Nessuno, ti giuro, nessuno!

Oh dear. It's that time again. Having lost an hour on the weekend thanks to the clocks going forward, it feels even worse this morning trying to adjust to the alarm going off again...

Never mind, eh? Another recent birthday [she's 86 - gulp!] we missed was that of the utterly magnificent Mina, our "Patron Saint of Screamers" [several of whose biggest hits were translated into English and became hits for other singers, including our very own Shirley Bassey's Never, Never, Never] - so what better way to wake us up on a Tacky Music Monday than this faboo number?

Mina - Nessuno

Oh those groovy hepcats!

Have a good week, dear reader.

The woman who upstaged Anita Ekberg

As you will know, dear reader, there is nothing we like better here at Dolores Delargo Towers than to discover a new "diva"! Signorina Chelo Alonso is certainly a name I'd never come across before...

From IMDB:

If you remember those "sword and sandal" spectacles that became the rage of Italian cinema during the late 1950s and early 1960s, then you will certainly recall this torrid brunette bombshell. Invariably cast as the ambitiously evil queen or undulating dancer/temptress whose sole mission was to entrance the film's hero, Chelo Alonso's "peplum princess" prime would be surprisingly brief but her memorable moves and over-the-top histrionics were reason enough to place her on the international sex symbol pedestal and earn her cult status. While her acting contributions would certainly attract no awards, she did earn the honour of becoming "Italian Cinema's Female Discovery" early in the game...

She first attracted attention with the film Sign of the Gladiator (1959) where her erotically-charged dance segment stole the thunder right from under the movie's top-billed sex star, Swedish siren Anita Ekberg.

Niche, perhaps, but, by heavens - she has all the right moves for a Tacky Music Monday wake-up call..!

Chelo Alonso in La ragazza sotto il lenzuolo (1961)

[Love the queeny choreographer!]

Chelo Alonso in Guardatele ma non toccatele (1959)

No wonder she was nicknamed the "Cuban H-Bomb" at the Folies Bergère!

Have a great week, dear reader.

La Wandissima

It's been a packed weekend, dear reader - the V&A's spectacular Diva exhibition on Saturday [more of that later, no doubt], followed by a very rainy day at Kew Gardens with Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex. I feel I really need another day off to recover...

But life determines otherwise, so here, to help ease us into the grind yet again on this Tacky Music Monday is a diva [in fact three of them] shamefully not featured in that exhibition, in a post I did @decadeago:

It has been ages since I featured that campest-of-camp grande signora of Italian entertainment, described in The Guardian as "a rather camp Latin mix of Mae West and Mistinguette", Miss Wanda Osiris.

But it is Tacky Music Monday, after all (and we always need cheering up at the start of a working week) - so here she is, in full "Norma Desmond" drag (and a bit croaky, but we always forgive an old broad many sins), topping a bill that includes two of our favourite Italian divas Mina Mazzini and Raffaella Carra, performing in a typically understated number, A Capocabana:

Wonderful...

Facts about Wanda Osiris:

• Born Anna Menzio on 3rd June 1905 in Rome, she was 16 when she joined a vaudeville company, something that was almost unheard of during those strict times.
• Often nicknamed "La Wandissima", she went on to become one of Italy's most successful stage performers of the 1920s to the 1950s.
• Ground-breakingly flamboyant, she was credited with being the first to use chorus boys in her act. [She invented "safety gays"!!]
• Among her myriad revues was Carousel of Variety in which she appeared with (among others) Josephine Baker and Anna Magnani.
• She retired in the mid-'60s and after that only occasionally performed on television.

Wanda Osiris died on 11th November 1994, aged 89 - her obituary (in Italian, of course).

Have a good week, dear reader.

Cantaré, oh-oh-oh-oh

I spent all day in the garden today, on what was probably the hottest day of the year so far - I achieved a lot, including splitting and re-potting one of the Salvia uglinosa, moving loads of plants around to their summer locations ("playing Tetris"), and then watered and fed every one of our 200+ pots! I'm knackered now.

Inevitably, my company all day was BBC Radio 2 and, it being the run-up to Eurovision, a number of Euro-themed shows were on offer.

Most fascinating was Jack Savoretti's Made In Italy, in which he explored the breadth of Italian pop and its relationship with Eurovision [this year's contest takes place in Milan] - and with a whole load of songs that we consider "standards" today, such as these...

Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have to Say You Love Me began life as an entry in the 1965 Sanremo Festival thus:

Pino Donaggio - Io Che Non Vivo Senza Te

Mostly due to a certain Dean Martin, this song has had a life of its own for decades, yet was originally entered in the 1958 Eurovision Song contest, only coming third:

Domenico Modugno - Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu

Cilla's You're My World was originally Il mio mondo, premiered by Umberto Bindi, but sung here by Miranda Martino:

Finally, where would one of or treasured Patron Saints Dame Shirley Bassey have been without the pioneering team behind this massive hit for another Patron Saint, Mina?!

Mina Mazzini - Grande, Grande, Grande

Viva l'Italia!

Domani chi lo sa, quel che sarà?

The higher the hair, the closer to God?

For a change, dear reader, I am not groaning after the end of another weekend - for I am on leave for two weeks. Yay!

To add to the joy, we have another "diva discovery" to ease us into a new week! The rather faboo Miranda Martino (for it is she) is a singer and actress whose career has spanned seven decades, yet is completely unknown outside her native Italy. Her career was launched at the 1956 Sanremo Festival, and after numerous albums, film and television appearances throughout the intervening decades, she made a resurgence in 2019 at the age of 85 with a one woman revue called I began again at 80. Just this year she popped up as one of the "talking heads" in a film documentary about the life of Ennio Morricone. Phew!

I discovered her when this choon was featured as part of the daily In Tune Mixtapes on [surprisingly; again] the BBC's classical music station Radio 3 - with this number [a song that was featured in the first Pink Panther film, and was written by Signôr Morricone]:

Miranda Martino - Meglio stasera

On this Tacky Music Monday however, here she is belting out one of her power ballads - for some bewildering reason on what looks for all the world like a motorway viaduct...

Miranda Martino - O paese d'o sole

Questions, questions... Why is she on a tour bus looking like she just stepped off Aristotle Onassiss's yacht at Antibes? Why did said bus then abandon her and that gaggle of gormless tourists on the side of the road and drive off? Who was the weirdo in a bowler hat anyway, and why did they book a tour with him when he's clearly disturbed? Furthermore, I wish this video were in colour, because I'd love to know what shade of vivid red she might have chosen for that wig!

Have a good week, chums.

La Pantera di Goro

It seems like almost yesterday [it was actually in 2018] that I posted of our joy here at Dolores Delargo Towers in discovering (another) "new" diva.

Yesterday came the news that Italy's beloved Milva "La Rossa" [so nicknamed because of her fiery locks; she was also known as "La Pantera [Panther] di Goro"] had taken her ticket in the queue for Fabulon...

In her six-decade career, she sold more than 80 million records and recorded 173 albums. She specialised in the "edgier" end of the "chanson" style, having great success with her interpretations of songs by Edith Piaf and Brecht and Weill, she also collaborated with greats such as Ennio Morricone, Francis Lai, Mikis Theodorakis, Vangelis, Franco Battiato and Astor Piazzolla, and appeared on the great opera stages of Europe including La Scala Milan, Paris Opera and the Royal Opera House. She was the only Italian artist in contemporary times who was simultaneously Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic, Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Phew. What a woman!

Here she is, giving Grace Jones a run for her money in the "tango-interpretation" stakes!

Milva - Libertango

RIP, Milva (born Maria Ilva Biolcati, 17th July 1939 – 23rd April 2021)

Definitely no zero

After a beautiful sunny weekend, reality hits, as we embark on yet another week in the (ahem) delightful atmosphere of the office...

Bugger that! We're continuing our countdown to Gay Pride this weekend - and what better way to do that on this tacky Music Monday than with the most bizarre, most outrageous discovery we've had in ages?

Lords, ladies and gentlemen (and everything in-between), meet Renato Zero!

Renato Zero - Giorni

Renato Zero - Navigaro

Renato Zero with Raffaella Carra - Money

Wow. Now that's what I call a wake-up!

Surely "the Queen has spoken"?

Sigh. Weekend over. It's like Groundhog Day again.

Untypically, the weather continues to be sunny and warm - nay, actually hot - here in Londinium. More's the pity it's not going to do us any bloody good, as we sit in the benighted office for another five days...

Hey ho, one can always rely on Our Patron Saint of head-flicks Signorina Raffaella Carra to cheer us up on a Tacky Music Monday!

Rafaella Carra - Lo ha dicho el Rey

Apparently this song translates as "The King has said it" or "The King has spoken", but I think Raffaella (and most of her fanbase, to be honest) is more deserving of the title "Queen".

Have a good week, sweeties...

Mi hai sicuramente preso in giro, proprio dall'inizio

A summer visitor - a Hummingbird Hawk Moth on the beautiful Phlox in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers

We love our new home. We love our garden. We love our parties and get-togethers. But, all that aside, there is little we love more here at Dolores Delargo Towers than to stumble across a new Diva!

And, thanks the the eternal meanderings of Madam Arcati across the interwebs, we have another.



Milva (for it is she) - nick-named La Rossa (Italian for "The Redhead") by her adoring public - has had a career spanning seven decades, as an internationally-renowned singer and actress, collaborating with the likes of Ennio Morricone, Mikis Theodorakis and Francis Lai.

She has gained a reputation not only in her native Italy but also in Germany and France for her specialism in chanson, tango, and "songs of the outsider" - including the music of Brecht and Weill, such as this one...

Milva - Surabaya Johnny

She is simply fantabulosa!

Cento di questi giorni, Signorina Maria Ilva Biolcati (aka Milva, born 17th July 1939)!

Ma che vacanza é

Another day, another wartime baby... Yesterday we celebrated the 75th birthday of one "Queen of Sequins", Barry Manilow. Today it is the turn of another; as to our amazement we discover that none other than Our Patron Saint of Dramatic-Head-Flicking Signorina Raffaella Carrà has hit the same milestone!



Raffaella Carrà is 75?!! Fuck.

On this Tacky Music Monday, let us celebrate the divine madness of the great lady. She was simply born to occupy our traditionally OTT start-the-week spot - fabulous costumes, frenetic choreography, safety gays and all - so here's a double-bill for your delectation...

Raffaella Carrà - Santo Santo (Ma che vacanza é)

Raffaella Carrà - Adios Amigo

Buon compleanno, tesoro!

Raffaella Carrà (born Raffaella Maria Pelloni, 18th June 1943)

Aaah, voglia di ballar con te!

After a weekend that involved paying tribute to one "triumph of art over nature", it is time to applaud another!

Lord knows we need some cheering up in order to drag ourselves out of the glorious sunshine into the morbidly boring confines of the office - but, on this Tacky Music Monday, who better to provide that cheer than yesterday's birthday girl Signorina Raffaella Carrà?

She's Ballo, ballo-ing her tits off!

Raffaella Carrà - Ballo, ballo

Have a good one, peeps...

Felicitazioni!

Breaking news: The Italian parliament has backed the legalisation of same-sex civil unions.

Any excuse, by way of celebration, to feature one of our favourite Italian Patron Saints - Mina!

Mina - Un anno d'amore

We adore her. And I am certain she adores us...

Samba Carra!

It's another Monday. Groooo!

Having spent a sunny weekend alternately packing for the move, sunbathing, and yesterday afternoon at West End Live (more of that later, no doubt), we greet the dawn of a new working week with an inevitable agonised groan.

What better way to welcome in the new week on this Tacky Music Monday (and to begin the countdown to Gay Pride on Saturday) than with one of our campest Patron Saints Raffaella Carrà (who celebrated her 71st birthday on 18th June), and her Disco Samba medley?

Raffaella Carrà - Disco Samba [Fantastico 3]

Safety gays in pink tights?

How fantabulosa.

Have a great week, everyone...

Una tristezza così non la sentivo

News that our eternal fave Miss Roisin Murphy is finally going to release her long-awaited EP of interpretations of Italian classics by the likes of Patty Pravo, Lucio Battisti, Gino Paoli and Mina reminds me that we haven't featured that "Patron Saint" from the land of pasta and Pinot Grigio, Signorina Mazzini in a while.

On this Tacky Music Monday let's redress that and cheer ourselves up as we head back to work, with the lady Mina herself - complete with snappy camerawork and those outfits...

Mina - La Banda

Have a good week, sweeties!

Mina on Wikipedia

More Mina

Pravo! Pravo!

Oh dear. Another weekend over and done with, and it's back to the toil...

Never mind, let's cheer up the gloomy mood on this Tacky Music Monday with one of our favourite Italians, Miss Patty Pravo (and her gay sicurezza)!

She didn't want to do it, apparently. Neither did they.

Patty Pravo - You Made Me Love You

Patty Pravo on Wikipedia

An atmosphere that simply reeks of class

This is the last but one Tacky Music Monday before the dreaded festering season is upon us, so I thought I'd give myself a present...

To cheer our spirits as we head to work again with a heavy heart, we have the unbeatable combination of our Italian Patron Saints Raffaella Carra and Mina Mazzini, with a bevy of safety gays, chiffon-clad girls, and all to the sound of Irving Berlin - it's Top Hat!

Raffaella and Mina - Top Hat, White Tie and Tails

Have a good week, peeps!

La Wandissima

It has been ages since I featured that campest-of-camp grande signora of Italian entertainment, described in The Guardian as "a rather camp Latin mix of Mae West and Mistinguette", Miss Wanda Osiris.

But it is Tacky Music Monday, after all (and we always need cheering up at the start of a working week) - so here she is, in full "Norma Desmond" drag (and a bit croaky, but we always forgive an old broad many sins), topping a bill that includes two of our favourite Italian divas Mina Mazzini and Raffaella Carra, performing in a typically understated number, A Capocabana:

Wonderful...

Facts about Wanda Osiris:

• Born Anna Menzio on 3rd June 1905 in Rome, she was 16 when she joined a vaudeville company, something that was almost unheard of during those strict times.
• Often nicknamed "La Wandissima", she went on to become one of Italy's most successful stage performers of the 1920s to the 1950s.
• Ground-breakingly flamboyant, she was credited with being the first to use chorus boys in her act. [She invented "safety gays"!!]
• Among her myriad revues was Carousel of Variety in which she appeared with (among others) Josephine Baker and Anna Magnani.
• She retired in the mid-'60s and after that only occasionally performed on television.

Wanda Osiris died on 11th November 1994, aged 89 - her obituary (in Italian, of course).

Touchy, touchy

We couldn't let the 70th birthday today (how scary is that?) of Miss Raffaella Carrà pass by without paying an appropriate tribute to our favourite Italian Patron Saint, now could we?

Here's the utterly marvellous Tuca Tuca:

Raffaella Carra - Tuca Tuca

I expect you all to have the moves perfected before lunchtime!

Raffaella Carrà (born 18th June 1943)

Noisy

After a splendid weekend of sunshine, with only one brief thunderstorm, it's a most depressing sensation to have to return to work for another week of ill-functioning air conditioning and general gloom.

Who better to cheer us up on this Tacky Music Monday but Miss Raffaella Carrà, our Patron Saint of violent hair flicks? She is fantabulosa, and we adore her...

Raffaella Carrà - Rumore

[Rumore is an Italian word for "noisy"...]

Raffaella Forever website

D-d-do it, baby please

I watched a retrospective documentary tonight on ITV all about a singular pop phenomenon. Twenty-five years ago, the chart world was dominated by a unique force - those three likely lads, Stock Aitken and Waterman and their Hit Factory.

In this week alone in 1987, Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, Sinitta's Toy Boy, FLM by Mel And Kim, I Heard A Rumour by Bananarama and indeed Roadblock by Stock Aitken Waterman themselves were all in the Top 40.

But the PWL boys didn't have it all their own way. From out of nowhere (well, Italy actually) came another pop powerhouse called Spagna with her equally catchy Call Me - which very nearly beat dear Rick to the top! And here it is:

Spagna - Call Me

However, even the lady's magnificent "Phyllis Diller" hairdo couldn't bag her another big hit here.

Facts about Ivana Spagna:

• She started her career as one half of that fantabulosa Hi-NRG duo Fun Fun.
• The number 2 position achieved by Call Me apparently remains the highest ever reached in the UK charts by an Italian singer.
• After her one UK and US hit, she moved to California. Unfortunately, fame eluded her there and she returned to Italy to great success - to date she has sold more than 10 million records!

Spagna website