Luca Prodan (17 May 1953 – 22 December 1987) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

musician and singer who rose to fame as the leading vocalist of

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

, one of the most influential rock bands of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

,''Argentina Independent''
Lo de Luca: Homage to a Rock Star
and is widely considered one of the country's most important artists. He was the older brother of film actor and composer

Andrea Prodan Andrea Prodan (born 16 November 1961) is an Italian-Argentinian film actor, composer and musician. He is the younger brother of rock star Luca Prodan, notable for his musical career in Argentina, leading the rock band Sumo. Biography The Prod ...

Biography

Luca Prodan was born in Rome on 17 May 1953,Biografía de Luca Prodan
Retrieved 26 December 2016 and he had not only Italian origins but Scottish as well. He was born after the return of the Prodan family from China: his father had set up a prosperous business in ancient Chinese pottery that became untenable after the

Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In his youth, his parents sent him to Britain to the prestigious

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

College, the same school attended by Prince

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

; Prodan left a year before graduating. After that, he moved to London. He moved to London in the 1970s and worked at

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. While in London, he formed his first band, ''The New Clear Heads'', which shared aesthetics with contemporary punk bands like

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

, The Fall,

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

(who inspired the title of the first Sumo album: ''Divididos por la Felicidad'', Spanish for "Divided By Joy") and

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

. In 1981, after a heroin crisis in late 1970s London, he moved to the farm of an old Anglo-Argentine friend, Timmy McKern, in the central hills of Córdoba Province,

, seeking peace to try to kick his heroin

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

. After some time at the farm in the Traslasierra valley, he settled in Hurlingham (a suburb of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

), where he founded and led

and the Hurlingham Reggae Band.Biografía de Luca Prodan
Retrieved 26 December 2016 In 1986, he was part of "El día que reventaron las lámparas de gas", a short film directed by Rodrigo Espin

Death and legacy

Prodan died either of a heart attack or

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

shortly before Christmas 1987. Two posthumous records of pre-Sumo recordings are available and provide an "insider's" view of the artist. Recorded mostly in the Traslasierra region of Córdoba, Argentina (his initial home territory), they bear testimony to his musical influences and inspiration:

Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. After his death, two bands were formed by former Sumo members:

Divididos Divididos ("Divided") is an Argentine rock band.El Polaco Goyeneche fue el prim ...

and

Las Pelotas Las Pelotas (in English: ''The Balls'', or more idiomatically, ''Bollocks!'', since the band name is a play of words between those two meanings); is an Argentine rock and reggae band from Córdoba. This band was formed after the separation of Sum ...

. It is believed that the actual names came after a heated Prodan's answer referring to an eventual Sumo break-up: ''""Are we breaking up, you say? Bollocks we are!""''; hence Divididos (Spanish for ''"The Divided"'') and Las Pelotas (Spanish for ''"Bollocks"'').

Discography

With Sumo

* ''Corpiños en la madrugada'' ras in the Morning(EP, 1983) * ''Divididos por la felicidad'' ivided by Joy(1985) * ''Llegando los monos'' ere Come the Monkeys(1986) * ''After chabón'' (1987) * ''Fiebre''

ever Ever may refer to: * Ever (artist), creator of street art, from Buenos Aires, Argentina * Ever, Kentucky * -ever, an English suffix added to interrogative words in forms like ''wherever'' * KT Tech EVER, a South Korean mobile phone manufacture ...

(1989)

Solo

* ''Time Fate Love'', recorded in 1980. Released in 1996 * ''Perdedores Hermosos'' eautiful Losers recorded in 1981. Released in 1997

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prodan, Luca 1953 births 1987 deaths Deaths from cirrhosis Argentine people of Scottish descent Italian emigrants to Argentina Naturalized citizens of Argentina 20th-century Argentine male singers Argentine male singer-songwriters People educated at Gordonstoun