ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #5 - GINO SOCCIO

[efunk_adelic]

FAST FACTS:

Born in 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Techno-disco singer/multi-instrumentalist.

Ranks #93 in Joel Whitburns Top Disco Hits


When I first heard DANCER i was hooked!!!! wow!!! 8) very different record when it came out. Hand clap intro slowly building... what an awesome record to mix into. I wasn't overly impressed with his next LP release.... and just kinda moved on.... Then the next release in '82... IT'S ALRIGHT and was greatfull that he made a comeback...

favorite cuts:

DANCER
DANCE TO DANCE
TRY IT OUT
IT'S ALRIGHT

[Bernie]

I'll say the same records and add "Remember" to the list.

[BrunoRepublic]

Dancer
There's A Woman
Turn It Around

[Videoskooter]

I always have the impression that he is a forgotton artist and that's a pity. He has a very distinctive electrodiscosound that still captures me. Even when he was in Kebekelektrik ( the excellent "Wardance") he already was surprising.

When "Dancer/Dance to dance" came out It hit me! The heavy synbeat, the vocals were the max.

Favos:
-Dancer
-It's allright (WOW)
-Try it out
-Human nature
-Turn it around
-Hold tight
-S-Beat

And the track that featured in the Fellini-movie"La voce della luna": "The visitors" which I call Mystic Disco, simply hypnotizing.

One of the pioneers in electrocrossover and a monument in the discoscene.

But, I saw him perform in a TV-show and there he was doing the "Dancer"-vocals. I always was curious if he sang his records (vocoder) or that it really was a girl-choir.

Gino is one of the great.

[QUINNY]

Put me down for:

TRY IT OUT (Great, great record. Couldn't get enough of it)
DANCER (One of the greats, but left me slightly unfulfilled....could have been a whole lot better IMO)

I must buy a greatest hits comp of his one day, just to get those two on CD.

[K-Bee]

I'll have to go for "It's Alright" - can't get enough of that song.
what happened to Gino after this?

[Forrrce]

'Try It Out' is the best.
'You Move Me'
'Hold Tight'
'I Wanna Take You There (Now)' never quite gets there, but I do quite like it.
I also have time for the much-maligned 'Love Is'.

[Marcio**]

I think Gino Soccio increased the number of violinists out of work :lol:


"Dancer" and his almost-clone "It's All Right" take me straight to heaven :D



:D

[BrunoRepublic]

But, I saw him perform in a TV-show and there he was doing the "Dancer"-vocals. I always was curious if he sang his records (vocoder) or that it really was a girl-choir.

It was definitley a real girlie chorus on the record. The vocoders of the day couldn't do tricks like that. He was probably lipsyncing on the show.

[Videoskooter]

Thx for the info Graham.

It surely was a weird sight seeing him singing the stuff with that big moustache moving up and down :D

BTW is he still living in Canada and is he still in the biz?

[paul]

Dancer and Try It Out are my picks.

[Boogie Child]

"The Visitors" (remix)

[miles mayhem]

rhythm of the world is a killer

[FrontPage22]

Dancer all the way...hypnotic and tight, after all these years.

[Nano]

I remember one of my first cassettes (I was gifted with a tape recorder on my 14th birthday) was Outline, his first album (the one with "Dancer" and "The Visitors"). Of course, the entire record is burned into my memory since.
When "Try it out" came out I thought "a 'Dancer' self-ripoff", then I found there were other things to make it attractive. Same thing (but not so good a track) with "It's alright" in 1982. They're all in the same chord! :)
Looking at my self-made GS compilation CD, these are my picks:

-Dancer (1978)
-Rhythm of the world (1980)
-Steady operator (1980)
-Closer (1981)
-You move me (1982)

Gino Soccio made Italians sound cool 8)

[sirius]

Dear Friends!
You mentioned all my favorites...but there´s another
remix of "The Visitors" in french..."Les Visiteurs", which
I like definitive.
Cosmic Love & Kisses From O´SIRIUS & DARKTUNES...

[Videoskooter]

Indeed Sirius, and they are both on the excellent Best Of, released by Unidisc.

The long version can also be found on the Fellini-soundtrack.

[remicks]

*****


Started to be put off by the strong guitar rock leanings of this one ....but by the time it ran through .... hungered to play it again, then again : always a good sign for a potential hit... the kind that kinda increasingly grows on you .

This one , worked in along with edgier songs like Donna's HOT STUFF , Blondie's CALL ME .....could've done alright ..... shades of LES VISITORS helps too .... I think I'd have worked it ....

The hard hollow female vocal is arresting .....





*****

[Chap2Power]

Gino is still living in Montreal.

For a time, he was working in a government capacity in a music program, but i could be wrong.

I would also add songs like Make Me Feel Alright by Karen Silver that Gino was involved in as another to find.

A great guy, and a genius.

Dancer, to me, is the # 1 Canadian dance record of all time.

[billy huls]

hello and about Gino Soccio, from what ive read he was born in September 1955 in Canada maybe in Montreal Canada. Okay all I need to know now is what day in September so I can determine if hes Virgo or Libra, Would you know what day of month hes born on? Yes he is from Canada although I dont think hes French, my guess is hes Spanish, would you know what his cultural identity is?

[Videoskooter]

Yes he is from Canada although I dont think hes French, my guess is hes Spanish, would you know what his cultural identity is?

He's Italian, we even have a lot of Soccio families in Belgium. In the region of Hainaut, where they speak...French....now it's getting complicated.

His music was even featured in a famous Italian movie:

[kdavid13]

Gino Soccio's french was flawless... I remember being blown away when I first heard him on TV.:icon_cool:

[BrunoRepublic]

*dusts off thread again*

I have recently acquired what I'm guessing is Gino's first single: "Sauve Qui Peut". It looks to be rather obscure as it's not even on discogs.com, although Unidisc included as a bonus track on their CD edition of Remember.

It's a 7" single on the Montreco label, with the vocal on one side and the instrumental on the other. There's no date on the record, but I'm guessing it's about 1978. Naturally, this leads me to wonder: was there ever a 12" of this? Did he do any other singles under his own name prior to Outline?

[boogienights]

God I learn so much on this site!! I have (and love)
DANCER
TRY IT OUT
ITS ALRIGHT
DANCE TO DANCE
but am now curious enough to buy a greatest hits...