Pino D’Angio’

Born in Pompei in 1952, Giuseppe Chierchia, known by the stage name Pino D'Angiò, rose to musical prominence in the mid-1970s. Blessed with a strong stage presence, he drew inspiration from the figure of Fred Buscaglione, adapting it to the spirit of the times. After his 1979 debut with the single "E' libero scusi?", D'Angiò-Chierchia achieved success and considerable popularity with "Ma quale idea", a track he wrote himself, a funky rap over a disco beat that also took over the dancefloors. The track, arranged by Enrico Intra, sold around two and a half million copies, topping the charts in many European countries. The lyrics recounted, with plenty of irony, a supposed pick-up at a disco, and contained some delightfully fun moments: "... I let loose, Fred Astaire by comparison was static and clumsy... ... I gave her a kiss on the mouth, the kind that smacks...".

D'Angiò then took part in the 1981 edition of Festivalbar with "Un concerto da strapazzo", a sparkling track whose lyrics imagined him organising a concert of Italian stars, ideally assigning each of them a different musical instrument. Enjoyable were the interludes in which he allowed himself the luxury of snubbing the participation of Pink Floyd ("...falli aspettare...") and the Bee Gees ("... i Bee Gees no... sono bravi ma..."). The following year, again at Festivalbar, he presented "Fammi un panino", with which he again achieved good success. He later wrote the song "Ma chi è quello lì" for Mina, recorded other singles, and worked behind the scenes with Rai, hosting several television and radio programmes.

The singer-songwriter, born in Pompei, who had long been battling a serious illness, has died at 71. His last public appearance dated back to Sanremo 2023, where during the duets night he performed alongside Bnkr44, who had just relaunched an updated version of his "Ma quale idea". The same song had also been covered by Flaminio Maphia in 2005.