Rock music in Spain

Spanish rock is the term used for the variety of rock music produced in Spain. Most bands formed in Spain have sung in Spanish, but many others have sung in English, French and Italian, in addition to the other languages spoken in Spain, such as Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aragonese, and Asturian.

At first, rock music was influenced by the surrounding countries like France or Italy. Despite Francoist censorship, many albums were released and mass media started to introduce the new sounds of international music. The most important rock scenes were in Madrid, Zaragoza, Sevilla, Cádiz, Barcelona, and Valencia.

Rock in Spain started to spread nationally. After the British Invasion, many artists such as Los Bravos, , Los Brincos and Miguel Ríos appeared. Los Brincos achieved some international success in France, Portugal and Italy. Los Bravos hit some international charts with their single "Black Is Black", as did Mike Ríos with "A Song of Joy".

Punk rock in Spain started its most successful stage with punk bands like Kortatu, La Polla Records and Eskorbuto. La Movida Madrileña was a countercultural movement that produced many bands influenced by punk and new wave, such as Kaka de luxe, Derribos Arias, Radio Futura, Alaska y Dinarama, Gabinete Caligari, Nacha Pop, Loquillo y los Trogloditas, Glutamato Ye-Yé and Los Secretos. Since many of the bands from La Movida did not achieve enough commercial success, many discographies left them supporting other bands like Mecano, which achieved some international success, Siniestro Total, or Aerolíneas Federales. As echoes of the Madrid scene, parallel movements emerged in other cities such as Barcelona (with bands like Loquillo y los trogloditas or Los Rebeldes), León (Los Cardiacos, Los Flechazos...), Vigo (Siniestro Total, Golpes Bajos, Os Resentidos, Aerolíneas Federales, Semen Up...), Granada (091), etc. Hard rock acts such as Los Suaves or Barricada emerged with lack of promotion.