Manuel Paulo de Carvalho da Costa, known as Paulo de Carvalho, born on May 15, 1947, in Lisbon, Portugal, is a Portuguese singer. He co-founded the band The Sheiks in 1965, performing as a singer and drummer. The group captured the national mood during Portugal's authoritarian dictatorship. After the band's dissolution, he pursued a solo career, winning the Festival RTP da Canção in 1974 with the song “E Depois do Adeus”, which allowed him to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974. The song became iconic as it served as the passcode to initiate the Carnation Revolution, which toppled Portugal's dictatorship. In 1977, as a member of Os Amigos, he won the Festival RTP da Canção again with the song “Portugal no coração” to represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977. He also represented Portugal in the OTI Festival 1977 with the song “Amor sem palavras”. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he won international performance awards in Bulgaria, Poland, and Belgium. His solo discography includes Paulo de Carvalho (1969), Eu (1971), and Desculpem Qualquer Coisinha (1985). On June 10, 2009, he was awarded the medal of Ordem da Liberdade by Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the President of Portugal.
