Peppino Di Capri has died. When in 1965 he opened for the Beatles' concerts in Italy: "I was the one who recommended them to my label"

Italian music is in mourning for the loss of Peppino Di Capri, who has died at 86 after a long illness. A singer-songwriter, the artist from Campania lived through every era of Italian pop music, leaving behind hits that have become part of the collective imagination, such as “Champagne,” “Roberta” and “Un grande amore e niente più.”
In 1965, when he was a regular chart fixture and a mainstay of Italy's biggest song festivals, Di Capri also had the chance to act as an “opening act” for a band that had broken through only a few years earlier and become a generational phenomenon: he was chosen to open all the Italian concerts of the Beatles, a recognition that confirmed the international standing the singer from Capri had already achieved. Peppino — born Giuseppe Faiella — accompanied the Fab Four on the three dates of their mini-tour in Italy: at the Palazzo dello Sport in Genoa, the Teatro Adriano in Rome and the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan, sharing the stage with the most famous group of the moment.

Over the years he had also recalled that experience on social media, posting the poster for the 1965 Rome concerts, which today stands as a valuable piece of evidence from a historic chapter in music.
At the time, Peppino Di Capri was already one of the stars of Italian song. His selection as the Beatles' opening act was no accident: the Campanian artist was distributed by Carisch, the same label that released the Liverpool quartet's records in Italy. Di Capri himself recounted, years later, that he had suggested to the record label that they sign the Beatles, having sensed their potential after watching their success grow across the rest of Europe.
The Italian tour, organized by the veteran promoter Leo Wachter, represented one of the most significant moments in the singer's international career. At the Vigorelli in Milan, in front of around seven thousand spectators, Peppino Di Capri performed for just under half an hour, also offering a few covers of British beat hits, before leaving the stage to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Recalling that evening in an interview with FQMagazine, he explained: “I was the last of the opening acts before the Beatles. It often happens that, waiting for the night's stars, the crowd gets worked up and won't let you perform. That evening, though, everyone was very polite and respectful. It really was an honor for me.”
During the tour's travels he had the chance to share a few moments with the Fab Four, although contact was very limited: the group was constantly surrounded by tight security that prevented anyone from getting close. Only at the end of the tour did the Beatles agree to take a few photographs together with the Italian artists.
Peppino Di Capri's relationship with British music didn't end with that experience. In 1966, in fact, he recorded “Operazione sole,” considered the first ska track in Italian music. The genre, born in Jamaica and already hugely popular among young Britons, thus arrived in Italy thanks to the Campanian artist's instinct, once again confirming his ability to grasp and anticipate international musical trends.

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