Tempo Perdido

The story of Tempo Perdido has deep roots. It began as an idea called Gente Obsoleta, conceived when Russo was part of Aborto Elétrico. Later, around 1983 or 1984, verses emerged that would be reused, shaping what we know today. By 1984, the song was almost complete, but Russo felt something was missing in the lyrics. He sought help, but not finding it, decided to finish it on his own. It was in November of that same year that Legião Urbana performed it live for the first time, in a Rio de Janeiro nightclub. When Renato Russo sent the album notes to the record label EMI, he described Tempo Perdido as a piece "unbeatable as the closing of the first side" and "too dense for extensive airplay." Despite this, many considered it the most powerful song on the album Dois, heralding immediate success. Originally, it was conceived with a final acoustic sequence that would include sounds of guitar, wind, campfire, and waves, as a sonic commentary on the song's ideas, preparing the ground for the second part of the record. The song was released as a promotional single on June 25, 1986, one month before the release of the album Dois. It quickly became a major hit on Brazilian radio, reaching the top position on the Transamérica FM station charts. The album Dois, released on July 20, 1986, is considered one of the most important albums in Brazilian music, and Tempo Perdido became consolidated as one of its classics. The band recorded two music videos for the song, one of which was broadcast on the program Fantástico.