Zoquillos

Zoquillos was a short-lived but memorable punk-rock band from Madrid that popped up in the early eighties, right in the middle of the Movida Madrileña. They started out almost by accident: originally the name belonged to a quirky little store in Madrid, and the group itself began as a loose pop-art project before turning into an actual band when the drummer, Antonio, suggested they should start playing rock music. He brought in Pablo as vocalist and guitarist, and soon the rest of the lineup -Jesús on guitar and Ernesto on bass- fell into place.

 
Their style was a straightforward, raw kind of punk, clearly influenced by the Ramones, though the members were also fans of bands like The Doors, Velvet Underground, Johnny Thunders, and Willie DeVille. Their only official release came in 1983, a self-titled 7-inch EP recorded a few months earlier. It includes three tracks: “Atrapado En La Telaraña,” which everyone just calls “Nancy,” “Ella Sabe (Lo Que Tiene Que Hacer),” and a cover of Alan Vega’s “Kung-Fu Cowboy.” “Nancy” ended up being their most played and best-remembered song. Years later, in 2007, the EP was reissued in a small vinyl run, which helped keep their name alive among collectors and fans of early Spanish punk. 

Zoquillos played a number of classic Madrid venues of the time -places like Rock-Ola or El Sol- and even appeared on national TV programs such as "Pista Libre", "Caja de Ritmos", and "La Edad de Oro". They mostly stayed close to home, with their only out-of-town concert happening in Barcelona in 1981. Their shows were said to feel half like rehearsals and half like parties, all energy and spontaneity. 

The band broke up a few years later. Internal issues, personal problems, and the general chaos of the scene caught up with them. Even so, they left behind a small cult legacy. With just a handful of songs and a brief existence, Zoquillos still managed to carve out a place in the story of early Spanish punk -a snapshot of the wild, creative spirit of Madrid in the early eighties.