"Un'estate italiana" (), "Un verano italiano" (; both meaning "An Italian summer") or "To Be Number One" is a 1989 song composed by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

which was used as the official song of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

held in Italy, the first to hold such distinction. The Italian version, also known as "Notti magiche" ("Magical nights") in Italy, was recorded by Italian artists Edoardo Bennato and

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Her most notable songs include "America" (1979), "Fotoromanza" (1984), "I maschi" (1987), "Meravigliosa creatura" (1995), "Sei nell'anima" (2006) and "Bello e impossibile ...

, who also wrote the lyrics. The Spanish version, also known as "Noches mágicas" in Spanish, was recorded by Paraguayan Susan Ferrer, who also wrote the lyrics. The English version, with lyrics by Tom Whitlock and performed by Giorgio Moroder Project (singers: Joe Milner, Moll Anderson, Paula Mulcahy Keane),Moll Anderson Returns to 1989 With Serious Bomb Girl Style
/ref> was the opening theme to RAI TV programmes and matches related to the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The song achieved success on the charts of several European countries.

Release

For the Italian release, Moroder addressed Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, who rewrote the lyrics and took the song to the top of the charts in Italy and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. From January to September 1990, the song was the best-selling single in Italy. The song was presented for the first time by the two singer-songwriters in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in December 1989, and performed live during the opening ceremony, held on 8 June 1990, in Milan, before the Argentina–Cameroon opening match, followed later also by the English version. It describes the desire to win, and score a goal. The song was among the first to contain a single instrumental version (indicated as a karaoke version) and to be published as a maxi single.

Cover versions

In 1990, Hong Kong singer Alan Tam covered this song in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

under the title "Ideals and Peace" ( zh, t=理想與和平, j=Leisoeng jyu woping ). In 2014, The Italian Tenors covered this song.

Track listings

; 7" single # "Un'estate italiana" – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07 ; 12" maxi # "Un'estate italiana" (stadium version) – 4:50 # "Un'estate italiana" (7" version) – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07 ; CD maxi # "Un'estate italiana" (stadium version) – 4:50 # "Un'estate italiana" (single version) – 4:07 # "Un'estate italiana" (karaoke version) – 4:07

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Un'estate Italiana 1989 songs 1990 singles Edoardo Bennato songs FIFA World Cup official songs and anthems Gianna Nannini songs Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Switzerland Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Songs written by Tom Whitlock 1990 FIFA World Cup Warner Records singles Sugar Music singles Virgin Records singles