I’m a stubborn lover of disco music, and the love started in the year 1978. From 1980 to 1991, I’ve been a radio DJ, and my genre was disco music. As a simple fan, I’ve followed the global dance music scene from 1991 to 2011, and I was sober 24 hours a day (it’s not irrelevant). In the year 2011, I have reinvented myself as a blogger of disco music, and amateur web DJ. My record collection is huge, perfectly ordered, catalogued with criteria taken from professional world, and pertinent information has been almost entirely digitalized. The internet has helped me in enlarging and deepening my knowledge about the favorite music. For that, without false humility, I declare myself an expert in the matter of disco music. Unluckily, I’m not satisfied with a large part of musical journalism. More in detail, I’m especially sad about the official history of disco music in my homeland, Italy, because the percentage of verified facts is low into all of the sources, that I’ve found and accurately read. I have already attempted to give a small contribution, by posting some pages on the blog. More than that, I’m committed to increase and to improve the results of my continual researches, because I’ve seen things of my country that deserve to be known, and are worth to be valorized.
Even if I am not yet ready to propose an alternative history of disco music in Bologna, I am already conscious that some crucial events have been intentionally cancelled, for not perfectly clear purposes, and by persons who are not completely extraneous to politics. A past page of the blog, now deleted and only in my private archive, was a tribute page in honor of Michele Giuliano, known and popular as “DJ Miki del Ciak di Bologna” (see the page of the blog dedicated to the dead DJs). DJ Miki died more than 1 year ago, and I have defined him “the unsung father of the Italian disco movement”. By following the same path, the page you’re reading is an accurate analysis of the earliest production of disco music in Bologna, a beautiful single titled “Macho – I’m a man”, released on a record label appositely created, and named “Goody Music”. The single became a disco hit, even in NYC. What are some underestimated facts about the cited vinyl record? The page serves to answer to the question.
According to official media, Goody Music was a fruit of the collaboration between a DJ, Mr. Jacques Fred Petrus, and a musician, Mr. Mauro Malavasi. Mr. Jacques Fred Petrus was an obscure man from Guadeloupe, and they say that he was the DJ of the nightclub Good Mood in Milan, a venue for VIPs. Sorry, no nightclub named Good Mood has ever been in Milan. Differently, a small, namesake club was there in the center of Bologna, around the year 1978, and it wasn’t a milestone. During the same year, Mr. Mauro Malavasi was still a fresh graduated from the Conservatory of Bologna, with no relevant experience. In summary, according to media, the fathers of Goody Music were two obscure men, totally inexperienced. Despite, the single “I’m a man” is incredible, and, evidently, the work of a mature professional, at an excellent level. Is it a mystery? Yes, but the solution is near. You need to read carefully the cover of the vinyl record, where you can find that the remix was performed by “Tom Savarese”. An Italian professional? No, a superstar DJ from NYC, awarded as the best in the USA, who was earning a lot of money. So, the true mystery is another, why did the best disco DJ all over the world come to Italy in 1978, when his career was at the top? Honestly, facts are lost, there’s no sure answer. I can only attempt a theory, based on Michele Giuliano. In effect, while Tom Savarese was nominated the best disco DJ in the USA by the Billboard Magazine, at the same time a similar award was given to Michele Giuliano, DJ Miki, who was nominated the best disco DJ in Europe. Details are unknowable, but there was only one man able to invite Tom Savarese to come to Italy, Mr. Michele Giuliano himself. Luckily, in 1978 and in 1979, Mr. Tom Savarese has also enlightened the disco scene of northern Italy, for about 1 year, by working as a resident DJ, at first in Milano Marittima, then in Formigine near Modena, and successively in Mantua, my hometown. Can I say that “Macho – I’m a man” belongs to Italo-disco? I could only if I knew nothing about disco.
How can I demonstrate my theory? I’ve recorded a mix, with the earliest productions of house music in Italy. While enjoying the mix, you might notice the following things: Italian producers were still fresh and ingenuous in the year 1986; the English of true Italian productions is horrible, a mixture of senseless phrases, and grammar mistakes; the content of lyrics is highly politically incorrect, including a lot of trash language, unlimited rudeness, and even mocking of homosexuals. In conclusion, almost no one suspects that Bologna has been a disco music colony of New York City, and, for that, has given birth to fabulous records. By the way, the catalogue of Goody Music deserves a future tribute page.
File name is “my earliest house, highly incorrect, by Max Look DJ (March 2024)”, about 1 hour 21’of the most significant and earliest Italian productions of house music. In case you’re not a purist of the English language, you might have fun in listening to it.
Incorrect and rude, the playlist:
Landro & Co – belo e sambar (dub version, 1988)
Cutmaster-G & the Plastic Beats – rock on! (1989)
Raff Todesco – I got my mind (1988)
P/P/G – jack the beat (1988)
Horn & Art – action! (the cock, 1989)
Beat Kick – claro que si (acid version 1988)
House Force – pig house (1986)
DJ Atkins & Sharada House Gang – let’s down the house (1988)
The Jam Machine – graffiti house (radio mix 1988)
Abel Kare – allalla (Afro acid, 1988)
DJ System – animal house (1987)
Gay Forse feat. DJ Roby – checca dance (1988)
Toilet Paper – inno del corpo sciolto (1988)
Francesco Salvi – c’รจ da spostare una macchina (extended mix, 1988)
Yagmur – woo-alli-alli (extasy trip, 1988)
Raimunda Navarro – me gusta (Spanish version, 1988)
