As a boy he would play truant from school, preferring to spend time partying with Gypsies imitating his idol, the traditional "copla" singer Rafael Farina.

Before hitting the big time, El Fary worked hard as a gardener and a taxi driver in order to make the money to record his first songs.

Only when he was in his early thirties did El Fary start to make money as a singer when he was called to stand in for Pepe Blanco at a show in Pozoblanco, Córdoba, Andalusia.

In the 1990s El Fary got his break in the world of acting where he starred in the show "Menudo es mi padre" as a taxi driver - a role tailor-made for him.

[1] He helped to launch the career of the child singer Melody, a pop hit across the Spanish-speaking world, but after disagreement with her parents, he promoted his own teenage son Javi Cantero.

The protagonist, José Luis Torrente (played by Segura himself) was a rude, racist, misogynist, corrupt policeman who was a fan of El Fary.