11 Facts About Tino Casal

Jose Celestino Casal Alvarez, more commonly known as Tino Casal, was a Spanish singer, songwriter and producer, who was active during La Movida Madrilena Tino was one of the most popular singers in the 1980s in Spain.

Tino Casal became one of the most famous performers and his lavish costumes and sets were comparable to Liberace.

Tino Casal then left for London, in order to follow one of his other great passions - painting.

In 1977, after a series of trips abroad, Tino Casal returned to Spain, where he signed a recording contract with Philips when Spanish music lovers were looking for a substitute for well-loved crooners Nino Bravo and Bruno Lomas.

Tino Casal continued to produce records for groups, such as Azul y Negro and Obus, and collaborated with filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, financing the production of the film Laberinto de pasiones which yielded certain famous elements of Casal's appearance, such as his red jacket, originally worn by Imanol Arias.

Tino Casal chose to ignore medical advice and toured for two further months, self-medicating with anti-inflammatories and analgesics up until the point where he found himself hospitalised and on the brink of death with necrosis in both hips.

Tino Casal was admitted to hospital in August 1985 and after 19 days in the Intensive Care Unit, without food or water, four litres of infectious fluid was removed from his left leg.

In May, Tino Casal released a compilation album of his greatest hits, Etiqueta Negra, grandes exitos, and had begun preparations to release another album in 1992, with the intention of recording in Tokyo.

Tino Casal died on 22 September 1991 in a car accident, aged 41.

Tino Casal was sitting in the passenger seat without fastening his seatbelt and was the only fatality.

Tino Casal died while flying on the emergency helicopter which had been sent to the scene.