Locomía returns to Peru: founder tells an anecdote with Freddie Mercury and talks about a controversial contract that restricted their freedoms

At the beginning of the 90s, in the years of grunge and alternative rock, Locomy burst onto the music scene with a unique and transgressive style. With enormous fans, infinitely pointed shoes and exorbitant shoulder pads, the Spanish boy band quickly reached the peak, and at the same time the decline. “The sky opened to us and suddenly it closed to us,” comments Xavier Font, creator and former member of this proposal that went through light and dark, and that in its current resurgent and brilliant stage, returns to our country on March 16 , as part of their Back to the Glam tour.

“We have been active almost always. We only stop in a pandemic. In fact, in the current group there are two members who have been 12 and 13 years old (Félix Montas and Ricky Arenas), and another who is eight (Edén Glens). Harold (Cala), my husband, joined three years ago. He is the one who has the least time. Locomía in first person is me. I created it when she was 20 years old. I’ve been doing this for forty. I was the precursor, especially of aesthetics. No group is the same as ours. And what we bring now is the same as always: freshness and classic songs, as well as remakes with today’s voices“, clarifies Font in a telephone communication from Barcelona.

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Three decades after the band’s emergence, Xavier remembers outstanding facts surrounding the group and the first anecdote he tells is unmissable:

Before being Locomía, Xavier Font and his troupe were one of the main attractions of the carefree nights in Ibiza. At the Ku nightclub, one of the most important in the area, in addition to dancing, they sold their colorful and extravagant outfits and shoes.

“I must admit that chen Freddie Mercury came to my store and bought two of my clothes, he didn’t know who he was”, he narrates. After that first meeting with the members of the Spanish band, the Queen leader invited them to his birthday party at the Pikes Hotel, his refuge in Ibiza. This was celebrated on September 5, 1987.

“On her birthday, I gave her a pair of handmade pointe shoes. She promised me that she was going to wear them, and she did. She used it in one of the last videos she recorded with Queen, “I’m Going Slightly Mad” (1991). I cried with emotion when I saw it. I felt sorry because I couldn’t walk well.”, he emphasizes.

In 1987, Locomía went from being a performance phenomenon in Ibiza to an imposing musical group, whose main basis of creation was love and passion between its members.

“It started with people who fell in love. I fell in love with Manuel (Arjona) and the Dutchman Gard (Passchier). I started a relationship with both of them. Then, I fell in love with Carlos, with everyone. He was a dreamer and I made other people dream. when he appeared record executive José Luis Gil, a representative who saw the greatness of that group ahead of its time, started the music project with four of the 16 of us: Carlos (Armas) joined Gard, and the group was completed with me, Manuel and my brother Juan Antonio. Then, They took us to Madrid”, he recalls.

In 1989, the group released their first album “Taiyo.”, which included “Locomía”, a song that had worldwide success, selling more than 60,000 copies in one quarter and a gold record. Later came “Rumba Samba Mambo” and “Gorbachev”. However, they were not recorded with the members’ voices.

“I had to play back, which was something I had never done before. And I didn’t want to say it so as not to disparage the band. It was Gil’s decision that he recorded with his voice, without giving us the opportunity. Any of us could have done it, but they didn’t let us, nor did they consult us. Then everything changed. In what came later we did have participation (‘Loco Vox’ and ‘Party Time’)”, he clarifies.

Limiting commitment

To be part of Locomía with Gil at the helm, its members had to sign a limiting contract, which forced them to hide their sexual preferences and restricted certain freedoms, such as going to places exclusively for gays.

“Gil arrived at a difficult time of economic crisis, when the competition burned my house and stripped me of all my assets. It was the strongest aggression that I had to experience, but I rose from the ashes like the Phoenix. Since he was one of the biggest in the industry, I trusted him. I signed a contract without knowing that it would end my sexual freedom. I never needed to leave closet because I was never inside. The contract prohibited us from touching hands, kissing in public places, going to gay clubs, and wearing makeup. He was a completely authoritarian man”, he highlights.

Fame came abruptly and parallel to it, Font’s jealousy problems with her partner, Carlos, increased. To prevent the situation from boiling over, Gil offered Font to leave the stage and proposed that he dedicate himself fully to the group’s image and the administration of the local “El Sanctuary Locomía” in Madrid. Font accepted, but the band’s merchandise sales business did not have the expected success and shortly afterward it had to close its doors. Francesc Picas joined the group in his place. Frances passed away on November 22 at the age of 54.

“I felt blessed with the group. In Ibiza I felt fulfilled, admired. I am egocentric. And Gil took advantage. Frances took my place, who unfortunately passed away recently. A shame. She took my mark away from me, but then I got it back. And Locomía is still mine because I am standing. I returned . I took back what rightfully belongs to me”, he highlights.

For Font, Locomía is much more than a business: it is his life. And just as happened after the premiere of the Movistar Plus+ biographical documentary, he hopes that the film that will premiere in April 2024, on Netflix, will strengthen the group.

“I am in love with my story and I have to keep selling it because it is mine. When I’m not standing, we’ll see if my husband (Harold) has the guts to do his thing and continue this magic,” she stresses.