Duncan Dhu

Duncan Dhu was a Spanish group created in San Sebasti?n, Spain in 1984. Their original members were Mikel Erentxun (former singer in "Aristogatos"), Diego Vasallo and Juan Ram?n Viles (former members of "Los Dalton").

Their style was based on an acoustic and simple pop-rock with a touch of rockabilly in great contrast with the more radical rock played in the area at the time. After being hired by 'Grabaciones Accidentales, S.A.' they contributed with two songs (Mi Amor and B?same Mucho) to the new bands compilation La ?nica alternativa (The Only Alternative).

In 1985 they recorded their first album, Por Tierras Escocesas (Around Scottish Lands), and Canciones (Songs) a year later, both produced by Paco Trinidad. The songs were immediately successful and gave them big popularity. After even more successful El Grito del Tiempo (The Cry of Time, 1984) and Grabaciones Olvidadas (Forgotten Recordings, a compilation of B-Sides, 1989) they became a duo and recorded the double album Autobiograf?a (Autobiography), with collaborations by Black and Sam Brown among others. They later also had several hits such as "Esos Ojos Negros" ("Those Black Eyes"). They finally came to a close as a band with their final cd, "Crep?sculo y Crudit?s" (Sunset and Crudit?s ) which was more orchestrated and softer than their older music.

Their most known hit is "En Alg?n Lugar" ("In Some Place"). The song was initially featured in Canciones, but it was the remix included in El Grito del Tiempo that became widely popular.

The name Duncan Dhu comes from the book "Kidnapped: The adventures of David Balfour" by Robert Louis Stevenson where there is a character named Duncan Dhu, who is a lover of music. "I need not say if I was pleased to see him; Mrs. Maclaren, our hostess, thought nothing good enough for such a guest; and as Duncan Dhu (which was the name of our host) had a pair of pipes in his house, and was much of a lover of music, this time of my recovery was quite a festival, and we commonly turned night into day."