Mano Negra - End

End

In late 1993, several members of the group decided to make a trip by train through Colombia during which they were joined by members of the groups Royal de Lux and French Lovers. After two weeks of travel, and after the last of their two concerts in Santa Marta and Aracataca, all other members of the group, except Manu and Thomas decided to return to Paris. It was the end of an era, which Ramon Chao described in the book The Train of Ice and Fire: Mano Negra in Colombia.

However, in 1994 the details were finalized for the start of the album Casa Babylon, which wasn't published in either the United States or England. The music video of the song "Señor Matanza" (Mr. Slaughter) began to give more publicity to the band in Latin America, where their popularity had been on the rise. Unfortunately the band was already dissolved, a fact ignored by many of its admirers. Meanwhile, among the old members there were two possibilities for the future of Mano Negra: continuity of the band with some freedom for other participants to enter while leaving the door open for the original members to return or, alternately, the group could cease to exist by the Mano Negra name. This second approach was chosen.

In 1995, Manu Chao and other members of the band wanted to continue to offer concerts in Madrid but, due to the restriction on the use of the former name of the group, had to do so as "Radio Bemba"—a project that was also ultimately dissolved. In 1998, the compilation album Best of Mano Negra was released, including 22 hits and two previously unreleased tracks. The album was well received, although it was criticized for the fact that it was released just as the LP Clandestino, Manu Chao's solo album, was having some success.

In 2005, there was a planned release of a double DVD (video) of the group, with six hours of concerts, documentaries, and rare images of the history of the band. Manu Chao was not involved in the production but six members, Jo, Tom, Phillipe, Daniel, Antoine and Pierre, offered interviews to promote the work. In a presentation to Radio France in the program,Fou du Roi, they perform three themes: "Jamie Jamie" plus "Sidi H 'Bibi" and a version of "Jesus Reviens" (Jesus Return) that they titled "Manu Reviens", calling the former leader of the group to his return. In December 2005, the same members participated in a festival as Mano Negra Sound System, playing the song "Sidi H 'Bibi" and others, but more like DJs, participating only with metals and keyboards.