He drives, sings, dances, lends himself to gags, gives advice like a wise grandfather (like when he came on stage with a broom, sweeping rose petals from bouquets destroyed by white: “If I had said ‘Excuse me, Mr. Amedeo, I can’t hear well’, nothing would have happened,” he commented after the accident), is the marathoner who runs between the rows of seats at the Ariston stops: Gianni Morandi is the real star performer of the Festival of San Remo 2023. At 78, the Eternal Boy of Italian music, wanted by Amadeus by his side during the five nights of the event, continues to release an irrepressible energy.
Morandi, what do you think of this Festival?
“A great party. For me it always has been: I still remember when I was a child watching it on the only black and white TV in Monghidoro. But with Amadeus it has once again become a very important stage for Italian music. It’s an important thing for the whole industry. And then people like it: I can see it right on the street.”
Who are your favorites from the cast?
“I don’t think it’s right to name names, the race is still open and I don’t want to favor anyone. However, I can say that Amadeus has assembled a good cast, uniting all generations. It deserves recognition for having also returned artists who have disappeared for a long time, such as Elisa last year and Giorgia this year. In 2011 and 2012 I fought a lot with Franco Battiato and Lucio Dalla: I forced them by focusing on friendship and they gave me a gift that came from companions (by Luca Madonia and Pierdavide Carone, ed). I also managed to bring Roberto Vecchioni into the race. I called him all the time: “Come on, write a song and take it to Sanremo.” In the end he gave in and with Call me again love he succeeded».
Has Jovanotti heard it these days?
“From time to time. He’s in the Amazon by bike. He follows us on RaiPlay. He said he’s enjoying it and he likes it. Last year he gave me a great gift by accompanying me on stage for the night of duets — it was a moment of great television. We’ll do other things together.”
A tour?
“No: we already dated last summer, when he invited me to the different stages of his Jova Beach Party.”
And what then? A disc?
“He is preparing more songs for me. At the end of spring, a nice piece will come out, for the summer.”
Are you preparing a new unreleased album?
“Records reasoning is no longer fashionable. It goes from song to song. I have some new pieces in the drawer. In the meantime, I’ve just released a new version of my 1963 landmark hit with Sangiovanni Get return to mare for milk – 60 years this year. I was amused by the idea of re-recording it together with a new generation artist like Sangiovanni: on the Ariston stage the other night, when we sang it together, it reminded me of Morandi sixty years ago: the same freshness and same lightness”.
He called it a dinosaur.
“But how dare he? Seriously, it was part of the gag: I’m self-critical.”
What happened to the television special of his sixty-year career expected on Rai1 already last December?
“When Amadeus invited me to run Sanremo with him, I told the Rai managers that I didn’t want to do this program either: too many things.”
Will he get it back?
“Not at the moment. After Sanremo I will take a break from television: I don’t want to overdose. People get tired when they see you around too much”.
So what will he be doing between now and the end of the year?
“I will return to the concerts. After the theater experience in my Bologna, this time I will sing in the sports halls with the tour “Go Gianni Go!”. We will leave in March from Rimini, and then continue to Milan, Florence, Rome (March 18 at Palazzo dello Sport, ed), Bologna, Turin, Ancona, Bari and Eboli. Now that I have officially recovered from last year’s accident, I will not stop.”
And the tour with Al Bano and Massimo Ranieri? Rita Pavone has also suggested the name of the trio, with your initials: RAM.
“Who knows. It would be nice, but Ranieri is always in the theater, Al Bano around the world: it’s difficult to cross our calendars”.
Source : IL Messaggero
