Lio

Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos (born 17 June 1962), known professionally as Lio, is a Portuguese-Belgian singer and actress who was a pop icon in France and Belgium during the 1980s. In 2024 she began serving as a judge on Drag Race Belgium.

Life and career Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos was born on 17 June 1962 in Mangualde, Portugal. When her father was called up to fight in the Portuguese Army, the family moved to Mozambique. Her parents divorced and, in 1968, Vanda moved with her mother and new stepfather to Brussels, Belgium, where her sister, actress Helena Noguerra, was born. In her teens she was determined to become a singer, and she was encouraged by singer-songwriter , a family friend. She took her stage name, Lio, from a character in the Barbarella comic books by Jean-Claude Forest.

In 1979, together with songwriter Jay Alanski, she and Duvall began working with Marc Moulin and Dan Lacksman from the electro-trio Telex. Her first two singles were "Le Banana Split", which sold over 1 million copies, Daho was given carte blanche in the studio because Lio was busy shooting a film; however, when his work was over, he showed no interest in promoting the album with her, limiting the success of the album. Her next album, Wandatta, presenting a more mature approach in contrast with her previous image, and with a sleeve designed by Guy Peellaert, was released in 1995. However, it was relatively unsuccessful, and she withdrew for a time to live near Angoulême with her partner and children. In 1998, she recorded with Esteban in Cuba, and in 1999 she appeared in 50 performances of the French adaptation of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, a musical staged at the Folies Bergère. She had two kids that year. She released the single "Je suis comme je suis" and the album Chante Prévert containing interpretations of the poems of Jacques Prévert, in 2000. After performing the songs on tour throughout France, Europe and North Africa, she released the live album Cœur de rubis in 2004. She also appeared in over 250 performances of the theater play Le Bébé, an adaptation of a book by Marie Darrieussecq staged by Marc Goldberg.

In March 2018, she released her new album Lio Canta Caymmi on the label Crammed Discs. It consists of half-Portuguese, half-French covers of songs by the Brazilian composer Dorival Caymmi. It was the first time she recorded an entire album in Portuguese, her mother tongue. She had previously released a cover of the Brazilian standard "The Girl from Ipanema" in 1991 but she sang the English lyrics.

In 2024 she became one of the judges on Drag Race Belgium.

Discography Albums

Lio

Amour toujours

Pop model

Can can

Des fleurs pour un caméléon

Wandatta

Lio chante Prévert

Dites au prince charmant

Phantom featuring Lio (with the band Phantom)

Live albums 2003: Cœur de rubis

Compilations 1982: Suite sixtine (a mixture of b-sides, English versions of previous songs and unreleased tracks; originally exclusive to Canada) 1995: Peste Of! 2005: Les Pop Songs (Best of 1) 2005: Les Ballades (Best of 2) 2005: Pop Box – 25 Years in Pop (7 remastered CDs with bonus tracks and 1 DVD of clips) 2008: Je garde quelques images... pour mes vies postérieures (double CD containing a mixture of hits and Lio's personal favorites)

Singles

"Le Banana Split"

"Amoureux solitaires"

"Amicalement votre"

"Sage comme une image"

"Mona Lisa"

"Zip a doo wah"

"La Reine des pommes"

"Tétéou" (Lio featuring Jacky)

"Les Brunes comptent pas pour des prunes"

"Les Filles veulent tout" (Canada only)

"Fallait pas commencer"

"Je casse tout ce que je touche"

"Chauffeur suivez cette voiture"

"La Bamba" (Los Portos featuring Lio)

"Seules les filles pleurent"

"Tu es formidable"

"The Girl from Ipanema" (Lio featuring Etienne Daho)

"L'Autre joue"

"Le Banana Split 95"

"Tristeza"

"A la fête des animaux" (promo only)

"Ganja" (Lio featuring Los Van Van) (remix)

"Je suis comme je suis"

"Les Hommes me vont si bien" (promo only)

"Les Matins de Paris" (Teki Latex featuring Lio)

"Je ne veux que ton bien" (Phantom featuring Lio)

"La Veille de ma naissance" (Phantom featuring Lio)

"Poupée pop"

"É Doce Morrer No Mar" (featuring Jacques Duvall)

"Basta"

"L'amour de ma vie"

Theatre 2004 : Le Bébé by Marie Darrieussecq, directed by Marc Goldberg

Filmography