In 1977 Meco released his #1 hit "Music inspired by Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk". All around the world people danced to the now famous Meco thing... but there was a question in the air: Who is MECO?... 

        Some argued "it's a disco band", while others suggested things like "he's a studio musician that is producing his own records". Some even thought he was japanese (Miko is a very common name in Japan which it's pronounced just like Meco). Very few realized that behind MECO was Meco Monardo, already a succesful music producer at the time, and that MECO was his most personal project: a orchestra assembled for the occasion to perform a instrumental disco version of Star Wars. So it wasn't really a band. It was such a new concept!

        But although everybody quickly enjoyed the album and got used to the new concept of listening to 15 minutes of non-stop instrumental danceable music, nobody was used to the idea of an album that wasn't played by a band that performed live in discos or at concerts. 

        Meco was a producer, a brilliant one, but not a performer and the same went for the other members of his team. Besides, Meco didn't want to have an identity. So Norby Walters, a booking agent for discos, got the idea: "Let's organize a band the usual way so people can watch it at discos, on TV...". Meco agreed and that was the birth of the "Sci-Fi Disco Band MECO ". With their weird 70's look they played MECO's hits live for only four months during 1977.

        They vanished and got forgotten rather quickly. The next time that MECO appeared on TV was in person for a short interview and an exclusive performance of The Wizard of OZ in  in Dick Clark Wednesday Night Live on NBC. This time with an orchestra in front, much closer to the real concept of what MECO was in the late 70's. It was the only time that Meco made a major appearance on TV ( click here to see shots from that show and listen to it at the Samples Section ).

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All these pictures were shot by Lynn Goldsmith in a 1977 session and they're now owned by Corbis (www.corbis.com )