Renato Fumagalli is an Italian singer/songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He was the frontman of the

Italian Beat Italian beat ( it, beat italiano) is the Italian form of beat music ( it, musica beat), circa 1965 to 1972, inspired mainly by British popular music of the 1960s. Rock in Italy Italy is iconic worldwide for his mainstream "neapolitan" melodic ...

group ''

Gli Spioni Gli Spioni (Italian for "The Telltales") were an Italian beat group of the 1960s. Biography The group was formed in Milan in 1965.Cesare Rizzi (ed.), ''Enciclopedia del Rock italiano'', Milan, Arcana Editrice, 1993, pp.66-67 The original mem ...

'', mostly known for their breakthrough hit " Mondo Capellone"Cesare Rizzi (ed.), ''Enciclopedia del Rock italiano'', Milan, Arcana Editrice, 1993, pp.66-67 (

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 ...

for "''Hippie World''").

Early life

Renato Fumagalli was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 6 June 1945. His father, Arnaldo Fumagalli, worked at Ramazzotti distillery. Her mother, Pippa Berichelli, was a nurse at

San Raffaele Hospital The San Raffaele Hospital (also ''Istituto scientifico universitario San Raffaele'' or ''ospedale San Raffaele'', ''HSR'' or ''OSR'') is a university hospital situated in Segrate, the Province of Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1969 by don Luigi ...

.Renato Fumagalli, ''La mia Vita da Spione'', Milan, Mondadori, 1987 In 1963 Fumagalli met Franco Cisti while attending Liceo Classico Giuseppe Parini. They started playing together and in 1965 they formed

, together with Artemide Palafrenieri and Lippo Artusi.

With Gli Spioni

In early 1966, Gli Spioni were signed by LSDischi and they quickly released their first single '' Mondo Capellone'' (

for "''Hippie World''"). ''Mondo Capellone'' entered the

Cantagiro Cantagiro was an Italian summer song contest held from 1962 to 1972 and 1990 to 1993. It featured three categories, A for famous artists, B for newcomers and C for groups. The creator of the competition was Ezio Radaelli. The name of the festival ...

music contest in the summer of 1966 and was a big success. In late summer of 1966, Fumagalli and Cisti moved to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

to attend several

Acid Tests The Acid Tests were a series of parties held by author Ken Kesey primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-1960s, centered on the use of and advocacy for the psychedelic drug LSD, commonly known as "acid". LSD was not made illegal ...

held by author

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

. During his stay, Fumagalli met Anton Szandor LaVey and he joined the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House (Church of Satan), Black House in San Francisco, Cali ...

. His growing drug addiction and his radical satanism caused several infights between the members of the band, that led to the disbanding of the band later that year.

With I Capelloni

In the spring of 1967 Fumagalli moved back to Milan and founded the Via Ripamonti Beat Camping. The camping, derogatorily called "New Barbonia" or "Barbonia City" by the italian press, had a short life, as it was evacuated by the police in the summer of 1967. During his stay in Barbonia City, Fumagalli and Franco Cisti formed I Capelloni and recorded the protest album "Hippie Triste" (

for "''Sad Hippie''").

Discography

With

: * Albums: ** In Un Mondo Capellone (1966) *Singles: ** Mondo Capellone/La Vera Identità (1966) ** Il Più Bel Giorno/Perso in un Trip (1966) **Selvaggia (1966) With I Capelloni: * Albums: **Hippie Triste (1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fumagalli, Renato 1945 births Singers from Milan Italian male film actors Italian male composers Italian male singer-songwriters Italian singer-songwriters Living people