Nicolas Reyes

Nicolas Reyes (born 22 November 1958) is the lead singer,[1] guitarist,[2] songwriter, arranger, producer and founder of the French[1][3] musical group Gipsy Kings, along with Tonino Baliardo,[1][4] the group popular for their Spanish music in the 1980s.[5][2] Even though the group members were born in France, he was brought up in a Spanish culture[3] since their parents were gitanos who fled Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War.[6]

Nicolas Reyes
Born (1958-11-22) 22 November 1958
Arles, France
Children1
Parent
  • José Reyes (father)

He sings in different styles which mainly include traditional and popular flamenco and Latin American rumba music.[6] With his hoarse and passionate voice, he is one of the most prominent flamenco singers in the world. Along with the Gipsy Kings, Nicolas Reyes sang songs such as "Bamboleo", "Volare", "Djobi Djoba",[6] "Hotel California" and many others topping the charts, which he played the rhythm guitar and palmas (hand clapping). He is left-handed.[3]

He is the son of the flamenco singer José Reyes,[5] and the cousin of Manitas de Plata, Hyppolyte Baliardo,[7] and the three Bilardo brothers: Diego, Paco and Tonino.[3] Nicolas is the third of José Reyes' five sons,[5] his older brothers are Pablo and Canut Reyes and the youngest are Patchaï and André,[8] who all are active members of the group. Nicolas continues to sing for the group, although Canut and Patchaï also appear as main vocals. Georges, the son of Nicolas, who was born in 1975, also tours with the group.

Nicolas Reyes speaks Spanish, Catalan[9] and French. He lives in Arles, in the south of France near the other members of the Gipsy Kings and their relatives who live between Arles and Montpellier.[6]

See also

References
  1. Martin, Tim. "Gipsy Kings: 25 years as world music's biggest stars". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  2. Sullivan, Steve (2013-10-04). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8296-6.
  3. "Gipsy Kings all set to bring entrancing music to Doha". Gulf-Times (in Arabic). 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  4. "Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo". (barcelona-metropolitan.com). 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  5. Steinberg, Jessica. "Gipsy Kings break-off band to perform in Israel in September". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. "Gipsy Kings are a music group from Arles and Montpellier". www.arles-guide.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  7. José Reyes, site manitasdeplata.fr, 23 juillet 2013
  8. "Canut Reyes : "Il y a trop de Gipsy Kings, trop d'amalgames"". LaProvence.com (in French). 2016-07-21. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  9. Nicolas Reyes, article de Christina Roden, site rootsworld.com, 1997
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