Zucchero

Acclaimed by Ray Charles himself as one of the greatest blues musicians he ever worked with, the man born Adelmo Fornaciari began playing in a long succession of different bands at the age of 15. However, this is no Lorde-style early success story, as it took him eleven years before one of those bands saw a hint of success. In 1981, his group Taxi won the Castrocara music festival, but after the band showed signs of slipping back under the radar in 82 and 83, Zucccerro decided to take a chance and release his debut solo album “Un Po' Di Zuccchero” in the latter year. It was the move that saved his career, as in 1985, he finally scored a hit with the song “Danne”, and he spent the rest of the 80's becoming one of the biggest solo artists in Italy. In 1988, he solidified that reputation with the album “Blue's”, which became the biggest selling album by an Italian artist of all time, and made Zucchero a household name in Italy and most of Europe.

By the 1990s, Zucchero's success had made him a name all the world, and to capitalise on that he released an album consisting of a number of his hits sung in English. The album, that also saw the singer work with artists like Paul Young and Eric Clapton, was yet another hit and secured Zucchero's position as the collaborator of choice for many a rock and roll legend. Over the next decade the list of his collaborator's would prove to be astonishing, with names like Brian May, Sting, Luciano Pavarotti and Elton John popping up to name but a few. Ever since then, Zucchero has remained a genuine superstar, a once in a generation, stadium-slaying sensation who's only getting better four decades after his debut. For that, he comes highly recommended.