Fun Fun/Italo Disco hits

[Voyage]

Does anyone have any type of information on a group from the mid 80s called Fun Fun?

Also which were the best hits and songs of Italo Disco.

[Boodikka]

Fun Fun's "Baila Bolero" was a moderate hit here in NYC.

[discojuice]

Color my Love and Happy Station were two big hits in the 80's here in Chicago, and two of my favorites.

Other Italo Disco

Hypnotic Tengo - My Mine
Feel the Drive - Doctors Cat
Dancing Theropy - IMS
Forrbiden Lover - Tapps
Love n Music - RIS

[DJ Bozo]

Here's a site that has a number of links to all things Italian Disco:

http://www.parametrix-inc.com/italo/italolinks.htm

[Voyage]

Thanks to all of you, I'll check out those songs and the site.

I really like Color my Love and Happy Station.

[Jeff H]

Oh, yeah--I LOVE some of this stuff!

I recently picked up a CD titled (and the word is NOT "entitled," people!) Eurodance Anthology that has a lot of great Italo-disco on it: Sophie, Silver Pozzoli, Rose, Radiorama, Lisa, etc., all in 12-inch-length mixes.

Ever notice how many of these gals have only one name?! And ever notice how really BAD their English is?!! :grin: No matter, with these songs it's all about the percussion and (over)production.

One of my favorite Italo-disco songs is "You Are My Desire" by Shy Rose. What a sexy, romantic song. Now THERE'S an entry for our thread about best songs to make out to!

[Masdefi]

Yes, I really noticed how some people here on the forum like italo disco. Italian singers make effort to sing in english but I have never noticed an english singing in italian language!
But I can say that a few italian people like italo disco, and I think most of Italo disco is good for merry-go-round in summertime.
JussiK, sorry!

[euroflash]

Here is some information about FUN FUN:

Vocals: ANTONELA PEPE, IVANA SPAGNA

as for the girls pictured on the sleeves of FUN FUN... they are selling clothes retail in Italy

[euroflash]

Answer part II...

First, MILLE GRAZIE for your posting about Italo Disco - it is a real pleasure for me to read nice words about it...

A minor correction: SHY ROSE is a Swiss project produced by TONY D"ADEZZIO, and by many italo disco purists would not be considered Italo Disco.

This is a list of top 100 essential Italo Disco songs, reminiscent of Bernie's top 500 DISCO records.. You can find more information on italo disco at EUROFLASH...

Thanks for readin'


1. RIKY MALTESE - ALL THE NIGHT TIME 85
2. DANNY KEITH - KEEP ON MUSIC TIME 85
3. RYVON D.J. - I'M GONNA DANCE POKER 84
4. L.A. MESSINA - DAYDREAM DISCOMAGIC 83
5. LOVABLES - IT'S BEAUTIFUL THICK 83
6. DARIO DELL'AERE - EAGLES IN THE NIGHT MARKET 85
7. FANTASY LIFE - OVER AND OVER THICK 85
8. SENSITIVE - DRIVING GONG 84
9. MYXOMA - DON'T RUN AWAY DISCOMAGIC 84
10. ROSE - MAGIC CARILLON DISCOMAGIC 84

11. BRAND IMAGE - LOVE IN A SUMMER NIGHT TIME 85
12. AMELI - NEW ROMANTIC DISCOMAGIC 84
13. K. BARRE - RIGHT BY THE MOON MANY 84
14. BODY POWER - NOTHING OUT 86
15. D.D. BAND - MISTERY WOMAN NEW-SIRE 84
16. OXO - KEEP ON LIVING SUMMIT STUDIO
17. DIVIACCHI - WAITING FOR HEAVEN DISCOMAGIC 85
18. DR. MARTINI - YOU ARE THE ONE POWER 87
19. DAVID GRAY - I WANNA FLY BOOTLEGS 85
20. BRANDO - RAINY DAY MEMORY 83

21. DUKE LAKE - DO YOU MEMORY 83
22. DIUX - COMET TIME 86
23. SAVOIR FAIRE - TALKIN' TO THE STARS SQUISH 84
24. GLASSES - CRYSTALS SGM 85
25. MOSKOW - COME BACK RICORDI 86
26. KARL OLIVAS - FOLLOW ME SENSATION
27. CASANOVA - TUTTI QUANTI CHRIS 85 (SWISS LABEL)
28. TENSION - MY DREAM TIME 86
29. NEW LOOK - STAGE DISCOMAGIC 85
30. THE FASHION - FUTURE GIRL DISCOMAGIC 84

31. WILLIAM KING - ROBIN HOOD MODERN 86
32. THE VOYAGERS - DISTANT PLANET DISCOMAGIC 84
33. GHERY M. & OCEAN D. - LOVE'S EMOTIONS LCA 84
34. BOLERO - I WISH DINGO 84
35. SAVAGE - DON'T CRY TONIGHT DISCOMAGIC 83
36. MR. ROCAMBOLE - I'VE GOT YOUR SOUL HISS 83
37. VALERIE DORE - THE NIGHT MERAK 83
38. KIRLIAN CAMERA - ECLIPSE ROSE ROSSE
39. PRIMADONNA - FLASHING ON THE FLOOR MANY 84
40. ROSE - FAIRY-TALE LOMBARDONI 85


41. DAVID GRAY - LET'S DANCE TONIGHT MERAK 87
42. XARIO - THE WAY YOU ARE SENSATION
43. MY MINE - CAN DELIGHT EMERGENT 86
44. M=P.B. - CO-OPERATION TYCOON 85
45. DANNY KEITH - LOVE ME AGAIN CRASH 83
46. DEN HARROW - MAD DESIRE GONG 84
47. SUPERBOWL - FOREVER AND A DAY LONDON 85
48. FLEXX - LOVE THEME FROM FLEXXY-BALL HOLE 83
49. R. BAIS - DIAL MY NUMBER MANY 85
50. VENISE - PLAY BOY SUPERRADIO 84


51. VALERIE DORE - GET CLOSER MERAK 84
52. DYVA - I KNOW TECHNOLOGY
53. ALBERT ONE - LADY O' SANNI 85 (SPANISH LABEL)
54. ROCKETS - SOME OTHER PLACE, SOME OTHER TIME ROCKLAND/CGD 83
55. SUSANNE MEALS - FOREVER LOMBARDONI 89
56. SENSITIVE - GIVE ME SENSATION
57. MONO BAND - MR. CRUSOE F1 TEAM 84
58. JACO - SPANISH RUN SENSATION
59. BODY POWER - DANCING IN THE TEARS DISCOMAGIC 85
60. BLUE RUSSELL - I WANNA FLY AWAY DISCOMAGIC 84


61. LISA G. - CALL MY NAME OUT 86
62. DECADANCE - ON AND ON PROTO 83
63. MIKO MISSION - TWO FOR LOVE BLOW UP 85
64. HELICON - YOU… SEE CRASH 83
65. KEN LASZLO - HEY HEY GUY MEMORY 84
66. CHESTER - HOLD THE LINE TIME 87
67. MAX HIM - LADY FANTASY CRUISIN' 85
68. J.D. JABER - DON'T STOP LOVIN' MEMORY 83
69. ROBERTO ONOFRI AND D.J.P.BAND - WELCOME DESIRE OM
70. ROBERT CAMERO - LOVE GAMES LOMBARDONI 89


71. ITALIAN BOYS - FOREVER LOVERS BMS 87
72. KRISTAL - LOVE & MAGIC REFLEX 85
73. ROBERT CAMERO - LADY SURPRISE LOMBARDONI 89
74. TIME - DON'T STOP FLY 84
75. PETER JAQUES BAND - DRIVES ME CRAZY RENAISSANCE 85
76. ALBERT ONE - HOPES & DREAMS ONE 87
77. CHANG - NEW LIFE LOVERS 85
78. MIKE ROGERS - JUST A STORY CRASH 84
79. VENTURA - ANOTHER TIME DISCO 3 86
80. MR. ZIVAGO - TELL BY YOUR EYES BMS 92


81. ALBA - ONLY MUSIC SURVIVES MERAK 85
82. RIKY MALTESE - WARRIOR POWER 86
83. RANKO - HAPPY WORLD MERAK 84
84. BRIAN ICE - TOKYO MEMORY 86
85. IF - JEALOUSY EXPANDED 89
86. KIRLIAN CAMERA - BLUE ROOM ITALIAN 85
87. RYAN DALMINI - SHE'S MY LOVE CARAIBI 86 (SWISS LABEL)
88. ONE SYSTEM - LIFE IS VERY SHORT MEDIA 87
89. TENERE - MOON DESTINATION CGD 85
90. AMIN-PECK - RUNNING STRAIGHT PEECKER MELODY


91. ANGIE CARE - YOUR MIND MERAK 84
92. A. AVENUE - GOLDEN QUEEN DISCOVER 84
93. SCOTCH - LOVING IS EASY/EVOLUTION MANY 85
94. ANTHONY - AFRICA DISCOMAGIC 86
95. ALEX CHROMA BAND - A NEW DAY OUT 86
96. RUDY & CO - MAMA RADIO TIME 85
97. SCOTCH - MIRAGE AMERICAN DISCO
98. SOME BIZARRE - DON'T BE AFRAID IL DISC 83
99. VALERIE DORE - KING ARTHUR EMI 86
100. VIA VERDI - DIAMOND IBIZA 85

[Giovanni]

This is a list of top 100 essential Italo Disco songs, reminiscent of Bernie's top 500 DISCO records.. You can find more information on italo disco at EUROFLASH...

Thank you for the list!!!


I recently purchased an old vinyl lot from an italian disco ant it is plenty of these italo plastics
Many of these titles are in the lot. And now I know how much they are valuable in the US!!!
Gonna trade them to get some good funk!!!


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Giovanni on 2002-07-12 03:29 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Giovanni on 2002-07-12 03:31 ]</font>

[markydefad]

What classification would these records fall under:

"Masterpiece" - Gazebo
"Dolce Vita" - Ryan Paris
"For Your Love" - Klaudia

all that Il Disc stuff from the early 1980's?????

[Mixmachine]

I used to call them just ‘imports’ if that helps, as far as I can remember no one at the time call them ‘Italo Disco’ not even the record shop I frequented, I used to buy a lot of this music although I don’t remember many in the list included, they were expensive ! $7.99-$9.99 or more for a 12” (we also pay inflated prices in the US), here in Miami many were club hits with the Latin crowds, (like Gazibo,‘Dulce Vida’, ‘Looking for love’ ‘Stay’ etc ) but I must say this music was not well regarded by many locals, including many club patrons and club owners, the similar monotonous synthetic electronic sound (new at the time), coupled with uninspiring, subdued, soul less robotic vocal performances could bored you to death after 45 minutes or so, in my area most ‘Italo Disco’ records experienced a quick club death never to be heard or spun again, I mainly used them to keep up with the new dance stuff and keep myself motivated with new music, some of the old school ( at the time ) Hustle dancers like this music because of the similarity to ‘Disco’, and many songs were not bad at all, but as ‘Freestyle’,‘Hip-Hop’ and ‘House’ took off, and the fresh generations moved in, spinning ‘ItaloDisco’ was a sure way to clear the floor.

[euroflash]

To Giovanni: you are most welcome! You can make a "small fortune" on some of those records. However, if you are intending to trade them for funk - it is going to be a tough task! There are very few italo disco collectors who like, know and understand disco and funk. Most of them are Italian record dealers

To Markydefad:
Ryan Paris and Gazebo are 100% pure definitive Italo Disco. Like ABBA "Dancing Queen" for disco music... I don't know KLAUDIA - most likely it is something else.. IL DISCOTTO is a great "old" italo disco label: some of the best songs with italo-disco classic sound on IL DISC are:

ART 1036 Reeds The Game 1984
ART 1043 Raggio De Luna - Comanchero 1984
ART 1044 Topo & Roby Under The Ice 1984
ART 1071 Hot Cold I Can Hear Your Voice 1986

To Mixmachine:
I agree with your keen observation about italo disco: it was dead before it could become very popular and it never sounded "just right" to the ear of any American clubber, let alone a DJ. It had every attribute that can help a "new project" fail: the beat was too slow to become a danceable rattler, the mood is too melancholy, very strong accents magnified often senseless lyrics, or lack thereof etc. etc... However, it gained an enormous popularity for a couple of years in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia, especially in Japan.

To me personally, over-arrangements, accents, melancholy style of the ROLAND JX-8 synths, and sounds created by Minimoog, Oberheim, Emulator II (all the instruments commonly used by Italians in the early 80's) have created something very unique and special in disco music history...

Thanks for readin'




_________________
~because the music plays forever~

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: euroflash on 2002-07-12 17:48 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: euroflash on 2002-07-12 17:57 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: euroflash on 2002-07-12 23:27 ]</font>

[Giovanni]

[quote]
To Giovanni: you are most welcome! You can make a "small fortune" on some of those records. However, if you are intending to trade them for funk - it is going to be a tough task! There are very few italo disco collectors who like, know and understand disco and funk. Most of them are Italian record dealers
[quote]

Yeah man!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I sold 2 of them:
ROSE "Magic carillon" and MOSKOW "Come back" to a friend who is a record reseller for EUROS 400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In turn, he has customers ready to pay EUROS 450 for MOSKOW and 200 for ROSE!!!

[markydefad]

Euroflash,

You really know your stuff. How do you know more about this Italo Disco than Italians like Giovanni???

I'm curious.

[Masdefi]

Hi euroflash,
in your list you miss one of the most beautiful italo disco song:
Double Dee "Found love"
Ciao
Masdefi

[Masdefi]

[quote]
On 2002-07-13 02:55, Giovanni wrote:
[quote]
To Giovanni: you are most welcome! You can make a "small fortune" on some of those records. However, if you are intending to trade them for funk - it is going to be a tough task! There are very few italo disco collectors who like, know and understand disco and funk. Most of them are Italian record dealers

Yeah man!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I sold 2 of them:
ROSE "Magic carillon" and MOSKOW "Come back" to a friend who is a record reseller for EUROS 400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In turn, he has customers ready to pay EUROS 450 for MOSKOW and 200 for ROSE!!!

Giovanni let's create a company for trading italo disco songs in the US....
If you go in Rome there's a shop with about 60,000 records (Lps and 12") mostly of italo disco! I went there one time and I spend one day to check it. But at the end of the day I didn't make it all... and my fingers were sooooo dirty...

[Giovanni]

Giovanni let's create a company for trading italo disco songs in the US....
If you go in Rome there's a shop with about 60,000 records (Lps and 12") mostly of italo disco! I went there one time and I spend one day to check it. But at the end of the day I didn't make it all... and my fingers were sooooo dirty...

There are so many dirty unsold stocks of italo disco here, but you have to know the stuff to make business with them.
Anyway, many people in Italy is doing business with these plastics. They especially sell to France, Germany, eastern Europe and Canada.
But I really dislike that kind of stuff!!!! Would not be able to get involved with...
........... I always respect every kind of music but italo is not my stuff.....
and while writing I'm listening to "Joy" by ISAAC HAYES........ and this is the kind of music I like the most!!!

[euroflash]

To markydefad:

Well, I have been a collector of obscure Italian disco since the early days. I think it is something you are drawn to, and if it is foreign, then it has a greater charm Just kidding!

Many Italian record dealers are adamant fun/disco and soul collectors, and I found that there are very few of them fond of Italian disco. Alberto Carpani (Albert One), one of the big stars in Italian disco and even now in Italian dance, openly admitted liking and drawing inspiration from American music - soul and r & b.

To Masdefi:

Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about Double Dee. Could you please help me with year of release/cat # and record label? I will really appreciate it!

About the business: Giovanni is correct – you have to know the right stuff. You can’t sell Ryan Paris “Dolce vita”, but when it comes to MOSKOW – you got it made… Personally, MOSKOW is highly overrated song, it is just a highly collectible record, but there is very little redeeming musical quality to it. Speaking of boring!! I know that if some die hard italo –collectors read my statement they will be ready to hang me, but this is my opinion. ROSE is FABULOUS – one of the best classics!!!

If you are serious about making some money, you can start here: my personal wanted list – I will pay competitively for good records, and can also advise you on what is hot and what is not – just a good business proposition. Here is the link:

http://www.parametrix-inc.com/italo/wanted12.php

To Giovanni:

If you have something from my list – please let me know. If you want to know the mareket value of some of the records I can help advising and also can help you find customers – DIRECTLY.

My regards to you all, gents!

[Giovanni]

Euroflash,

I completely agree with you!! Especially the perfect definition you do of italo disco.
At the begginning of the 80's, in the US disco was considered dead after the "disco sucks" campaign and some other nice fires. Maybe that was true for the music, since then it began to change with the introduction of electronic drum machines and a huge use of synths (Prince was musically born that time). Hip hop was growing stronger and electro was the new thing in black music.
But in Europe we never had a "disco sucks" phenomenon and disco (or, call it as you like it) was at the top. Most FM radios used to have a very disco-dance orientated airplay, and so that music (mostly mainstream) was well known by everyone.
That was the time when many italian djs began to practice with keybords and synths (playing keybords slowly with just one finger and then elevating the speed with computers) and many young musicians began to try to make some easy money with low cost & fast consuming products.
Another important reason for the rise of italo disco is purely economic. In the early 80s US dollar was so strong against italian lira that US (imports here!)) records reached a very very high price, and so the main importers slowed down with imports and began to concentrate on production: DiscoMagic, Lombardoni, Discotto and others are labels born from the main italian disco importers who shifted to italo production to keep up their business too. Many italian productions began to flood the market and it began difficult to find US imports in the shops (Around 82-83 I began to buy records by mail order from London since I couln't find in the shops some titles that were high in the black charts... Billboard, Blues & Soul, etc).
The classic italo sound, perfectly described by Euroflash, is done only by keyboards. The rhythm section is totally electronic and there are no strings at all. The voice is used only as an instrument, in order to complete the melody. Nobody cared about the lyrics!!!!
The english was poor but that was not a problem. Many djs turned singers could'n sing and speak english at all, and so very often the voice was manipulated by computers with overdubs etc.
Italo was short lived in Italy and was swept away by house in 85-86, but has been pivotal in the developement of house itself since many "old school" Chicago tapes I have (around 84-85) have plenty of italo. Italo disco survived and began a collector's choice, and, even if one does not like it we must admit it has its place in dance music history.
One last point: "italo" is a definition of a sound, like Euroflash defined it, but does not identify italian disco productions of the earlier years (Change, P Jacques Band, DD Sound, Easy Going), that were done by musicians, or even of later periods (like Double Dee's "Found Love" from 89), that were done mostly by those djs who in the meantime had learned how to play.

[euroflash]

Hi Giovanni,

thank you for your interesting post... I would like to add a few more lines to the "history" of Italo Sound:

I am probably at an age now where I can REALLY appreciate many of less commercial, "darker" sounding tracks (my personal PREFERENCE), a lot more than in my youth of 15 or so years ago. Many of the Italo tracks that appeared on previously posted top 100 list are strictly domestic affairs, keeping to their borders within Italia, and never seen the light of US disco clubs. I believe (and not in the solitude) also that many of the late 70s/early 80s singles were actually quite regional. Most of the tracks are from North of the Po Valley in the richer and more industrialised section of Italy and from what I gather in the last few years of the 80s, were very difficult to find and buy in the south, even in Rome from independent mainstays like Claudio Donato's 'Goody Music' Record store.

All of the major labels tended to be Northern too. Time and Media in Brescia, Memory in Mantova (and now the location of Dave Rodgers ABeatC, SAIFAM in Verona, Expanded, first in Udine, then Bologna, to say nothing of Baby, Discomagic and all the distributors in Milan. The only ones I can think of in Rome are X-Energy, Discoclub/ACV and lond dead Cat Music (the Mincioni's label) and Flying in Naples.

So this italian disco phenomena is a very very interesting for a collector like myself...

Giovanni - I will reply in provate to you shortly.. Thanks for readin'