“Call me, call me, baby baby call me now…do do do it” OK Ivana Spagna!
One of the most distinctive and biggest songs of 1987, “Call Me”, with its fanfare of trumpets was a massive hit all over Europe and later in America, but no sooner had she peaked, 32 year old Italian singer Ivana Spagna (pronounced Span-ya) fell off of the radar. Or did she…?
Spagna began as a backing singer in the 1970’s progressing to a songwriter in the 80’s, particularly with the Italian hit duo Fun Fun, but by 1985 she had had enough and wanted to record for herself. She released her debut single proper “Easy Lady” in 1986 which topped the Italian and Spanish singles chart as well as charting top ten across most of Europe, although it only managed No.62 in the UK.
She released her debut album “Dedicated To The Moon” in early 1987 and followed this with the second single “Call Me” which went top ten in over twenty countries around the world including a number two placing in Italy and the UK and would eventually make No.13 in America in 1988. The video was actually made in the UK at a nightclub in Nottingham and nearby Belvoir Castle!
“Dedicated To The Moon” was a sizeable hit across Europe and has sold over 500,000 copies to date. It spawned three further singles with the title track, “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Sarah”, all of which were minor hits across mainland Europe. Spagna returned in 1988 with the album “You Are My Energy” and the single “Every Girl And Boy” which returned her to the top ten in Italy and Germany and made No.23 in the UK.
The album has sold over 100,000 copies to date and included the singles “I Wanna Be Your Wife” and “This Generation”. Spagna moved to the US to record her next album “No Way Out”, released in 1991, that included the singles “Only Words”, “Love At First Sight” and “There’s A Love”, written by none other than Diane Warren – someone who pops up quite frequently in talkaboutpopmusic.com articles!
Her 1993 album “Matter Of Time” included two Italian top ten hits “Why Me?” and “I Always Dream About You”. Her final hit came with “Lady Madonna” in 1995 and since then she has continued to record in her native Italian and has released a staggering fourteen albums since then, her most recent being “Four” in 2012. She released the single “D.A.N.C.E.” in 2016.
She has actually sold over ten million records worldwide and in 2006 this feat was honoured by the Italian Music Industry with Gold Career Certificate!
Stay in touch with Spagna through her WEBSITE and her FACEBOOK page
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