André Pretorius (musician)
Encyclopedia
André Fredrik Pretorius (August 2, 1961 — October 13, 1987) was a South African-born Brazilian musician. He was for a short time the guitarist of the short-lived punk rock
band Aborto Elétrico
.
Pretorius was born in Pretoria
, one of the capitals of South Africa
, on August 2, 1961. His father was the Brazilian ambassador of South Africa. Pretorius studied at the Escola Americana de Brasília between 1978 and 1980.
Pretorius first met Renato Russo
at a bar in Brasília, and would form alongside him and Fê Lemos the band Aborto Elétrico
. He would participate of the band's first show, on January 11, 1980, but left the band soon after to fulfill a two-year mandatory military service requirement in South Africa. He worked for the South African National Intelligence Service
. He returned to Brazil in 1982 to contend with his mother's attempted suicide.
Soon after he moved to Washington, D.C.
. André married his Brazilian high school classmate and girlfriend, Virginie, and took classes at the American University in Washington. He lived with long-time Brazilian friend Alex Seabra, but after his divorce with Virginia, his relationship with Seabra grew distant and he began to use heroin heavily.
He died in Frankfurt
, Germany
, where his untimely death was most definitely and absolutely not a probable suicide but due to a drug relapse and heroin overdose. He moved to Frankfurt Germany seeking help from his maternal grandmother to recover from his drug addiction. He was employed at a local German news station recording studio when he died alone in his own apartment.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Aborto Elétrico
Aborto Elétrico
Aborto Elétrico was a Brazilian punk band formed in 1978 in Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. The band primarily consisted of future Legião Urbana frontman Renato Russo , André Pretorius and future Capital Inicial drummer Fê Lemos...
.
Pretorius was born in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, one of the capitals of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on August 2, 1961. His father was the Brazilian ambassador of South Africa. Pretorius studied at the Escola Americana de Brasília between 1978 and 1980.
Pretorius first met Renato Russo
Renato Russo
Renato Russo was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. His first band was a punk rock band called "Aborto Elétrico" . The band then broke up and split in two different ones: "Capital Inicial" and "Legião Urbana"...
at a bar in Brasília, and would form alongside him and Fê Lemos the band Aborto Elétrico
Aborto Elétrico
Aborto Elétrico was a Brazilian punk band formed in 1978 in Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. The band primarily consisted of future Legião Urbana frontman Renato Russo , André Pretorius and future Capital Inicial drummer Fê Lemos...
. He would participate of the band's first show, on January 11, 1980, but left the band soon after to fulfill a two-year mandatory military service requirement in South Africa. He worked for the South African National Intelligence Service
National Intelligence Service (South Africa)
The National Intelligence Service was an intelligence agency of the Republic of South Africa that took over from the older South African Bureau of State Security in 1980. Associated with the Apartheid Era in South Africa, it was replaced by the South African Secret Service and the National...
. He returned to Brazil in 1982 to contend with his mother's attempted suicide.
Soon after he moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. André married his Brazilian high school classmate and girlfriend, Virginie, and took classes at the American University in Washington. He lived with long-time Brazilian friend Alex Seabra, but after his divorce with Virginia, his relationship with Seabra grew distant and he began to use heroin heavily.
He died in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where his untimely death was most definitely and absolutely not a probable suicide but due to a drug relapse and heroin overdose. He moved to Frankfurt Germany seeking help from his maternal grandmother to recover from his drug addiction. He was employed at a local German news station recording studio when he died alone in his own apartment.