History
Negu Gorriak was formed in 1990 by the brothers Fermin and Iñigo Muguruza with Kaki Arkarazo (former members of the band Kortatu). Later in 1990, Mikel Anestesia joined them and in 1991, Mikel Bap. This was the complete membership of the group until its dissolution in 1996.
They were completely committed to the political movement, starting with their choice to sing only in Euskera and continuing through their way of work and the message in their songs. They decided to manage themselves and created the record label Esan Ozenki. They performed their first concert in front of Herrera de la Mancha maximum security prison, leading to problems with the government. They were renounced by the Guardia Civil general, Enrique Rodríguez Galindo for the lyrics of the song «Ustelkeria», which accuses the general and the Guardia Civil of being involved in drug trafficking. This was the first time since the end of Franco's regime that the government denounced a form of expression. These charges were dropped in 2001, five years after the group stopped performing together. In honour of their legal victory, the group performed three celebratory concerts to more than 30,000 people.
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