Pino D'Angiò

Italian singer Pino D'Angiò is best known for his 1980 hit "Ma Quale Idea". Born in Pompeii on August 14, 1952 under the name Giuseppe Chierchia, he grew up in the United States before returning to his native country to study medicine in Siena. At the same time, he began earning pocket money by singing in clubs, and met producer Ezio Leoni, who launched him in 1979 with the track " È Libero, Scusi? A year later, he scored a hit with the single "Ma Quale Idea" ("But what an idea"), a rap- and funk-tinged Italo-disco with a bass line inspired by McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", which sold two million copies in Italy (No. 16) and reached No. 1 in Spain and No. 2 in France. After the album ... Balla! (1981) and prizes at the Festivalbar in Verona's Arena, Pino D'Angiò continued to record throughout the 1980s, but without regaining such a large audience, composing for other artists including Mina. He hosted radio and TV programs, took part in musicals and, in 1986, starred in Giuseppe Tornatore's film Il Camorrista. Returning to music in 1990, he teamed up with producer Bruno Sanchioni to form the duo Age of Love, whose track "The Age of Love " popularized trance techno and was extensively remixed, notably by Jam & Spoon and Paul Van Dyk. In the years that followed, the singer resumed touring the world and recorded the album Lettere a Federico Fellini (2003). Despite recurring health problems that kept him away from stage and studio, he collaborated with rapper Franco126 and French singer Corine, before returning in 2023 with The New Album, featuring contributions from Kashmere and Momo Riva. In 2024, he covered his only hit in a new version with the group Bnkr 44, entitled "Ma Che Idea" and performed at the Sanremo festival. On July 6, 2024, Pino D'Angiò died at his home in Formello, near Rome, at the age of 71.