The picture is of part of the current skyline of Milan, Italy. Most of the Italodisco was recorded and released in Milan. Many sources suggest that ITALODISCO ( or Italo-Disco) began in the early 1980's. Even the creation of the term has been often been credited to BERNHARD MIKULSKI the founder of the German record label ZYX Records in the early 1980's. Other sources insist that the term goes back to the late 1960's in Italy's long established discoteca industry. Unique Italian made DISCO started appearing then and many sources insist that the basic DISCO sound began there. A multitude of artists released wildly successful ITALODISCO in the 1970's like Raffaella Carrà, Easy Going, and La Bionda to name just a few.
This show concentrates on the early 1980's. As we have stated before two countries had situations in the early 1980's when the press and much of the public refused to accept that DISCO had died. Those two "I"s were India and Italy. There was a sudden boom in the world popularity of Italodisco. We offer a few examples:
| G A Z E B O
GAZEBO is PAUL MAZZOLINI. He is still active! Because of ITALODISCO hits like "Masterpiece" and "I Like Chopin" he became one of the most successful artists of the genre selling over ten million records! |
| MASTERPIECE GAZEBO - 12" - UNIDISC |
| I LIKE CHOPIN (INSTRUMENTAL) GAZEBO - 12" - BABY |
| T U L L I O
D E P I S C O P O TULLIO DE PISCOPO is the accomplished drummer, singer and percussionist which we recently featured in The Groove episode "TECHNOMECHANICAL EYE STRAINS 👀 [Insanidade Tribal]". His 1974 album 'Suonando La Batteria Moderna' is a widely used source for TURNTABLISTS and experimental DJ'S in the 21st century. His 1973 Psychedelic single "Fastness" continues to be a classic TRIBAL track used by TRIBAL, BREAKS and AFROBEAT DJ'S. During the 1980's he released some ITALODISCO with considerable commercial success. |
| 'E FATTO 'E SORDE! E? (MAXESSA EDIT) TULLIO DE PISCOPO - DISCO ITALIA 12" SAMPLER (12" EP) - STRUT |
| EVERY SUNDAY CRAZY GANG - WE ARE THE CRAZY GANG (LP) - BUBBLE |
| STOP B.W.H. - 12" - HOUSE OF MUSIC |
| ALL NIGHT LONG B.B. AND BAND - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| G A R Y
L O W GARY LOW is the singer LUIS ROMANO PERIS BELMONTE. Like GAZEBO, GARY LOW has sold millions of records with hits like "You Are A Danger", "La Colegiala" and "I Want You". He is still active. |
| YOU ARE A DANGER GARY LOW - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| STEP BY STEP KOXO - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| THAT SPECIAL MAGIC B.B. AND BAND - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| WEE THE PEOPLE B.B. AND BAND - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| ALL NIGHT LONG B.B. AND BAND - FLYING MIX (LP) - ZANZA |
| K L E I N
& M. B. O. KLEIN & M.B.O was a very international affair comparable to earlier extremely influencial Italian classics like CHANGE. They were an ITALODISCO group formed around the nucleus of MARIO BONCALDO from Italy and the Miami, Florida based "Electro-Soul-House master" TONY CARRASCO. Just as the CHANGE iconic album 'The Glow Of Love' featured American vocalists like LUTHER VANDROSS and JOCELYN BROWN, the KLEIN & M.B.O. album 'De-Ja-Vu' from 1982 featured American vocalists ROSSANA CASALE and NAIMY HACKETT. The music on 'De-Ja-Vu' became an instant international sensation because of it's combination of ELECTRO with ITALODISCO. Many ELECTRO DJ'S in New York City, Miami and London played the living daylights out of "Dirty Talk". |
| DIRTY TALK KLEIN & M.B.O. - DE-JA-VU (LP) - PHOENIX |
| A L E X A N D E R
R O B O T N I C K ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK is the producer MAURIZIO DAMI who enjoyed considerable success with the French language hit from 1983 called "Problèmes D'Amour". Apart from doing well in the ITALODISCO market, "Problèmes D'Amour" also did really well in two other markets: It was programmed heavily in discotheques in France and Quebec, even by the most commercial of DJ's. It was also very popular among DJ's and record buyers in the United States, Canada outside of Quebec and in the U.K. that accepted it as a NEW WAVE electronic recording like that of DEPECHE MODE, CABARET VOLTAIRE, and the HUMAN LEAGUE. He is still active as a producer and label owner who is responsible for spectacular CHILL/AMBIENT and WORLD MUSIC with incredible acts like MASALA, THE THIRD PLANET, ALKEMYA, and GOVINDA. New ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK ITALODISCO and ELECTRO was even released in the 21st Century like the 2005 song "The Dark Side Of The Spoon" which many sources claim is a NUDISCO hit. |
| PROBLÈMES D'AMOUR ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK - FUZZ DANCE (12" EP) - SIRE |
| THE MBO THEME KLEIN & M.B.O. - DE-JA-VU (LP) - PHOENIX |
| CHECK OUT FIVE NAIF ORCHESTRA - FUZZ DANCE (12" EP) - SIRE |
| TAKE A CHANCE MR. FLAGIO - 12" - SQUISH |
| T A N T R A
CELSO VALLI's TANTRA is one of the most important and influencial sources of EURODISCO to appear in the late 1970's. The first TANTRA album was produced by the Italian production team La Drogueria Di Drugolo and Quelli Del Castello. It was called 'The Hills Of Kat Mandu' released in 1979. It was a seminal and brilliant uptempo ITALODISCO track that was hard driving, dreamy and sophisticated. What it did is inspire many DJ's and producers in years to come. Their 1982 hit "Ma-Cumba-Ba" brought production sensibilities from the 1970's into the ITALODISCO market. |
| MA-CUMB-BA (SPECIAL CLUB MIX) TANTRA - 12" - IMPORTE/12 |
| MY DARLING RAINBOW TEAM - A SONG FOR YOU (LP) - FULL TIME |
| OUR TRADE IS LIFE FIREFLY - MY DESIRE (LP) - MR. DISC ORGANIZATION |
| MOVIN' ON NOVECENTO - 12" - WEA |
| M A R Z I O
MARZIO is the legendary MARZIO VINCENZI from Bologna, Italy who was involved with some of the most influencial ITALODISCO in the late 1970's. Under the name MARSIUS he released the 1977 album '...Save The Tiger' which some sources claim is one of the best ITALODISCO albums of all time. MARZIO became MACHO in 1978! With the producer MAURO MALAVASI he recorded the powerful "I'm A Man". It was more than just another remake of a Steve Winwood's classic; MARZIO owned the song with might and sexuality. MALAVASI's sophisticated ITALODISCO was as powerful and advanced as any of the best EURODISCO on the market. It became an undeniable GAY DISCO anthem that offered a world of want and raw emotion not heard since MORT SHUMAN's "You're My Man" from the 'Sex O'clock USA soundtrack' in 1976. MARZIO's "Vulcano" continued the GAY tone with a ROCK influenced ITALODISCO which was popular briefly in Gay Discos in Italy, Canada and the United States. |
| VULCANO MARZIO - 12" - MAXIMUS |
| SPACER WOMAN CHARLIE - 12" - MR. DISC ORGANIZATION |
| K A N O
KANO was the wildly popular ITALODISCO group that used ELECTRO structures. They were the guitarist LUCIANO NINZATTI, the keyboardist STEFANO PULGA, and the producer MATTEO BONSANTO. They often featured vocals from Togolese singer GLEN WHITE. Long before the successes of artists like KLEIN & M.B.O. and ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK, KANO employed DISCO-ELECTRO structures that were often compared to that of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA and "Space Invaders" by PLAYER 1. KANO had various hits spinned by DJ's in New York City, Miami and throughout Canada and Western Europe. |
| I'M READY KANO - KANO (LP) - UNIWAVE |
| IT'S A WAR KANO - KANO (LP) - UNIWAVE |
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I went to Naples, Italy with my family last summer and we helped my sister move my mother out of the house so she could stay closer to town. During the packing I found an old box in the back room filled with records. They were old 7 inch lp records that my father had bought before he got killed in a boating accident in 1967. Some of those records had the words "musica Italo-discoteca" on them. My sister gave them all to a local charity yet they all reminded me of your radio show. Have a nice show
11:46 AM, September 12th, 2026