Max

Maximiano de Sousa was born on the 20 January 1918, at Madeira – Funchal.

He debuted in 1927 at " Praia Oriental", in Funchal, a place where the fado singer Maria do Carmo Torres also performed; Max, artistic name under which he became known, remained professionally active until 1980.

At only 19 years old he worked as a tailor, but the trade never drove him away from songs. He became a professional in 1944 and two years later, he came to Lisbon as a singer in Tony Amaral’s band.

Author of great hits, such as Pomba Branca, Pomba Branca and Porto Santo, among others, Max also distinguished himself through his interpretation of fados with a very particular, even unmistakable, expression, singing fados from Lisbon and Coimbra.

In 1944 he performed at the opening of the restaurant/club Flamingo, where he stayed for a season. Two years later, as a lead singer and drummer of Tony Amaral’s band, he performed at Club Americano and Nina, where he stayed for two years.

Backed up by the manager Fred, his artistic fame only came when he performed at the APA shows, in Cinema Éden.

From the on, he sang from north to south of the country, in shows that made him popular, performing humoristic songs such as "A Mula da Cooperativa" and "Magala 31", or folkloric, such as "Bailinho da Madeira", boleros, and many others.

He performed at Emissora Nacional and other radio stations, recorded albums, featured in many vaudeville plays such as "Saias curtas" (1953), "Fonte Luminosa" (1956), "Elas são o espectáculo" (1963), "Pão, pão… queijo, queijo…" (1967), "Grande poeta é o Zé" (1968) e "Peço a palavra" (1969), and the movie "Bonança & Cª" (1969).

Making several tours abroad, Max participated in a Grouxo Max show, at NBC in the United States, and also performed at clubs in Hollywood and New York, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, Germany, South Africa and Australia.

His last performance on a TV show was in " Zip-Zip ", 1969.

In 1979 he was honoured by Madeira’s Regional Government and died on May 5th, 1980.