Ana Belén – Vuelo Blanco de Gaviota

I don’t know who translated the lyrics, but they turned this into an elegiac song to seagulls, them as a symbol of freedom, changes that needed to come and new hopes – remember, Spain in the latest 70s, arrival of the democracy.

I recently re-discovered the cover and I think that is fantastic, not only for her singing in a thankfully lower tone and a defiant angry one, like “go away, you old mean people, now it’s our tone”. And the production, with the menacing marching strings, and that incredible bridge at the minute 2, half Mike Oldfield “Guilty” era and half eurodisco, is arresting. To me, one of her highlights.