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Sign upVideos, fashion, cinema, sleeves, TV - Italo Disco as part of the era.
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November 1987. Mikhail Boyarsky records “Zelenoglazoe Taxi” for a Melodiya long-play. The song was written by composer Oleg Kvasha to lyrics by Valery Panfilov and originally performed by Kvasha himself - but in mass memory it attached itself to Boyarsky. This is a case where a cover outgrew the original: the performer's version became the face of the song, while the author's version stayed with a narrow circle.
12 December 2007. Alexander Pushny posts a cover of “Zelenoglazoe Taxi” - in the style of Rammstein, with a German lyric “Du Taxi mit den Augen grün”. The song he is covering was written by composer Oleg Kvasha to lyrics by Valery Panfilov in 1987 and originally performed by Kvasha himself. In twenty years one Soviet эстрада piece gathered at least nine documented versions, from a disco remix to an English-language pop cover.
November 3, 1992. Whitney Houston releases “I Will Always Love You”, a pop ballad for the film The Bodyguard; the soundtrack and the single ship on the same day. The song will sit at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen weeks, earn a diamond RIAA certification, top the charts of 34 countries and sell more than 25 million copies - the year's best-seller and the biggest-selling single by a female solo artist in history.
The Technics SL-1200 arrived in October 1972. The Pioneer CDJ-500 - in 1994. Between these two models lies the boundary that separated the 80s disco from the 90s: vinyl gave way to CD, the analog synthesizer to the sequencer, the live MC to the DJ set. The key "disco 80s 90s" is searched 131,196 times a month - but the difference is not in "mood", it is in technology, carriers and the format of the evening.
1988, Saratov. Former OBKhSS officer Alexander Shishinin and composer Vitaliy Okorokov assemble a female group called Kombinaciya - inspired by a Mirage concert. A year later "Russian Girls" will sound across the country, and by 1992 "Dva kusocheka kolbaski" ("Two Little Slices of Sausage") will become a signature of the Russian 90s disco.
September 1989. Belgian project Technotronic, created by producer Jo Bogaert back in 1987, releases "Pump Up the Jam" - a single that will reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and set the tempo for the entire following decade. The 90s disco does not begin on 1 January 1991, but right here: when the four-on-the-floor kick and synth bass from Frankfurt and Brussels studios hit dancefloors across Europe - and then, with a delay, Russia.
Italo Disco lyrics were often written by non-native English speakers, so literal translation rarely works. We explain how to preserve rhythm, image and mood, and give tips for anyone who wants to translate.
1992-1996. Eurodance videos set the visual code of the decade: chroma key, aerobics, neon, dancers in bright costumes. 20 international videos that explain it best.
1983: ZYX releases “The Best of Italo Disco”. Discomagic presses thousands of singles but only a handful of albums. Italo Disco lived on 12-inch maxi-singles and compilations. The “Italo Boot Mix”, “Italo Maxi-Hits”, “I Love ZYX” series. How to tell an album from a compilation.
500 euros for an original Savage “Don't Cry Tonight” on Discomagic - or 30 euros for a bootleg. How do you tell an Italo Disco bootleg from an original? Seven signs: matrix, label, vinyl, cover, catalog number, pressing country and price. A checklist with examples of Italian releases.
The Goldmine scale - Mint, Near Mint, Very Good Plus, Very Good - is adopted by Discogs as the standard. The Italo Disco collector meets it at every purchase. A breakdown of how NM, VG+ and VG really differ, what signs show under the lamp, typical seller mistakes and why Italian pressings are noisier than German ones.
1984. Discomagic Records presses the Savage 'Don't Cry Tonight' vinyl. Thirty years later - a 180g reissue. Sound, packaging, matrix, condition: how originals differ from reissues.
The runout zone of a vinyl record - the smooth strip between the last groove and the label. Matrix number, stamper generation, pressing plant code, mastering engineer initials. How to read an italo-disco single matrix and distinguish an original Italian pressing from a German licence.
June 1975: Frankie Valli releases the first wide-scale 12-inch promo - 10:32 on one side. The format was invented by accident by Tom Moulton. We break down how maxi-singles, 7-inches and album versions differed in Italo disco: duration, dynamics, breakdown and DJ intro.
1974: Tom Moulton and Jose Rodriguez create the 12-inch single - a hybrid with a wide groove and maximum volume. A 7-inch holds 3 minutes; a 12-inch holds 9 minutes at 4-6 dB louder. Why Italo Disco lived on this format.
1 October 1981 - Australian release. January 1983 - Billboard #1 for 4 weeks, UK #1 for 3 weeks. Greg Ham's flute line (F-G-F-E♭) - the track's most recognisable part. In 2010 the Federal Court called it an infringement of 1934's “Kookaburra”; in 2012 Ham was found dead in Melbourne.
27 February 1981: Springfield writes his debut hit in 2 hours after a stained-glass class in Pasadena - a real woman called Karen, her boyfriend Gary (a coincidental surname match). Billboard #1 for 2 weeks from 1 August 1981, 1982 Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal. Same months he was Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.
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