Lucio Dalla, family takes on Vannacci over use of "Futura": "No authorization was given"

Hands off “Futura”. The family of Lucio Dalla and the Foundation that safeguards the Bolognese singer-songwriter's artistic legacy have spoken out after his classic song was appropriated by Roberto Vannacci. The former League politician had in fact chosen Dalla's "Futura" as the soundtrack for the founding assembly of Futuro Nazionale. During the political event, the former general presented programmes dedicated to culture, music and sport while the famous 1979 song played, described from the stage as "a beautiful song by Lucio Dalla". The choice, however, had not been agreed with the artist's heirs, who are now threatening to block its use.

“We were never asked for any authorisation, and while it's always an improper use of Dalla's songs when done by a political party, it's even more unpleasant when it comes from someone so far removed from Lucio's thinking and world”, said Dea Melotti, the singer-songwriter's cousin and vice-president of the Fondazione Lucio Dalla. Daniele Caracchi, from the Foundation and the historic record label Pressing Line, also expressed surprise at what happened: “We were taken aback and astonished; to protect Lucio's image and art we have never allowed Dalla's work to be used in a political context, regardless of the party. Dalla is beyond any partisan reasoning, whatever it may be; I believe this is the first time this kind of use has occurred, and we will try to get to the bottom of it”.

The use of the song by the right-wing extremists of Futuro Nazionale also clashes with the very meaning of "Futura", one of the most celebrated songs in Dalla's catalogue. Written in the late 1970s during a stay in Berlin and released on the album "Dalla" (1979), the song tells of two young lovers symbolically separated by the Wall, who together imagine a different future and dream of a daughter they would name Futura. A story suspended between love, hope and the desire to overcome borders and divisions - a far cry, then, from Vannacci's xenophobic political stances.

The case is part of a long series of controversies surrounding the use of songs in political contexts without the consent of the artists or their heirs. In recent years, from Neil Young to Abba, from Leonard Cohen's heirs to the Foo Fighters, numerous musicians have objected to the use of their work during election campaigns and political rallies. Italy too has seen its share of notable precedents, from Vasco Rossi's protests over the use of "C'è chi dice no" during the 2016 constitutional referendum, to the cease-and-desist letters sent to Matteo Salvini by Rino Gaetano's heirs, right up to Ludovico Einaudi's objection against the Five Star Movement.

Although copyright law in many cases allows the public performance of musical pieces during events and rallies, the question of propriety and respect for the authors' wishes remains open. It's a position that, in Lucio Dalla's case, the Foundation has firmly reiterated: his music, his heirs maintain, should not be associated with any political affiliation, least of all that of Futuro Nazionale.

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