September 23 marks the 75th anniversary of the famous singer, who is called the most popular Spanish-speaking performer in the world - Julio Iglesias. During his creative life, he released 70 discs, gave about 4600 concerts on 5 continents of the globe and got into the Guinness Book of Records as the musician who sold the largest number of albums in different languages of the world. However, all this might not have happened if one day Iglesias had not been bedridden due to a car accident …
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva was born in 1943 in Madrid in the family of a doctor. In his youth, he was going to become a diplomat or a lawyer, and also seriously thought about a sports career. While attending a Catholic college, he became interested in football and from the age of 16 played for Real Madrid's youth team as a goalkeeper. The young man showed good results, great hopes were pinned on him, and his future could have turned out completely differently, if one day a tragedy had not happened.
When Julio was 19 years old, he had a terrible accident, with the consequences of which he had to fight for three years. The young man's spine was injured, and a few months after the accident his legs were lost. The operation to remove the cyst of the spine was unsuccessful, and Iglesias was bedridden. The doctors did not give positive predictions and advised him to get used to the thought of a wheelchair.
Iglesias later said that "the hospital made a singer out of him." Due to the forced inactivity and insomnia, he began to listen to the radio, learn to play the guitar and write poetry. Carried away by music, he did not even imagine that someday in the future he would be able to become a singer - even while studying in college, the choir director advised him to engage in any other activity except singing - he believed that the young man had very weak vocal abilities. But the music turned him into the world. At the hospital, Iglesias' first song "Life Goes On" was born. Later he confessed: "".
All the acquaintances said that he had a very strong and strong-willed character. During his illness, Julio did not even think to give up, overcoming the pain, he was able to stand on crutches and began to develop his legs. And soon only a slight limp reminded him of the accident. At 23, he was able to return to normal life and complete his studies. However, music turned out to be not a short-term hobby, but a life's work. Julio Iglesias was educated in opera (tenor) at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. But the first success came to him not on the big stage, but in the beer bar of the airport, where the young man once had a rest with friends and decided to perform a song with a guitar. Unexpectedly for him, all the visitors of the establishment greeted his performance with thunderous applause.
In 1968, the singer won first prize at the Spanish Song Festival, after which he was awarded a contract by Columbia Records. World fame came to him after he took 4th place at Eurovision with the song "Gwendoline", dedicated to his beloved and muse Gwendoline Bellor. A few years later, Julio Iglesias was already called the first singer of Spain.
His first disc was released in 1969, and since then the singer has released over 70 albums and won many prestigious music awards. His records have sold over 300 million copies, and Julio Iglesias was recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish-speaking performer in the world in history. In 2013, the singer got into the Guinness Book of Records as the record holder who sold the largest number of discs in different languages of the world.
Julio Iglesias has always enjoyed great success with the opposite sex. He was married twice, and no one knows the exact number of his novels. His first wife was the journalist Isabel Preisler, who bore him three children - Julio Iglesias Jr., Maria Isabel and Enrique Iglesias, who later also became a famous singer. This marriage lasted only 8 years and fell apart due to the infidelity of the spouse. The singer's second wife was model Miranda Rinsburger, who was 22 years younger than him. True, the wedding ceremony took place only after 20 years of their life together. In this marriage, five more children were born.
Today, the singer continues to write songs and release albums. In 2016, he presented his new album in Moscow at a concert in the Kremlin Palace. Despite his venerable age, Julio Iglesias is not going to leave the race and says that he will perform as long as he is alive.
When asked why he gives so much time to work, the singer replies: "". And music critics write about him: "".
His songs are still very popular, and his videos are gaining millions of views: "Amor" - an incendiary and romantic clip of Julio Iglesias.
