singing. And they\u2019d all say, you\u2019ve got to hear them,\u201d recalled Baliardo.<\/p>\n<p>Summers were especially important, a time when Provence and the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur region would be crawling with tourists and celebrities.<\/p>\n<p>Because it wasn\u2019t just Picasso and Diana Spencer who loved the music of the Gipsy Kings. There was also Brigitte Bardot. The French icon fell in love with the act when she saw them in Saint-Tropez in the \u201980s and offered an invitation to play her birthday party where the guests were none other than Charlie Chaplin, Tony Curtis, and Roman Polanski.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe met us when we weren\u2019t known at all,\u201d said Baliardo. \u201cWe were just in Saint-Tropez, hanging around, and she would invite us to almost all her parties because she loved the music so much. It was a really special connection.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"860\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-1290x860.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-656327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-1290x860.jpg 1290w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-340x227.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721-498x332.jpg 498w, https:\/\/static.spinmagazine.com\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_8721.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tonino Baliardo. (Courtesy of Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Levy jumped in to add that there is a special part in the documentary about this relationship, which inspired the Gipsy Kings\u2019 1982 song \u201cLa Dona,\u201d that translates to \u201cthe lady.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t want to give it away, but there is a slice about Brigitte and Tonino and it\u2019s great. It\u2019s really fascinating,\u201d he teased.<\/p>\n<p>When Levy discovered the act, they were still living in a caravan underneath a motorway, but he believed in them and had a \u201cgut feeling\u201d he could bring the act to a global stage. It happened by 1987 with Gipsy Kings\u2019 self-titled third album that featured songs like \u201cBambol\u00e9o\u201d and \u201cDjobi Djoba\u201d and was certified gold in numerous countries. Not only France but also the U.K. and America (where it was released a year later); the album also spent 40 weeks on the Billboard<em> <\/em>200, a feat for a Spanish-language album at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, nowadays, Latin music is dominating the charts, with acts like Gipsy Kings crashing the gates. \u201cI think and hope that Gipsy Kings opened the doors to Spanish music being on the radio,\u201d said Baliardo. \u201cWhen we started in the music industry years ago, that wasn\u2019t happening. And now it\u2019s very present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we first released \u2018Bambol\u00e9o\u2019 many years ago, it took a year to get one play on BBC Radio,\u201d Levy recalled. \u201cThey said, \u2018We will never play this. What are they singing about? Who are these guys? We only play English lyrics.\u2019 It was frowned upon, but it happened. And then the whole world came around to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Levy could sense it when Gipsy Kings played London\u2019s Royal Albert Hall for the first time in 1989 and Eric Clapton and George Michael showed up. \u201cIt was a who\u2019s who. It still is,\u201d said Levy. Ever since, Gipsy Kings have racked up a long list of prolific admirers, sold 25 million albums, been nominated for eight Grammys (winning one), had their flamenco covers of the Eagles and Randy Newman appear in Hollywood movies, and enjoyed sold-out tours around the world including a lauded 2024 appearance at Glastonbury Festival for 10,000 eager fans. \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible journey,\u201d added Levy. \u201cBut they\u2019re still the same guys that are here now. We\u2019re all one big family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is a thread that continues on the band\u2019s latest album, <em>Historia<\/em>, a celebration of the time and place and people that inspired the group long ago\u2014whether it\u2019s the buoyant \u201cEl Campo\u201d that celebrates Romani life or the upbeat dance number \u201cSe\u00f1orita\u201d about the innocence of children. That\u2019s something Baliardo witnessed with his own sons when they were little; now grown, they play alongside their father in the current lineup of the Gipsy Kings, and he knows the group\u2019s legacy is safe in their hands for the day when he\u2019s not here. \u201cThey embody gypsy music and know what it\u2019s all about,\u201d said Baliardo.<\/p>\n<p>Loss was something he had to think about when making <em>Historia; <\/em>his brother, Paco, passed away in April 2025, and the guitar instrumental \u201cCielo\u201d was written in his memory. \u201cWhen my brother was in the hospital, sick, I just started playing and that\u2019s what came out,\u201d said Baliardo. \u201cIt came from the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s the emotional Spanish guitar song \u201cLa Guerra\u201d that really represents what Gipsy Kings is about to the rest of the world. \u201cIt\u2019s a song about peace with all the wars happening around us,\u201d said Baliardo, proud that his music can bring so many people together, regardless of language or political barriers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe play from a place of emotion, we don\u2019t overthink it,\u201d said Baliardo. \u201cAnd I think that translates and talks to many generations of people that maybe don\u2019t have the same opinions, or whatever it may be. We have always been about unity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This interview was conducted with a translator, and some adjustments have been made for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo. (Courtesy of Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo) As legend goes, there was a night in the late \u201980s when Princess Diana was hellbent on joining&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,5593,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-gipsy-kings","category-pushly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}