Remo Fernandes is a renowned Indian musician and playback singer, who is considered one of the pioneers of Indian pop music. He is popular for singing various pop, rock, and Indian fusion songs including Jalwa, Humma Humma, and O Meri Munni. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2007.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Remo Fernandes was born as Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes [1]Remo: The Autobiography of Remo Fernandes – Remo Fernandes on Friday, 8 May 1953 (age 69 years; as of 2022) in Panjim, Portuguese territory of Goa (now in India) [2]Remo: The Autobiography of Remo Fernandes – Remo Fernandes. He did his schooling at Don Bosco High School in Panjim, Goa and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Sir J.J College of Architecture in Mumbai. [3]Facebook – Remo Fernandes When Remo was 5 years old, he appeared on the stage for the first time.
A childhood picture of Remo Fernandes with his parents
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Bernardo, and his mother’s name is Luiza Fernandes. He has a sister named Belinda who sings Brazilian songs.
‘Noite de Luar’ was an old Portuguese song my mother used to sing. It means ‘Night of Moonlight’. While my father accompanied her on his Portuguese guitar (which I still have).”
An old picture of Remo Fernandes’ parents
Remo Fernandes with his wife, sister, and brother-in-law
Wife & Children
He got married to a french woman named Michele Delahaye; however, they later got divorced. They have two sons named Noah Fernandes and Jonah Fernandes.
Remo Fernandes with his ex-wife, Michele
Remo Fernandes and Jonah Fernandes
On 26 January 2014, Noah (Remo’s son) got married to Minakshi Damodaran Sundaram.
My son Noah married Minakshi Sundaram in Kerala on 26 Jan. Beautiful ceremony! Feels fab, I have a daughter at last! pic.twitter.com/O62Pdy147G
— Remo Fernandes (@RemoFernandes) January 30, 2014
In 2018, Remo got married to Zenia Santos Costa Pereira. Zenia is a part of Remo’s backing vocals team.
Remo Fernandes with his wife, Zenia Santos Costa Pereira
Relationships/Affairs
In his autobiography, he revealed that he had been in various relationships.
Religion
Remo follows Christianity. [4]Facebook – Remo Fernandes
Signature/Autograph
Remo Fernandes’ autograph
Career
Remo Fernandes started composing love songs at the age of 14. In an interview, while talking about his first band, Remo said,
I formed this group called The Beat 4 when I was in high school in Goa. I played the lead guitar and sang. I also composed our originals, the first one at age 14. We won first prize at most contests in Goa: for best group, best lead guitarist, and best drummer. This was The Beat 4 farewell show, as I was disbanding the group because I was leaving for Mumbai to study architecture. I think it was in 1970. I was 17. Or it could have been in 1969, in which case I was 16.”
Band member
After his long backpacking trip to Europe, after college, he returned to Goa and engaged with the hippie culture. Later, he met a group of a European band named Amsterdam Balloon Company. Remo also started playing at their concerts at Baga beach in Goa. In 1981, he performed in Amsterdam with Lucas Amor, the violinist in this group, and released a record called Venus and the Moon.
Remo Fernandes (middle) during a concert in Goa
He formed his own band fusion music and named it Indiana along with the bass guitarist named Abel, the tabla player Lala and the percussionist Bondo. Remo has been a part of many bands including ‘The Microwave Papadums.’ On 19 September 2000, three of The Microwave Papadums band members, Dharamedra Hirve, Selwyn Pereira, and Victor Alvares, along with Remo’s personal assistant Sunil Redkar, were killed in a road accident in Kanpur after a concert.
Remo Fernandes and The Microwave Papadums
In 2002, Remo released two albums, ‘Symphonic Chants’ and ‘India Beyond.’ However, these albums went unnoticed in India. His albums “Pack That Smack” and “Bombay City” (both on CBS) sold more than 20,000 cassettes each. On Remo’s 50th birthday, he held a reunion concert in Goa with his former bands such as The Beat 4, Indiana, and The Savages. The concert was attended by 25,000 people, and it went on for four hours. As a band member, Remo performed in many places including Brazil, Bahrain, New York, Nairobi, Seychelles, Santa Cruz, Mauritius, and Margao.
‘Remo Fernandes and The Microwave Papadums’ Rocking on 7th May 2022 at Siolim
Composer
In 1984, Remo recorded his first album titled Goan Crazy followed by another album titled Old Goan Gold in 1985. He released this track on a four-track cassette TEAC Portastudio recorder under the banner of ‘Goana Records.’ In most of Remo’s albums, he played all the instruments, sang all notes, composed the music, and wrote the lyrics. From engineering the recording and designing the album covers, he did it all by himself. While his cassettes were produced in Mumbai, he went from one shop to another, distributing his cassettes in Goa along with postcards, an illustrated book of his poems titled Leads, and t-shirts that he designed.
Album titled Goan Crazy (1984) by Remo Fernandes
After being inspired by Mother Teresa, Remo composed a double album titled Teresa and the Slum Bum (2019), which featured 35 singers from India, Europe, the United States of America, and the U.K.
Singer
Remo was first recognized as a singer when he sang in front of Rajiv Gandhi at an event. [5]ThePrint He sang a song titled ‘Hello Rajiv Gandhi,’ which earned him immense popularity. Remo performed at the fundraiser event for the Bhopal gas tragedy victims, which was telecasted on Doordarshan. Remo Fernandes lent his voice to various Hindi songs including ‘Dekho Dekho Yeh Hai Jalwa’ from the film Jalwa (1986), ‘Ek Ho Gaye Hum Aur Tum’ from the film Bombay (1994), and ‘Aflatoon – Aflatoon’ from the film Aflatoon (1997). In 1998, Remo released another music album titled ‘O Meri Munni,’ which was a huge hit.
Album ‘O Meri Munni’ (1998) by Remo Fernandes
Writer
Remo is fond of writing and has written articles for newspapers and magazines. [6]The Daily Telegraph In 2021, Remo Fernandes wrote his autobiography titled Remo: The Autobiography of Remo Fernandes in which he wrote about his journey that covers his upbringing in Portuguese Goa, early passion for music, architecture studies in Bombay, hitchhiking adventures in Europe and North Africa with former companion Isa, his return to Goa, marriage to Michele, fatherhood, divorce, the fatal accident involving his band members, and his decision to stay in Porto, Portugal. [7]Goodreads [8]Hindustan Times
Remo Fernandes at his book signing event
Controversy
In 2015, Remo Fernandes and his son were summoned by the North Goa police after a girl alleged that their car hit her, and she accused Remo of verbally abusing her. The police registered the first information report under section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003 against Remo after recording the statement of the girl; however, Remo denied the charges and said he was away in Europe at the time of the accident. [9]The Hindu
Awards & Honours
- Press Critics Award 1986
- Audience Favorite Award 1986
- Padma Shri 2007
Remo Fernandes receiving the Padma Shri 2007
- Karmaveer Puraskaar 2007
Favourites
- Fruit: Mango
- Singer(s): Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard
- Band(s): The Shadows, The Rolling Stones
- Film: Woodstock (1970)
Facts/Trivia
- Remo plays the guitar, bamboo flute, and synthesizer and sings in English, Hindi, French, Portuguese, and Konkani languages.
- When he was young, he used to record albums at home, write, and illustrate a book of poems, and design postcards and t-shirts. He would drive around on a yellow scooter, distributing cassettes of his albums, postcards, and t-shirts. [10]Remo Fernandes
A postcard Remo Fernandes designed in the early ’80s
- After graduating from college, he hitch-hiked around Europe and North Africa with a tent and haversack for two-and-a-half years, singing around underground stations and pedestrian streets, composing songs and writing poems, and sketching.
- Remo lives in Porto, Portugal, and spends a few months every year in his hometown, Goa, India. [11]Remo Fernandes
- He always had a keen interest in Indo-Western compositions which is why he tuned his guitar to sound like a sitar. In his autobiography, Remo talked about musical instruments and said,
If I saw the guitar as male, the flute was the female that completed it.”
- During an interview, Remo revealed that he always wanted to stay in Goa instead of going to Mumbai to build his career.
- At the pinnacle of his career, he performed with several popular artists such as Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Eurythmics, Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, and Alfred Rose.
Remo Fernandes with Alfred Rose in Margão
- Remo consumes alcoholic beverages and follows a non-vegetarian diet. [12]Facebook – Remo Fernandes [13]Facebook – Remo Fernandes
- Remo likes to smoke occasionally.
A picture of Remo Fernandes while smoking
- During an interview, he shared that in the late 1980s, he felt like a rockstar for the first time when girls rushed onto the stage after his performance at the Festival of India in the USSR. [14]The Week
- In 2013, he joined the Aam Aadmi Party.
Joined AAP. Feels like I've joined a Freedom Movement, not a political party! pic.twitter.com/J7q6TjSgbb
— Remo Fernandes (@RemoFernandes) December 29, 2013
- He has endorsed a few international brands including Pepsi and Shure Microphones (USA).
References
