Jorge Ilegal

Martínez was born 1 May 1955 in Avilés, a descendent of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.^[1] In his early career, he played in popular music orchestras, such as Manolo Carrizo and his Conjunto, in venues, dances and festivals.^[2] In 1976, he obtained the professional musician's card issued by the National Entertainment Union during the Franco regime.^[3]  He began his law degree at the University of Oviedo, although he abandoned it before finishing it, at the age of 21, to devote himself to music.^[4]

He was part of the rock band Madson, formed in the 1970s in which his brother, Juan Martínez, also played.^[5]  Later, he was in another group, Los Metálicos.^[6]  In 1982, he founded the rock group Ilegales, for which he was known as Jorge Ilegal, and with which he released more than a dozen albums and performed in countries around the world.^[7]  In 1985, Martínez became a producer with Discóbolo Records, under which he produced works by Ilegales such as Todos están muertos.^[8]

In 2011, after the dissolution of Ilegales, Martínez founded the group Jorge Ilegal y los Magníficos, with which he performed other musical styles such as boleros, joropos, chachachá, tango, guarachas, ballads and twist.^[9]

Later, Martínez founded another record label, La Casa del Misterio, which in addition to producing the works of his bands Ilegales or Jorge Ilegal y los Magníficos, also made productions of other rock artists such as Gestido, Fe de Ratas and UHP.^[10]

In September 2025, he had to cancel the tour to present the album Joven y arrogante, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died on 9 December 2025, at the age of 70.^[11]