After Dinner Speakers: Julio Iglesias, Mickey Rourke, Martin Sheen

b. Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva, 23 September 1943, Madrid, Spain. Iglesias studied law at Madrid University and played football (goalkeeper) for Real Madrid before suffering severe injuries in a 1963 car accident. While recuperating, he learned guitar and began to write songs. After continuing his studies in Cambridge, England, he entered the 1968 Festivalde la Canción in Benidorm. Performing his own composition "La Vida Sigue Igual" ("Life Continues All The Same"), he won first prize and soon afterwards signed a recording contract with the independent Discos Columbia where Ramon Arcusa became his producer. Iglesias represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest, subsequently recording the song "Gwendolyne" in French, Italian, and English. During the next few years, he toured widely in Europe and Latin America, scoring international hits with "Manuela" (1974) and "Hey" (1979). His global reach was increased in 1978 when he signed to CBS Records International and soon had hits in French and Italian. The first big English-language success came in 1982 when his version of "Begin The Beguine" topped the UK charts. This was followed by the multi-language compilation album Julio, which sold a million copies in America. Co-produced by Arcusa and Richard Perry, 1100 Bel Air Place was aimed directly at American audiences and included duets with Willie Nelson ("To All The Girls I've Loved Before") and Diana Ross ("All Of You"). A later duet (and international hit) was "My Love" with Stevie Wonder in 1988. Iglesias won the Billboard Latin album of the year award in 1996 for La Carreterra. By the end of the 90s, Iglesias had sold in excess of 220 million albums in seven languages, making him one of the most successful artists ever in the history of popular music. His sons Enrique and Julio Jnr. have also enjoyed success as recording artists.