Tonight on show #43 we pay tribute to the exciting genre of music known as Italo Disco.

The entry of synthesizers and other electronic effects into the disco genre produced electronic dance music, including America’s Hi-NRG and Europe’s space disco. Italo disco’s influences include Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, French musician Didier Marouani, a couple of hits by the French drummer Cerrone, electronic and synthpop acts such as Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Telex, Devo and Gary Numan, and the early Hi-NRG albums of San Francisco producer Patrick Cowley with such singers as Sylvester and Paul Parker.

Although disco music was generally reviled and shunned in the English-speaking world during the 1980s, dance music was still popular in Europe. Italian disco DJs’ desire for new music was frustrated because new songs were imports and therefore too expensive. So Italian producers and musicians filled the void with their own new music.

As with all musical styles, Italo disco incorporated different subgenres, overlapped with other styles, and evolved rather than appearing and disappearing, so there are conflicting points of view on what the “first” Italo disco record was and when the genre began. What can be said is that disco music was being produced by Italian producers since at least 1977. Italo disco often featured electronic sounds, drum machines, catchy melodies, vocoders, overdubs, and heavily accented English lyrics. By 1983, Italo disco’s instrumentation was predominantly electronic. Along with love, Italo disco themes deal with robots and space, sometimes combining all three in songs like “Robot Is Systematic” (1982) by ‘Lectric Workers and “Spacer Woman” (1983) by Charlie.

1982 And 1983 saw the release of three tracks cited as influential in the development of Chicago’s house music: the irony-laden “Dirty Talk“, “Wonderful” and “The M.B.O. Theme”, all by Klein + M.B.O., a side-project developed by Davide Piatto of the Italo disco duo N.O.I.A., with vocals by Piatto and Rossana Casale. Other Italo disco imports to the United States, such as “Feel the Drive” by Doctor’s Cat, influenced house music.

Although the genre was successful in Europe during the 1980s, it was never particularly successful in the United Kingdom, although several Italo disco songs did become hits there. Nonetheless, several British electronic acts such as the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and New Order are said to have been influenced by the genre.

In 1983, there were frequent hit singles and labels such as American Disco, Crash, Merak, Sensation and X-Energy appeared. The popular label Disco Magic released more than thirty singles within the year. It was also the year that the term “Italo disco” became widely known outside of Italy, with the release of the first volumes of The Best of Italo Disco compilation series on the German record label ZYX. After 1983, Italo disco was also produced outside of Italy.

On tonights show I have a bit of a mixed bag, with some classic Italo Disco artists such as Ken Laszlo, Fun Fun, Secret Service and Fancy, and a few others that loosely fit the genre such as Divine and Pet Shop Boys (both mixes being produced by Bobby O) and German outfit The Twins. Plus a few modern artists in the form of Lonnie Gordon and the 49ers.

We also have a worldwide premiere of Gay Australian artist Repatra feat Johnny X with TWO new tracks, namely Answerphone and Impeccable.

We of course tip our hats to the Late-Great Bernhard Mikulski who founded ZYX Records and coined the term “Italo-Disco” in the 80’s. This man was responsible for the success of Artists like, Koto, Baby’s Gang, Cyber People, Brian Ice, Ken Laszlo, Silver Pozzoli, Lee Marrow – and hundreds of other Italo Artists that we still enjoy today.

Saturday 7pm GMT+10 on JOY949.Tune into JOY 94.9 on your radio, or listen on your computer / mobile device by visiting www.joy.org.au/listenlive

Thanks to everyone who sent in requests and messages on our social media platforms. I love hearing from you 🙂
See you next week.

Electronically Yours,

John von Ahlen