Biography
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Born
15 October 1957 (age 68)
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Born In
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Biafra (currently known as Byafra), the stage name of Maurício Pinheiro Reis (born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro in October 15, 1957), is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Byafra had several top hits in the 1980s as "Leão Ferido” (Wounded Lion), “Sonho de Ícaro” (Icaro’s Dream) and “Seu Nome” (Your Name).
As a child, he was interested in music, particularly percussion. He took courses in music and flute, which boosted his musical vocation.
Biafra was part of the choir of the Centro Educacional de Niterói, whose conductor was Hermano Soares de Sá. In the 1960s, he performed in the choir in Scotland at the Aberdeen Festival singing pieces by composer Villa-Lobos.
He emerged as a singer for the Brazilian public in the early 70's, when he was part of the band O Circo, which performed several times in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói. In 1979, he released the album “Primeira Nuvem” with the record company CBS, with the success was “Helena”, a song that was part of the soundtrack of the soap opera Marrom Glacê.
He won a “Disco de Ouro” (Golden Record) award with the album “Despertar” (1981), which contained the song “Leão Ferido”, a great success on the charts at the time. The song "Seu Nome" was part of the soundtrack of the soap opera A Gata Comeu. He won another Gold Record, in 1984, with the song entitled “Sonho de Ícaro”, which became the springboard of his career and was part of the album “Existe Uma Ideia”.
Many singers have performed the songs of Biafra - among them Roberto Carlos, Rosana, Ney Matogrosso, Simone, Danilo Caymmi, Chitãozinho and Xororó and others.
In 1998, the singer changed the spelling of his name by using the letter “y” instead of “i” with the intent to avoid confusion on internet pages in relation with the Nigerian civil war.
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