Formed by brothers Marcelo Knudsen and Cláudio Knudsen at home, João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados started as Zoo and soon was renamed to Anos 60, prior to the definitive denomination. In the late '70s the brothers reshaped the group in a more professional way, admitting the singer/composer Leo Jaime (who became a regular member in 1981). In January 1982 they were invited by Eduardo Dusek to work with him, the proposal was realized in the album Cantando no Banheiro, the first by the Miquinhos and the second by Dusek. The album had a hit with Jaime's "Rock da Cachorra." In the next year, Jaime left the group and Cláudio Killer (Knudsen) died of a gas leak while he was taking a bath. Other members departed and only Bob Gallo, Selvagem Big Abreu, and Avelar Love remained. With a strong bent over rockabilly (including in outfits and topknots), the group always relied on humor, releasing versions for international hits like the successful "Telma, Eu Não Sou Gay" ("Tell Me Once Again," by the Brazilian group Light Reflections), from the Os Maiores Sucessos De João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados (Ariola 1983), sung by Ney Matogrosso. In 1984 they recorded another album with Dusek, Brega-Chique (Polygram). Released with success as a single in 1985, the song "Pop Star" was also included in their second LP, OK My Gay, followed by other albums: Além Da Alienação (1988), Sucesso do Inconsciente (1989, with hits "SOS Miquinhos" and "Matinê no Rian"), Cem Anos de Rock'N'Roll (1990), A Festa Dos Micos (1993), and João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados (2000). "Suga Suga" (1991) was also a hit, being included in TV Globo's soap opera Vamp. ~ Alvaro Neder