Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Now that I have finally read Alice's L'Unica via d'uscita é dentro biography, or rather her professional biography as it is very much based on her career and albums rather than her personal life, I can also reveal to those who haven't read it what she thinks about her and Franco Battiato's joint Eurovision song contest adventure in 1984. It's no secret she's not a fan of competitions and festivals. She writes (freely translated): "The year 1984 had been so far very satisfying professionally and marked by two duets. First with German songwriter Stefan Waggershausen and Zu nah am Feur that sold in Germany and other countries over 1,5 million copies and the adorable I treni di Tozeur with Franco Battiato that EMI, our label wanted to send us to Eurofestival with, the poppiest festival in Europe or maybe in the world.  Neither of us was very convinced but decided to play the game. We took it very lightly, as a trip or a little holiday. Zero anxiety, expect...

Alice debuted in Sanremo (under her real name Carla Bissi) in 1972 without success, returned in 1981 and won it. That started a internationally successful pop career all the way to Eurovision 1984 with Franco Battiato. After that her music changed, she abandoned the search for hits and spotlight on festivals and television. Her label didn't like that very much though. She got her wish to publish a special album God is my DJ of sacred music and sacred in music only by agreeing to do Sanremo 2000 and a compilation album Personal Jukebox of new versions of her hits. Il giorno dell'indipendenza placed 11th. She has returned to semi-pop oriented music in her 2021 and 2014 albums, and has toured and released an album of Battiato's songs in 2022-23 after his death. 

  Eros Ramazzotti won Sanremo Newcomers in 1984 with Terra promessa . The rest is history. Still going strong, he has sold over 60 million albums worldwide, makes regularly world tours, releases his music both in Italian and in Spanish for the Latin America and is used to duet with likes of Cher, Tina Turner, Andrea Bocelli, Joe Cocker, Luciano Pavarotti, Laura Pausini and Ricky Martin just to name a few. This blogger fell to his charms already with this and still keep following and have seen him live in concert three times in Helsinki over the years.

  As I have arrived today to Venezia, hoping not to find acqua alta, it's a perfect opportunity to post this beautiful song from Sanremo 1984: Acqua alta in piazza San Marco by late Giampiero Artegiani. (NQ among Newcomers) He was back in 1986 with ... e le rondini sfioravano il grano , another beautiful song (3rd in Newcomers). He never made it big as a singer but had success as an author for others, including Sanremo 1988 winner Perdere l'amore, and Italy's home entry in 1991 Eurovision, Comme è ddoce 'o mare.  He also wrote and produced Zarrillo and Silvia Salemi among others.

Fiordaliso did a bit Ricchi e Poveri/Sará perche ti amo with this song. Placing only 5th in Sanremo 1984 it came a huge success both in Italian and Spanish in Latin America outselling the winner in longevity , a real evergreen that has been covered in various languages ( here's Eurovision winner Carola's take on it ) and artists. And here's the latest one from 2023 by Marco Guazzone .  Did you know this is co-written by Zucchero?

Italy took its well deserved third victory - finally! - at the Eurovision song contest 2021. Over the years several other Italian entries would have been worthy winners. In this series I will go through all of them from the worst ranking to the winner s. Franco Battiato (1945-2021) and Alice (67) apparently accepted to go to Eurovision simply because they wanted to perform with a big live orchestra as in those years in Italy most everything was playback only, even Sanremo that was won by another couple, Al Bano & Romina Power and Ci sará . Legendary million sellling Battiato was The Big seller in the early 1980's and apparently first was planning to go solo with No time, no space , song covered by Mahmood in the Arena di Verona tribute concert to his memory this fall, but when this I treni di Tozeur came to picture decided to ask Alice along whose success was already blooming in central Europe and after Eurovision  would spread to Scandinavia and Finland, too. Sadly they...

Italy took its well deserved third victory - finally! - at the Eurovision song contest 2021. Over the years several other Italian entries would have been worthy winners. In this series I will go through all of them from the worst ranking to the winner s. Al Bano and Romina Power returned to Eurovision for the second time with Magic oh magic  and finish again 7th but this time out of 19, so it's a bit higher in average than their 1976. They were chosen for reasons only known to Rai but the year before they had won Sanremo with Ci sarà . In 1985 Sanremo was won by another Eurovision act, namely Ricchi e Poveri with Se m'innamoro . Read more about Al Bano and Romina here .

Mahmood is the cover boy of Italian Vanity Fair in the very nice interview he is asked about his dreams and he says: Uno è incontrare il maestro Franco Battiato. Per quella volta che mi rapì dalla radio di una macchna, mentre andavo verso una spiaggia; con I treni di Tozeur io scoprii l'estasi. Salutarlo come fossimo in quel capolavoro della sua Alexander Platz : "C'era la neve, ci vediamo questa sera fuori dal teatro, "ti piace Schubert?" One is to meet maestro Franco Battiato. Since the time I heard I treni di Tozeur on car radio on my way to beach and I found heaven. I would greet him like if we were in his masterwork Alexander Platz . "There was snow, let's meet outside the theater tonight: "Do you like Schubert?" Sadly this dream will just stay a dream as Franco Battiato passed away last Tuesday. 

What a sad day. Somehow I knew it was coming but still it is a shock. I'm just too sad and numb to say anything now, I'll do proper post for his honor after Eurovision. His music has been such a big part of my life since 1980's and shaped my music taste more than I ever know. Rest in peace. You won't be forgotten.

  It's hard to find another artist like Franco Battiato: composer from experimental to pop to opera and soundtracks, singer, musician, arranger, producer, writer, documentalist, painter and philosopher and a lot more. He sold millions of albums in the 80's, started in the 60's and is still active. He has worked with Alice, Giuni Russo, Milva and Juri Camisasca just to name a few, not forgetting legendary late Giusto Pio. I adore. Still. Check out also

Hazell, from the UK Eurovision selection 1976 and 1984 to a leading and multiple award winning Hi-NRG live artist before providing hidden backing vocals to Samantha Janus in 1991 Eurovision and tuning into a cover artists and singing her old hits in the gay circuit. She's still around but like with so many I lost track of her when the decade came to an end.... Wonderful vocalist, maybe I should check out her again..... because she does things like this , this and this . 

Back in the 1980's Alice made it big in Germany and all the way to the 1990's she toured not only Germany but also Scandinavia and Finland, Benelux and of course also other German speaking countriess Switzerland and Austria. It's 2019 and she tours Germany again! This blogger crosses fingers it's a start of a longer tour that would reach further north later on... Viaggio in Italia is based on her 2003 album on the same name where she covers meaningful songs from Italian cantautori, or singer-songwriters like Franco Battiato, Lucio Dalla, Fabrizio De Andrè, Francesco De Gregori, Giorgio Gaber, Ivano Fossati, Lucio Battisti, Giuni Russo and herself of course. She's been touring Italy on and off ever since with occasional concerts, and new songs have been added to the line up including old classics like Per Elisa and Messaggio - by public demand. She will perform with Carlo Guaitoli (piamo and keyboards) and Antonello D'Urso (acoustic and electric guitars a...

Today sees the release of a new book on Franco Battiato. The 320 paged one is written by writer and musician Fabio Zuffanti. Filippo Bardi has created a detailed Franco Battiato discography section in the book. Battiato, who represented Italy in the Eurovision song contest 1984 with Alice and I treni di Tozeur enjoy's a living legend status in Italy with his over 50 years in the Italian art scene. He has written music from experimental to pop, opera and films, being also a painter, writer. movie director and a lot more. This book tells his story from a little Sicilian village to the biggest Italian pop phenomenom that exploded in 1982 with his La Voce del Padrone album, one of the most sold albums in the Italian music history. The book also digs deep into his collaboration with Alice and his other female collaborators, most notably Giuni Russo and Milva . Still active in his various forms of art he's retired to his home by the mountain Etna and recovering from a broke...

Johnny Logan, born as Seán Sherrard in Australia, moved back to Ireland at the age of 3 with his Irish born parents. Coming from a musical family he first tried to get to Eurovision in 1979 with Angie , placing 3rd.  The year after he was back with What's another year and won. Seven times 12 points gave him an easy won obver Germany's Katja Epstein who placed 2nd. (After being twice 3rd, must be frustrating!) He earned an UK #1 and a big hit all over Europe. Sadly his follow up singles flopped and he was soon considered a one hit wonder..... Meantime he wrote Terminal 3 for Linda Martin, the Eurovision 1984 runner up. In 1987 he decided to givee Eurovision another go as his career wasn't going anywhere. Hold me now won leaving Germany 2nd again, and he became the first ever double winner. It certaibly was worth returning, as his career also took another turn now and he got it going in Ireland and Germany, and kept it going elsewhere, too, even if those winners...

Miriam is a band from Torino and they've got a very special featured vocalist on their latest single, Alice! Plutone is a lovely song from their album to be released later this year titled  Questo é Pop , and could easily be also a new Alice solo track stylewise. All negative I can say about is that Alice is not featured also in the video!

Kiril Babitzin aka Kirka (22.9.1950-31.1.2007) is an unforgettable chapter of Finnish music history. An unique artist, whose sound is part of the Finnish soundtrack gets now his own musical, based on his life and career, both of them full of drama and ups and downs, ten years after his sudden death. Kirka was a teenage idol who caused a real mass hysteria back in the day, a rock icon who ended up recording also schlager against his will to ay the bills and debts, and that turned a succesful change of heart. He was a well behaving boy next-door from modest surroundings and became an idol and rock star like no one else. His most beloved hits Hetki lyö , Leijat , Eurovision entry Hengaillaan and Surun pyyhit silmistäni are all included in the show.  The musical premieres tomorrow and plays in Helsinki's Peacock Theater until April 22, 2017. Kalle LIndroth and Heikki Ranta alternate as Kirka.  Kirka released over 30 albums and is one of the artists who has taken par...

It has been a very sad year for Eurovision Finland this 2016. After Lasse Mårtensson (ESC 1964) and Riki Sorsa (ESC 1981) also Päivi Paunu (ESC 1972) passed away a couple of days ago. Of cancer like so many others. Considering before this year all but two Finnish stars were alive ( Laila Kinnunen ESC 1961 and Kirka ESC 1984) now we have lost already five.  Päivi Paunu made a name in folk circuit in Helsinki suburbs in the early 1960's, and soon she was in recording studio and her first single and album were released in 1966. Two years later she scored a megahit with Oi, niitä aikoja and she was co-starring two big summer tours in the late 1960's. Slowly her musical styled became more schlager-pop. Her singing career faded away when she started studying but she continued singing in the girlgroup Mirumaru in the early 1980's and doing some occasional small private concerts. She's also related to the famous Von Hertzen Brothers - she was their uncle's wife...

Alice and Franco Battiato joined forces for their first ever tour together this year that turned out rather triumphant and sold out everywhere and with added concerts and a second leg of the tour this fall. Now the whole affair, recorded live in Rome on March 16 and 17 with the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra will be released as a CD+DVD and even as a double-LP.  Sadly the album's art cover isn't maybe the most fortunate one and leaves this blogger (among others) rather confused, but it's the inside that counts, right? But also that's a bit problematic: Not the whole concert is included, sadly missing also I treni di Tozeur and Nomadi among others, it seems, but the tracklisting of the DVD is not yet made public so who knows? The fans of Alice haven't been very pleased with the tracklist, and her treatment in the tour as a luxury guest as someone pointed out, instead of the other headliner. Still, this is a must buy for any fan for the ure joy of her releasing so...