Por quê Ultraje a rigor (Why Ultraje a rigor?) - Ultraje a Rigor was formed at the end of 1980, initially as a covers band--mostly Beatles, 60's rock, punk and new wave. After going through several different temporary groupings, the line-up of Roger, Leôspa, Sílvio and Edgard began doing shows at parties and small bars. In 1982, still without a fixed name, they decided on "Ultraje a Rigor" (an untranslatable pun, meaning something along the lines of "true outrage" or "offends severity"). The name referred to the band's irreverence toward the songs they covered, being rarely faithful to the original versions, frequently satirizing or distorting them.

Inútil - Not long after the choice of a name, Silvio left the band and was replaced by Maurício (Photo 1).In April of '83, the new formation participated in the Theater Lira Paulistana's Boca no Trombone project, the band's first show featuring their own compositions exclusively. After one of these shows they were signed to a recording contract by producer Pena Schmidt who, at the time, was hiring groups for WEA. They recorded their first single, "Inútil/Mim quer tocar"("Useless/Me want to play"), which, because of censorship problems, was not released until October of that year. After the single's release, which led to many more gigs for Ultraje, Edgard, already a member of the band Ira!(Rage!), another brazilian rock group, found himself unable to continue splitting his time between the two bands. Carlinhos was recruited to replace him. In 1984, with the new line-up, (Photo 2) they recorded their second single, "Eu me amo/ Rebelde sem causa" ("I love myself/Rebel without a cause") "Eu me amo" did well on the radio, stimulated a little by the controversial coincidence of having a nearly identical chorus with another song on the charts at the same time, "Egotrip" by Blitz, a more famous band at the time. But it was the B-side, which started getting airplay in early '85, that set off the explosion of Ultraje.

Nós vamos invadir sua praia - Their first LP, "Nós vamos invadir sua praia" (We're going to invade your beach), released a few months later and given a push by "Ciúme" (Jealousy), was an enormous success. It was the first rock LP in Brazil to go gold and platinum. Of the 11 songs on the record, nine had widespread airplay, and Ultraje broke attendance records at different venues all around Brazil. At the beginning of '86, they recorded an EP called "Liberdade para Marylou"(Freedom for Marylou), with a remixed version of "Nós vamos invadir sua praia", "Hino dos cafajestes" and "Marylou" in carnival rhythm, the censored lines being substituted by trombone riffs. "Marylou" was a huge success at the Carnival balls that year and is still played each year, having become something of a classic of Carnival. In '87 they went on to record their second LP, "Sexo!!"(Sex!!). During the recording sessions Carlinhos, who had been considering a move to Los Angeles to form his own band (which he ended up doing), left the group and Sérgio Serra was drafted to fill his position. (Photo 3).The second album was as successful as the first, breaking a record industry rule which dictated that a successful first album must always be followed by a failure. The album was released with a historic surprise show on Paulista Avenue, one of the main avenues of São Paulo, causing a traffic jam several kilometers long. The album's success led to more tours all over Brazil, the writing of more songs, and no vacations, since '84.

Stress - In '89, more mature and somewhat stressed out by the constant touring, they recorded their third LP, "Crescendo" (meaning "growing", but also, of course, a musical term), which was one of their best. The album sold well, but the media was beginning to lose interest in Ultraje after its four years of uninterrupted success. Even so, Ultraje still provoked controversy, teasing the announcement of the end of official censorship with the song "Filha da Puta" (literally "Son of a Bitch", but having a much stronger sense, similar to "motherfucker" in English.) Four-letter words were not a common thing in songs at that time, much less in a chorus, the repeated part of a song. The song was censored extra-officially on many radio stations and TV programs, which hindered promotion of the album. Other songs with light, everyday four-letter words or spicy subjects such as "O Chiclete" (Bubble gum) and "Volta comigo" ("Come Back to Me", but also "ride with me" which has a slightly sexual connotation), a song that deals with adultery, had their airplay compromised. In 1990 Ultraje went back to their roots and released "Por Quê Ultraje a rigor?" ("Why Ultraje a rigor" or also in the sense of "What for?"), an album of covers that were part of their repertoire when they were playing small gigs. Mauricio, having married an American girl, moved to Miami (where he still lives), and Andria Busic temporarily joined the band on bass. One month later Andria was, in turn, replaced by Osvaldo. (Photo 4) After nearly yet another year of touring, Roger realized that Ultraje was no longer the same band. Leôspa, having married, could no longer maintain his enthusiasm for traveling and rehearsing; Sergio wanted to leave to form his own band; and Osvaldo preferred working in his professional studio. After a conversation with Leôspa, Roger decided to look for new members willing to go on with Ultraje a Rigor.

The New Line-up - Searching through bars and at the shows of bands just getting their start, he found Flávio Suete, a drummer with the band "Nem" (Nor) and The Central Scrutinizer Band, a band that played covers of Frank Zappa tunes. Flávio recommended Serginho Petroni, the bass player in the same Zappa band. Together they began to audition new guitarists. After months of auditions and rehearsals they discovered Heraldo Paarmann through an informal announcement on Radio Brasil 2000 FM. They continued rehearsing and played a few shows to tighten up their sound. In 1992, against the band's wishes, WEA released a greatest hits collection called ""O mundo encantado do Ultraje a rigor (The Enchanted World of Ultraje a rigor), "enchanted" being Roger's ironic take on the contrast between the band's initial years of enchantment and the subsequent difficulties that the band encountered with regard to new projects. Although primarily a collection of previously released material, the album contained two new tracks performed by the new line-up (Photo 5),along with some alternate takes of previously released hits.

In '92, still in rebellion against the indifference of their record company, the group recorded independently "Ah, se eu fôsse homem…" (Ah, If only I were a man...), an amusing digression on the difficulties faced by men with regard to the new post-feminism. The tape of this song, distributed to radio stations by the band itself, produced the expected results. In 1993, while in an already tense situation with the record company, they released "Ó! ("Here!" or "Look!", more or less), their sixth LP. It was their fourth LP with all-new material, and was hurriedly recorded with a small budget imposed on them by the record company. It was a somewhat strange record--the band still looking for a common style--and was practically ignored by Warner's promotion department. One cut "(Acontece toda vez que eu fico) Apaixonado" [It happens everytime I fall (In love)] was made into a successful video for MTV but the song was only a modest success in the media and in stores. Still, it pleased their more faithful fans and even won them some new ones. In 1995, a new collection of hits, this time without the band's knowledge, was released, part of a record company series called "Geração Pop" ("Pop Generation"). In '96 the record company provided the band with yet another surprise, a record called "O melhor do Ultraje a rigor/2 é demais!" (The best of Ultraje a rigor/2 is a crowd!), a repackaging of the band's first two LPs combined on one CD but without the bonus tracks of the original CDs. Without even bothering to notify the band--no longer a surprise--Warner released two more greatest hit repackagings: in '97, "Pop Brasil", (actually, a reissue of "Geração Pop", but with fewer songs), and, in '98, "Ultraje a rigor Vol. 2 / 2 é demais!" their third and fourth LPs combined again on one CD, and again without the bonus CD tracks.

The future - Ultraje a Rigor, the new line-up now perfectly in sync, is still on the road, doing shows all around Brazil, and has released "18 anos sem tirar!" (18 Years Without a Break or 18 years without taking "it" off), a live album with a couple of new songs which provides an overview of the band's career up to this point and has already sold over 100.000 thousand copies, a gold record in Brazil. The band also has plans for an album of all new material.

More about Ultraje a Rigor can be found in the book "BRock, the Brazilian Rock of the '80s" by Arthur Dapieve and "Tropical Nights" by Nelson Motta.