Jailbird singer turns scandal into song

SPANISH singer Isabel Pantoja, who found fame well beyond the entertainment world courtesy of her involvement in a seedy Marbella corruption scandal, has bounced back from prison with a brand new album. Having been released from her two-year stint for money laundering in February this year, Pantoja has wasted no time in getting her show back on the road and will release her new work ‘Until the sun goes out,’ next weekend. It was to be launched under the Universal label, who claim to ‘know everything’ about her, and includes tracks the Andalucian siren began recording before being sentenced in 2014. She will tour both Spain and Latin America with her 28th studio album and first since 2010’s well-received collection of classics. The 60-year-old is renowned across the country and is also a famous film star in the Latin world. Previously married to the disgraced former mayor of Marbella, Julian Munoz, she was arrested alongside Munoz as part of the ongoing Operation Malaya into the endemic corruption at the town hall in the early 2000s. She began her singing career as a child star revolutionising flamenco and soon went on to marry Spain’s most famous bullfighter. When ‘Paquirri’ died in the bullring she became known as the nation’s widow and went on to sell millions of albums.