The inhabitants of the Soviet Union admired the Italian and French stage. It was the songs of performers, musical groups from France and Italy that most often represented Western music on television and radio stations of the USSR. One of the favorite among the citizens of the Union among them was the Italian singer Pupo.
Childhood and youth of Enzo Ginazza
The future Italian pop star, who performed under the stage name Pupo (Pupo), was born on September 11, 1955 in the city of Ponticino (Tuscany region, province of Arezzo, Italy).
The father of the newborn worked at the post office, and the mother was a housewife. Pupo was addicted to music and singing from an early age. True, despite the fact that the boy's mother and father also loved to sing, they did not want their son to become a singer, considering this profession unreliable.
The famous performer from Italy said that his idols were Domenico Modugno, Lucio Battisti and other famous Italian singers. In addition, he listened to classical music, and especially liked to listen to the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi.
Debut as a singer
In 1975, at the age of 20, Enzo Ginazzi (real name of the Italian pop star) made his debut as a singer. A young Italian from the employees of the record company Baby Records received the stage name Pupo, which is translated from the language of lovers of spaghetti and pizza as a child.
The singer himself planned to subsequently change it to a more status nickname, but his plans, as we know, were not destined to come true.
The first official record Cjme Sei Bella ("How beautiful you are") by the young Italian Pupo was recorded and released in 1976. True, Enzo Ginazzi's debut album became widely known in Italy only two years later (in 1976).
This was facilitated by the appearance on the radio station of the composition Ciao, which almost immediately became a hit.
Interested in the singer's work, Italian music lovers enthusiastically accepted the song Gelato Al Cioccolato, which became a super-popular hit.
A very interesting fact is that Pupo himself said that he came up with it just for the sake of a joke. It is distinguished by its lightness and freshness of performance, it was recorded in the studio just to have fun.
No less popular was the composition Burattino telecomandato, which, in fact, was the autobiography of the performer himself.
Pupo's rise to international success
In 1980, Enzo Ginazzi with his song Su Di Noi went to the famous festival in Sanremo. Despite the fact that the compositions were awarded only 3rd place, she is still considered one of the most famous Italian pop stars in the repertoire.
By the way, Pupo managed to improve his performance in San Remo only in 2010, where he received a silver medal with his song Italia Amore Mio.
In 1981, the Italian went to the Venice Music Festival with the track Lo Devo Solo A Te, which brought him success, with which he received the Golden Gondola award.
Due to the fact that the festival was shown on Soviet television, the performer received many fans from the USSR.
It is for this reason that in the Soviet Union the Melodiya record company released the fourth official disc of the Italian Lo Devo Solo A Te, known in Russia as “Only thanks to you”.
On the wave of recognition in the USSR, Pupo came to Moscow and Leningrad for a joint performance with a performer from Italy, Fiordaliso. Leningrad and Moscow television filmed the concerts and regularly broadcast them on television.
At the same time, Pupo wrote songs for other singers and musical groups. One of the groups for which he composed words and music was the famous band Ricchi e Poveri. Due to his popularity, he was parodied many times in the Italian program Scherzi a parte.
About the personal life of the artist
Pupo met his first and only wife at the age of 15. When Enzo Ginazzi was 19 years old, he offered his hand and heart to Anna Enzo.
It was specifically for her that the artist recorded the single Anna Mia. In marriage, three girls were born, who were named Ilaria, Clara and Valentina.
Pupo himself often joked that perhaps he did not know about the existence of his other children, born after touring in various countries of the world.
In 1989, the press reported that the singer had an affair with his manager named Patricia Abbati. However, he did not divorce Anna.
He even dedicated the composition Un Seqreto Fra Noi to such tripartite relationships. In principle, Enzo's entire personal life is reflected in his work.
Pupo today
In 2018, the artist created the television show Pupi e fornrelli and released the 12th album, which, translated into Russian, sounds like “Porn against love”.
In 2019, several Pupo concerts took place in Italy. In addition, the world pop star toured Canada. In the same year, he gave a concert in Odessa and participated in the Avtoradio festival "Disco of the 80s" in the Russian capital.
