Los Ros

A Paco Ros project. See also Los 4 Ros. Paco Ros (singer and keyboards) met Pepe Sancho (guitar and brass) in the Conservatory of Valencia. They were two teenagers absolutely mad about music. Paco’s father played the violin in the Symphonic Orchestra of Valencia and Pepe was a member of the Band of Godella since he was seven. They became friends attending the classes of Harmony, Musical Language and Musical Theory. Once he finished his studies, Paco left Valencia and settled in Madrid. Meanwhile, Pepe played in several bands in his hometown, where he met Manolo Portolés (bass and trumpet) and Alfonso Jiménez ‘Morgado’ (drums). They shared lots of gigs in their city, some of them backing stars like Luis Mariano. They kept the friendship with Paco, whom they often visited. One day, Paco, who was back to Valencia, arranged a meeting with them in the Cafetería Barrachina, located in the (then called) Plaza del Caudillo. That evening Los 4 Ros were born, making their debut in the Club La Bruja of the Hotel Astoria. So great was the success, that they were hired for serveral months in the winter of 1964. The next summer they played for two months in the Hotel 3 Carabelas in Torremolinos (Málaga) and one month in the club La Bolera in Salou (Tarragona). It was the last step before landing in Barcelona and nearby. After one night playing alongside Tony Ronald (Los Bravos), the singer recommended them to get in touch with Belter. From 1966 until 1970 they released 18 records with this catalan label (15 as Los 4 Ros and 3 as Los Ros). Most of their performances were held in the Balear Islands, so they decided to settle in Palma de Mallorca. In 1968, the drummer Alfonso Jiménez left the band and joined Los Javaloyas. A decision that let their expartners to reform as Los Ros. Pascual Balaguer (drums), his brother Vicente Balaguer (guitar) and Enrique Pastor (bass and sax) gave them a new sound and a higher dimension, reaching their peak in 1969 with ‘Cuéntame cosas tuyas’. At the beginning of the 70s, Enrique and Pepe became musical teachers and the band split. Paco Ros went on playing in hotels and releasing new stuff with Fonal and Maller labels.