Joaquin Sabina

A lion of Spanish rock 'n' roll, Joaquin Sabina has been called the Bob Dylan of the Spanish-speaking world. Outspoken, gruff-voiced and a relentless maverick, Sabina first started penning poetry in the 1960s, but it wasn't until he fled Franco's dictatorship and ended up in 1975 London that Sabina turned his lyricism towards songwriting. Soon he was gigging around the city (when he wasn't hanging out in his squatter's community), where he performed in front of George Harrison for the ex-Beatle's birthday. When Franco's dictatorship ended in 1977, Sabina returned to Spain and released 1978's Inventario. The single "Pongamos Que Hablo De Madrid" (off 1980's Malas Companias) shot to No. 1 in the Spanish charts, and Sabina's fate was effectively sealed. He provided the voice for more than a generation of Spaniards recovering from decades of repression, and integrated rock 'n' roll's growing global influence in a way that helped Spanish music find its feet in the modern world. In 2001 the singer suffered from a stroke, but he was back on his feet in record time, writing and recording 2002's Dimelo En La Calle.