Scialpi on Domenica In: “I was my mother’s husband”

Un of the undisputed protagonists of the new edition of Such and Such Show it’s him: Dull is back on the small screen after years of absence. And he is regaining his relationship with the public. He did it once again yesterday, Sunday 15 October, guest of my friend Mara Venier, a Sunday In.

A career with ups and downs

The chat between Scialpi and Mara Venier began with an artist statement became famous in the 1980s with his songs Rocking Rolling, Cigarettes and Coffee And No East No West. «I found myself. I was a bit lost. But now I’m here and I’m happy to be there».

Indeed, Giovanni Scialpi (this is his real name) in 2020 he announced, after a few years of artistic decline, his retirement from the scene. She did so by strongly criticizing our country’s recording system. A few months later, then, he had made an about-face, but in fact the success he had experienced in the 1980s had gradually disappeared. Scialpi today, however, he is back to excite the public thanks to a lucky participation in Such and Such Show. And thanks to his imitation of Domenico Modugno he triumphed in the third episode of the program.

Scialpi: «I stopped because I wanted to emancipate myself»

What had happened, then? He explained it himself in Mara Venier’s living room. «I stopped because I wanted to emancipate myself. Emancipating yourself means learning more. I decided to produce myself. To produce yourself in Italy there is a system that doesn’t accept you very much. Today, yes. But at the time the multinationals put aside those who produced themselves.”

Thus, the artist explained that he had experienced a difficult phase. «I was put aside a bit. But I learned a lot. How it is produced, how records are made…”. And she added. «I was penalized. But the things that bring you down eventually make you rise again».

Silly: Sunday In and the memory of his father

Mara Venier’s interview was also an opportunity to retrace her personal story. Starting from the complex relationship of singer with his father.«I blamed him the wrong way. He was a policeman and to earn more he stayed away for two or three months and only returned home on Saturday afternoon to leave again on Sunday. I didn’t see it. And not seeing him, then when he arrived he had to pay, because I was alone. My mom worked, my dad wasn’t there. I was with my grandmother. […] I didn’t lack love from my parents. But I didn’t understand it».

The relationship with his father was reborn a few days before he left. «It happened when my dad had a week left to live. We both knew it. In those moments they try to exorcise the fears, the shortcomings that would have existed for both of them. So we found a game… Since he was losing his strength I said: “Come on, let’s do arm wrestling. Dad, you push one way, I’ll push the other and let’s see if I win or you win.” Obviously it was a learning competition because he couldn’t do it. But the the fact of being able to measure ourselves, to balance these two hands a little as they moved a little more towards him, then a little more towards me, opened our hearts to both of us. That was the moment I found my dad».

«I was my mother’s husband»

With his mother, however, the relationship was very different. «There’s one thing I’ve never said. In reality, my mother’s husband wasn’t my father: it was me. My dad – since he was a Leo, a closed, non-enterprising person who didn’t want to go out or have much fun – left my mom at home. Instead I was the one who “I’m going to do the concert down in Sicily, will you come with me?”. We were the couple. My dad stayed at home reading the newspaper. On the other hand, I had a thousand adventures with my mother, a thousand opportunities to be together».

The bond with her was strong until her death. «I was close to her for ten years. She fell ill with Alzheimer’s and the disease lasted twelve years. At first it was easy to be around her. I picked her up, took her to Rome with me, put her on the motorbike, with our dog, we went to the beach. It was all beautiful. Then it is obvious that Alzheimer’s has a very bad course… Consequently the difficulties increase from month to month. And when they increased I didn’t feel like saying “I’ll leave it, like a package, somewhere”. I remained at her side.”

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