Renato Fiacchini (born 30 September 1950), known by the stage name Renato Zero (), is an Italian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and actor whose career spans from the 1960s to the 2020s. Zero is the only artist to have reached the top of the Italian charts in six different decades.
With 20 million records sold, he is one of the best-selling Italian music artists.
Early life and career
Zero was born Renato Fiacchini
in central Rome, in Via di Ripetta, next to the famed
Via del Corso
The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...
.
He quit his studies early to devote himself to his true passion, the arts, more specifically playing music and singing – though initially with little success. From an early age, he would wear make-up and cross-dress. He replied to the criticisms he received (including the recurring insult ''Sei uno zero!'' – "You're a zero!") by taking on the pseudonym Renato Zero. He recorded his first songs in 1965: "Tu", "Sì", "Il deserto", "La solitudine", which were never issued. His first published single, "Non basta sai/In mezzo ai guai" (1967), sold a total of 20 copies and was quickly forgotten.
He had several different jobs, including an appearance in an advertisement for ice-cream; work as a dancer in a TV show; playing and dancing in two musicals; and minor roles in two
Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
movies. He became friend to sisters
Mia Martini
Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com[glam-rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on divers ...]
movement, from which he benefited with his sexual ambiguity and
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
appearance. At the same time, this led him to being accused of emulating other celebrities like
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 ...
and, in particular,
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
. In 1973 he issued his first LP, ''No! Mamma, no!'' (recorded live), but still with little success. The follow-up ''Invenzioni'' met the same fate.
Birth of "Zeromania"
It was not until 1976 that he scored his first hit with the single "Madame", a collaboration with songwriter Franca Evangelisti and composer Piero Pintucci, with whom Zero continued to work in the years that followed. "Madame" and the album including it, ''Trapezio'', established a regular and loyal audience for Zero. This was to increase exponentially in the following years, until he could boast a huge following of die-hard fans that he dubbed ''Sorcini'' ("Little Mice"). Among his greatest hits at the time, all of them topping and breaking the Italian charts for quite some time, "Mi vendo", "Morire qui", "Triangolo", "Baratto" are still popular in Italy, and were among all disco clubs’ playlists.
The late 1970s and early 1980s were years of great success for Zero's character, with the LPs ''Zerofobia'' ("Zerophobia", 1977), ''Zerolandia'' (1978), ''Erozero'' (1979), ''Tregua'' (1980), ''Artide Antartide'' (1981), ''Via Tagliamento'' (1982) and ''Calore'' (1983) topping the Italian charts. At this time Renato Zero was amongst the two or three most popular singers in Italy and his songs "Il Cielo", "Il Carrozzone", "Amico", "Più su" and "Spiagge" were already regarded, by fans and critics, as some of the best Italian songs ever.
The name Zerolandia also referred to the moving theatre (a circus tent with a capacity of 5,000) in which he performed shows throughout Italy. On numerous occasions fans would participate in the gigs, made-up like Zero and dressed in his typical costumes.
In 1979 Zero played himself in the movie ''Ciao Nì'' (his usual greeting to his fans, which is a term of endearment that can be roughly translated as "Hi, Dear!"). In Italy this film grossed more than the American blockbuster ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
''.
In 1980 he founded his own record label called Zeromania Music.
The ‘80s: career dip
In the 1980s he began to abandon make-up and greasepaint, but this did not rid Zero of his mania for grandeur: in the 1980 tour, for example, he entered the stage riding a white horse. In 1982 he began a collaboration with the opera director
Renato Serio, who was to write the string arrangements for almost all of Zero's following LPs. In late 1982 he took part in
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
's ''
Fantastico 3'', then the most popular Italian TV show.
His career continued to be successful until 1984. That year, however, his new album ''Leoni si nasce'', that he presented in a press conference disguised as a lion and was escorted by four
aborigines, was a commercial failure, even though it peaked at No. 1. His 1987 album ''Zero'' marked the lowest point of his career, peaking at No. 13 but then almost immediately disappearing from the Italian charts.
1990s: the comeback
In 1991 Renato Zero participated in the
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
with the song "Spalle al muro", and from that moment on his career began to rise again. In 1993 he ranked No. 1 on the Italian charts with the LP ''Quando non-sei più nessuno''. The following year ''L'imperfetto'' repeated this success. His concerts would regularly sell out, and he returned to his famous dress changes, although in a more balanced style.
In the mid-1990s Zero dubbed the character of Jack Skellington and sang the songs in the Italian release of
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's motion picture ''
The Nightmare Before Christmas
''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and ...
''.
In 1999, he sang his hit song "Il Cielo" at
Pavarotti and Friends
Pavarotti & Friends was a series of benefit concerts hosted by Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti between 1992 and 2003 in his home town of Modena, Italy. Proceeds from the events were donated to humanitarian causes including the internati ...
together with tenor
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
, and later the same year, Italian diva
Mina paid him a tribute with her album ''
Mina n° 0'', containing ten of Zero's songs, including one sung in duet with him.
From 2000s to 2020s
In 2004 his tour "Cattura il sogno/Il sogno continua" ("Catch the dream/The dream continues") was awarded by ''Pollstar'' magazine as the most successful of the year in Italy as well as one of the most successful worldwide (#30). The recording of his concerts in Rome, held at Olimpico Stadium in June, was the top selling musical DVD in 2004.
In 2005 he took part in the Italian staging of
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...
, in the
Circo Massimo. In November his new album ''Il dono'' ("The Gift") topped the charts and maintained the No. 1 position until the end of the year. In December 2005 he performed in the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
with a song dedicated to
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. He also advocated for safe sex with condoms. Renato Zero's 2006 tour was entitled "Zeromovimento" and involved 25 concerts. After 40 years of his musical career, in February 2006 he refused the Career Award at the Sanremo festival, stating that the award should be for artists who had reached old age.
In 2007 he toured again in major Italian cities, filling sports stadiums. The tour was called "MpZerO", and attracted 270,000 spectators over seven dates, of which 120,000 filled the Olympic Stadium of Rome, his hometown.
''Presente'', his 30th album, was released in Europe and the Americas on 20 March 2009. It went multi-platinum in Italy, with 80,000 copies sold in the first week. It sold over 350,000 copies.
Following the release of ''Presente'', Renato toured again in autumn 2009; the "Zeronove tour" saw 30 sold-out dates and was the most successful gig of the year in Italy. On 10 December the music video for "Ancora qui", the first single from the album ''Presente'', won the best Italian video of the year. In September 2010 ''Presente'' (CD edition + special CD+DVD edition) was certified by FIMI as the top selling album in Italy during the years 2009–2010. In 2012 ''Sei Zero'' was certified as the top selling DVD of 2011.
In 2013 he released two new albums, ''Amo – capitolo I'' and ''Amo – capitolo II''; both peaked at No. 1 on the Italian charts. During 2013–2014 he toured again, after a three-year hiatus; his new show, "Amo in tour", saw all 59 concerts sold out, with a record tenure in Rome (twenty dates), Milan (eight dates) and Florence (eight dates).
On 13 February 2016, he was guest of honor at the Sanremo Music Festival. On that occasion he announced his next album, ''Alt'', to be released on 8 April that year. On 2 March "Chiedi", the first single from ''Alt'', peaked at No. 1 on the iTunes chart. The album later debuted at No. 1 on the official FIMI Italian albums chart.
On 6 November 2020 "Zerosettanta vol. 2" peaked at No. 1 on the Italian album charts, making Renato Zero the only artist in history to have reached the top of the charts in six different decades.
Zero's accomplishments
Renato Zero is the only artist to have reached number 1 on the Italian charts in six different decades (1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s).
He has had no fewer than 30 albums in the Top 10.
Renato Zero has an album (''Presente'') certified Diamond by FIMI,
a goal officially achieved in the Italian charts history by only five artists (Vasco Rossi, Ligabue, Jovanotti and Modà being the others).
He likes to work with other artists, and has written songs for numerous other singers as well. With his particular approach in performances, shows and tours, he is a leading live performer in his country and obtained a unique spot in the Italian musical scene.
Throughout his career, Renato Zero has been a campaigner against
drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
. His ‘grand force’ is regarded to be having shown "the normality of the diverse", convincing the public that diversity feeds our human abilities to feel and act with love, respect, solidarity and faith.
Personal life
Though the general consensus was that he is bisexual or gay, but conservative in not wanting to reveal his sexuality, Zero self-identified as heterosexual during an Italian talk-show. Zero has admitted to having two relationships; one with Enrica Bonaccorti, a famous television host, and another with Lucy Morante, his former secretary.
His image has changed through the decades, from the flamboyant, makeup-wearing transvestite of the mid-1970s, reminiscent of
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
or ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...
''’s Dr. Frank'N'Furter, to today's somber, blue-suit-clad icon of no specific gender and unspecified age, his only affectation a head of jet-black hair and a thin veil of foundation and lip gloss.
Discography and videography
Filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
* (Italian and English)
Zeromania, fan siteRenato Zero, tribute space
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zero, Renato
1950 births
Italian singer-songwriters
Living people
Singers from Rome