Artist: Formula V
LP: 7" single
After spending a couple of hours in awe while roaming in and around what I'm sure is one of the most magnificent churches on the planet...
...with a guided audio tour provided by a lovely woman named Maria...
...I discovered my cell phone was dead from taking too many pictures. I figured "first things first," so I got some ice cream. I then set out with my photo-copied Google maps and no modern technological navigation device in hopes of making my way through a large and unfamiliar city to find some record stores. My maps weren't actually so bad, and I was able to locate Disco 100 on Carrer de l'Escovial. It's one of several record stores in the northern section of the city, near La Sagrada Familia.
[ Disco 100 — Barcelona, Spain ]
The thrill of finding this retail needle in an ancient haystack of a city was slightly diminished when it turned out they only sold new vinyl and CDs. Undaunted, I went in search of Carrer de Ramón y Cajal, the street a few blocks away where I hoped to find Vinil Vintage. A store with a name like that simply must sell used vinyl, right? I managed to find Ramón y Cajal, and as I strolled its narrow sidewalk, I passed by a small and neat-looking shop with some groovy music wafting through its open door.
The place was called Novecento Música i Llibres and it's fantastic! Not only do they peddle Llibres, but they've got lots of bins of used Música too! By the time I finished rummaging, I ended up with a big stack of interesting-looking 45s (I tended to focus on singles on this trip, since they're easier to carry back on the plane and because if you end up with a dud you only have to suffer through two songs instead of twelve). The friendly proprietor offered to play records for me to help me reduce my risk.
I was especially curious about a group called Formula V, since I'd found six singles by them there. They looked pretty nifty, but you never can be sure. I didn't want to buy all six and then have them end up sounding like The Everly Brothers, but I didn't want to buy only one and then later discover they're dynamite! Knowing me, I'd end up booking a flight back to Barcelona to pick up the other five.
The fellow at the store suddenly had to dash off to tend to a family emergency, but not before playing Formula V's "Loco, Casi Loco" for me, which immediately made me dump all six of the group's records into my 'must have' pile. It's Spanish '60s candy pop! (Though this single is actually from 1974.) I snatched up all other Formula V singles I found in the bins of Barcelona, and I think I ended up with nine. You can read a little about the group here and find their official website here.
The fellow at the store suddenly had to dash off to tend to a family emergency, but not before playing Formula V's "Loco, Casi Loco" for me, which immediately made me dump all six of the group's records into my 'must have' pile. It's Spanish '60s candy pop! (Though this single is actually from 1974.) I snatched up all other Formula V singles I found in the bins of Barcelona, and I think I ended up with nine. You can read a little about the group here and find their official website here.
Formula V on YouTube:
[ "Ahora Sé Que Me Quieres" ]
[ Novecento Música i Llibres — Barcelona, Spain ]
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