"Assassino" ( Italian for "Killer" or "Murderer") is a song by French singer Amanda Lear released in 1984 by

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

Song information

The song was written by Amanda Lear and Italian composers

Cristiano Malgioglio Giuseppe Cristiano Malgioglio (; born 23 April 1945) is an Italian composer, singer-songwriter, showman and television personality. Biography Born in Ramacca, Catania, Malgioglio obtained his first contract with a record label, Durium, thanks to ...

, Mauro Lusini and Luigi Lopez. It is an uptempo pop track, arranged by

Alberto Radius Formula 3 (also spelled as Formula Tre) is an Italian pop-rock musical group, mainly successful in the early 1970s. History The group formed in 1969 as a power trio with Alberto Radius on guitar, vocals and bass, Gabriele Lorenzi on keyboards ...

of Italian band

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

, and produced by Malgioglio and Radius. The song was recorded in both Italian and English. On the 7" single, the original Italian version was released, backed with "Stato d'allarme". The English-language version was only available in the extended 6-minute version on the 12" single. "Assassino" was Lear's first post- Ariola single. It was released by WEA Italiana (a label of

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

) in most countries, and by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in France. Despite promotion on TV and a high-profile music video, the single was not a chart success. The song was not available on an album until 2005's greatest hits collection ''

Forever Glam! ''Forever Glam!'' is a greatest hits album by French singer Amanda Lear released in 2005 by Edina Music. Background The CD was released only in France, distributed by Nocturne. While numerous CD collections of Amanda Lear music had been released ...

''. In 2010, both "Assassino" and its B-side "Stato d'allarme" were included on the mid-price compilation ''My French Italian Songbook''. Both songs were mentioned as Lear's "noteworthy tracks" from the 80s in the 2017 book ''Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop''.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was filmed to the English-language version of the song by Italian director

Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director of literate sensibility, known for his masterly handling of period subject matter. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. ...

. It contains scenes of semi-nudity, with Amanda Lear briefly appearing topless.

Track listing

*7" Single :A. "Assassino" – 4:05 :B. "Stato d'allarme" – 3:55 *12" Single :A. "Assassino" – 6:02 :B. "Assassino" (Instrumental) – 5:38

References

{{authority control 1984 singles 1984 songs Amanda Lear songs Songs in Italian Polydor Records singles Songs written by Amanda Lear Warner Music Group singles Songs written by Cristiano Malgioglio