Marco Masini

Marco Masini was born in the city of Florence, in the region of Tuscany, Italy, on 18 September 1964. His mother, Anna Maria, sang and played piano, and was an elementary school teacher before she quit the profession to have a life at home with the family. His father, Giancarlo, worked as a representative of hair products.

When Marco was three years old he received a toy piano as a Christmas present. The little boy showed an instant interest in music and soon he began attending music classes.

During high school he created, along with friends, a music group called Errata Corrige. Meanwhile, his lack of interest in studying made him leave high school when he was 16, which caused problems within his family.

For a time, Masini worked with his father as a representative. In 1980 the family opened a bar in Florence. The fights between Marco and his father increased, causing his mother worry and heartache. A few years later, her husband was forced to sell the bar after she was found to have cancer. Marco left to serve in the army (military aircraft in Florence), and only one day after his return on 22 August 1984, his mother died, to the deep sadness of Marco, who always regretted the fact that he could not be close to her in her last moments.

In his early years of his career he met the record producer Giancarlo Bigazzi who introduced the young musician to the music business, as a collaborator with artists like Raf and Umberto Tozzi. Eventually, in 1990 he participated in the 40th edition of popular Sanremo Festival with one of his signature songs, Disperato, and won first prize as new artist of the year.

After winning third place, now among the main competitors, in the 1991 edition of Sanremo Festival with Perché lo fai (a controversial song about an addicted young woman), Masini, now an emerging star, released his second album, Malinconoia (a composite word coined by the artist indicating a mixture of melancholy and boredom, in Italian malinconia and noia), that became a big hit in the Italian charts, despite the somber mood of most of the record. The Malinconoia music video, taped during a concert at Palaeur in Rome, won first prize in the category "Best live video" during the 1991 edition of Riminicinema festival. The title track was presented during the popular summer music competition Festivalbar in the long playing records category, and was awarded first prize.

In 1993 the album T'innamorerai was released. The record created the basis for the international success of Masini. The song that introduces the LP, Vaffanculo (figuratively fuck off), generated controversies and was banned by most radio and television networks. In an interview for the newspaper Corriere della Sera, Masini claimed that the v-word was dedicated to "the liars and who call me 'prophet of the depression'" and the song contained also some harsh verses directed to the record labels and their policies. ...

Source: Article "Marco Masini" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.