It's hard to believe, but fate could have been such that Julio Iglesias would have been known to us for his sporting achievements, and not as a famous singer and composer. The fateful combination of circumstances influenced the fact that he became the champion in the number of studio albums sold worldwide. The geography of his tour covers five continents of the planet Earth, and the number of organized concerts breaks all conceivable and unimaginable records: this is more than five thousand performances. As Iglesias himself recalled, after a car accident, he felt a lack of communication and a lack of human warmth. Music has become the source of their search. It was just entertainment, which over time changed the whole world around the singer.
Biography of Julio Iglesias
It all started with the fact that on September 23, 1943, the famous Spanish gynecologist Julio Iglesias Pugo and his wife Maria del Rosario became happy parents. A son was born in their family, who was named in honor of his father - Julio.
Growing up, the boy became a student of the Sagrados Kosasones school, then he entered St. Paul's College. At the age of 16, Julio Iglesias He began to play football and showed great promise in this sport. He was considered a talented player among peers. He studied at the youth school of Real Madrid. From an early age, Julio had excellent physical shape and stood out against the rest of the team in which he was a striker. His dream was a career as a professional football player. After graduating from high school, he became a law student at the university and began to think about a lawyer career.
However, on an autumn night in September 1963, just before his 20th birthday, the fate of Julio Iglesias made a sharp turn. On the way to Madrid, the car in which the young football player and his friends were in a car accident, after which Julio was partially paralyzed for almost a year and a half. Doctors did not make any positive predictions that he would be able to move independently, and even more so to return to sports.
The only thing that didn't hurt and move was hands. While in one of the hospitals in Madrid, until recently, the young guy who was almost the hope of Spanish football was left alone. Julio, suffering from insomnia, was entertained only by the radio turned on at night and the process of writing sad and romantic poems, the main topics of which were the meaning of life and the destiny of man. One day a guitar appeared in Julio’s room, brought by a young nurse who was caring for him. Never before did Julio Iglesias even think about how to connect his life with music and start singing.
First steps on a new path
While still at college, Julio Iglesias was recommended to be anyone, but not a singer. Then he began to devote more time to sports. Maybe over time in Spain there would be one more brilliant footballer, but history does not know the
subjunctive mood.
Making music while in a hospital bed, he began to think less about football. Gradually, Julio learned to play the guitar and write poetry to music.
Leaving the hospital, he drops out of the University of Madrid. Improving his English, he leaves for England, where he sings in clubs, performing compositions by The Beatles and other popular musicians at that time.
While in Cambridge, he meets Gwendolina Bollore, who later became his close friend. It is about her that is sung in his song “Gwendolyne”, which became the first musical success.
For a long time he is looking for an artist for his songs. Bringing them to one of the recording studios in Madrid, he receives an amazing offer for himself to sing on his own and for the first time becomes a participant in the music contest of Spanish song performers.
In 1968, the still unknown singer Julio Iglesias became the winner of three awards: for the best song, best text and best performance. The name of the song became symbolic in the fate of the young artist - “La Vida Sique Igual” (“Life Continues”). He was very different from the idols of the audience of that time, going on stage in a black tuxedo with a bow-tie and a white shirt. His singing was not accompanied by active gestures, the manner of behavior on the stage caused both reproaches and ridicule. But the audience was delighted with the new singer who appeared on the stage, and Julio's musical career went up.
Sunrise star Julio Iglesias
For several years, Julio Iglesias won the title of the most famous singer in Spain and the most popular Hispanic artist in the world. Long foreign tours begin at the most prestigious European venues. Iglesias becomes a participant in many music festivals, including the Eurovision Song Contest, where he takes 4th place, which is a very good result for a novice performer. The music charts of countries around the world are headed by his songs: Mexico, Argentina, Japan, and his native Spain.
The work of Julio Iglesias is marked by many different awards. In 1983, he received the “Diamond Record” for the largest number of albums sold worldwide. It is also one of the few artists in Spain whose star was discovered on the Avenue of Stars in Hollywood. Julio is the holder of the honorary titles “Ambassador of Galicia” in his homeland, in Spain, and “The Great Spaniard”. Julio Iglesias is the only foreigner in Chinese history to receive the prestigious Golden Plate Award. In 1997, he was recognized as the best Latin American singer and received the Monaco Music Prize. Then he became the owner of the main in his life and the most prestigious award of the American Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers. Her laureates in the past were Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.
However, it should be noted that all the awards go to Julio Iglesias afterwards and with blood. He is a very scrupulous person in everything related to work, and does not miss a single trifle in the process of recording songs. The result of this painstaking work is what all the fans of the singer are listening to today: iron discipline gives rise to a melody of the soul, overflowing with a variety of feelings, with a red thread passing through each composition.
Family ties of Julio Iglesias
Throughout his career, Julio Iglesias creates the image of a passionate smoothie and lover. He does not like to talk about his age, although he is already 70. Sometimes it seems that such a man has a lot of women. However, his family life is not as stormy as it might seem at first glance.
In 1971, Julio married Isabelle Preisler. From this union three children were born: the daughter of Shabeli (Chabeli), the son of Julio Iglesias, Jr. and who later became no less popular and famous than his father, Enrique. In 1978, Julio divorced Isabelle, later an official divorce was filed.
Then a couple of the singer was the Danish Miranda, who was 22 years younger than him. From this union, five children appeared who in 2010 attended the marriage of their parents in Andalusia.
At the age of 57, Julio Iglesias became a grandfather. His eldest daughter gave birth to a son, while the only grandson of the famous singer.
Young in body and soul
Answering questions about why he continues to work so hard, Iglesias Sr. always says that he is going crazy with idleness, and he needs work like air.
The beautiful half of humanity will always listen to his songs. The reason for this is simple: when Julio Iglesias sings, every woman thinks that he sings only for her, and the whole atmosphere of his concerts creates this feeling. All fans are sure that each of them is the only muse of the romantic Spaniard, and all his songs are dedicated to her.
Iglesias often says that he became a singer, and was not born to him. The reason for this is the accident, which later turned out to be the "hand of heaven", which gave Julio worldwide fame and popular love. The best part for numerous fans of Iglesias Sr. is that the main Spanish romantic does not plan to leave the stage.
Some interesting facts about Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias is the most commercially successful Hispanic singer ever. His records are sold with a total circulation of more than three hundred million copies. Albums are recorded mainly in three languages: French, English and his native Spanish.
The repertoire of Iglesias Sr. is replete with Italian, German, Neapolitan, Portuguese, Japanese songs, compositions in Hebrew and many other languages. For some time, his stage partner was the legendary American singer Diana Ross. He was a Eurovision participant and a Grammy Award winner.
In 2007, Meilland introduced a rose variety named “Julio Iglesias” in honor of the famous Spanish singer.