Loredana Bertè (; born 20 September 1950) is an Italian singer and actress. In her long career she has worked with prominent Italian songwriters such as Pino Daniele,

Ivano Fossati Ivano Alberto Fossati (born 21 September 1951) is an Italian pop singer from Genoa. He was a member of the progressive rock group Delirium and has worked with Fabrizio De André, Riccardo Tesi, Anna Oxa, Mia Martini, Ornella Vanoni, Shirley Bass ...

Mario Lavezzi Bruno Mario Lavezzi (born 8 May 1948) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and guitarist. Life and career Born in Milan, he studied piano and guitar at the Scuola Civica di Milano. He started his career in 1963, as the s ...

, Mango and Enrico Ruggeri, among others; her sister Mia Martini was also an acclaimed singer. She has experimented with different genres, from rock to

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, from funk to pop. Bertè is known for the eccentric clothing she wears onstage for her performances. At one point in her life (1988–1992), she was married to the tennis star Björn Borg.

Career

Bertè was born in

Bagnara Calabra Bagnara Calabra (or simply Bagnara) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria, southern Italy. It is located in the hills facing the Tyrrhenian Sea on the southern tip of the region, about southwest of Catanz ...

, Province of Reggio Calabria, in Southern ItalyEvan C. Gutierrez
Loredana Bertè
allmusic.com on September 20 as the third of four daughters, three years after her sister Domenica. Her parents, Giuseppe Radames Bertè and Maria Salvina Dato, were both school teachers. Loredana spent her childhood in

Porto Recanati Porto Recanati () is a town with some 12,500 inhabitants in the province of Macerata, in the Marche region. of central Italy. It is the northeast coastal town of the province. It was made an independent town on 15 January 1893, when, due to a De ...

and then in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

. After her parents separated, Bertè moved with her mother to

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where she attended the local Art Institute. In the early 1970s she performed as a go-go dancer in television and radio shows such as "Bandiera Gialla" and "Stasera Rita!". She later joined the dance troupe of the Piper Club in Rome, where she met

Renato Zero 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 th ...

. In 1969 both Bertè, Zero and

Teo Teocoli Antonio "Teo" Teocoli (born 25 February 1945) is an Italian actor, TV conductor, singer and writer appearing in about 30 mostly Italian productions since 1975. Selected filmography * ''Paolo e Francesca'' (1971) * '' The Boss and the Worke ...

starred in the Italian edition of the musical " Hair". In 1970 Loredana and her sister Domenica, who had by then changed her name to Mia Martini, performed as backing vocalists for

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

de Holanda. While Martini would consequently start a successful music career, recording songs like " Piccolo Uomo" and "

Minuetto A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...

", Loredana continued to pursue theatre. In 1972 she performed in "Ciao Rudy" and "Orfeo 9". In 1974, producers Alfredo Cerruti and Enrico Riccardi persuaded Loredana to record her first album, ''Streaking''. Bertè's second album, "Normale o Super" included "Sei Bellissima", Bertè's first domestic hit. In 1978, Bertè started a relationship with

. Fossati produced the single "E la luna bussò", which is considered one of the early minstream reggae songs in Italy. In the early 1980s Bertè spent a year in New York to work on her next album. Elio Fiorucci introduced her to

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

at the Factory. Warhol and Bertè collaborated on the music video for her song "Movie". In 1982 she won Festivalbar with "Non sono una signora". In 1985 she recorded the album ''Carioca'' in collaboration with Djavan. In 1986 she participated to 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 annua ...

with the song "Re". In 1988 she met and married Björn Borg. The marriage would end in 1992. In 1993 Bertè and Mia Martini, collaborated on the song "Stiamo come stiamo". On May 12, 1995, Martini was found unresponsive in her apartment in Rome. Martini's death proved to be a devastating moment in Bertè's life. In the early 2000s Loredana returned to theatre, performing with

Carla Fracci Carolina "Carla" Fracci (; 20 August 1936 – 27 May 2021) was an Italian ballet dancer, actress and ballet director. Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, she was a leading dancer of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan, th ...

in "Gerusalemme" at the

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in Rome. She entrusts the direction of the three video clips that are part of the mini-CD "Dimmi che mi ami" of 2002. Two years later she took part in "Music Farm", the first reality show on Italian TV involving famous singers. Thanks to the show's proceeds, she produced the new album "Babybertè" (2005) by herself. In April 2010 she suffered a bad fall, and the related surgery forced her to a lengthy hospitalization. She returned to the Sanremo Music Festival the following year, finishing fourth with the

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song "Respirare". Her following tour, "Bandabertè", ended up in Russia, where she participated in the international

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in St. Petersburg. In 2015 she played the judge's role in the talent "Friends of Maria De Filippi". In 2017 she recorded the songs "Allegria" with J-Ax and

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and "Occhi di Gatto" with Cristina D'Avena. In 2016 Bertè staged a big show at the

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called "Amiche in Arena", performing a series of duets with other Italian female artists, including

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''Bello e possibile'' ...

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and Irene Grandi. Bertè's song "J'adore Venise" was included in

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's Oscar-winning film's soundtrack, '' Call Me By Your Name'' (2017). In 2018 she topped the Italian charts again with "Non ti dico no", a song made in collaboration with the reggae dancehall band

Boomdabash Boomdabash (often stylized as BoomDaBash) is an Italian dancehall reggae band formed in 2002. They debuted in 2008 with the album ''Uno''. The band participated at the Sanremo Music Festival 2019 The Sanremo Music Festival 2019 ( it, 69º Festi ...

. She also duetted with

Fabio Rovazzi Fabio Piccolrovazzi, known as Fabio Rovazzi, (born 18 January 1994) is an Italian entertainer, who is most notable for his songs "Andiamo a comandare", "Tutto molto interessante" (both of which were certified platinum five times, and two times i ...

and

J-Ax Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper, formerly in the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Weedo (also known as Grido from boyband Gemelli DiVersi). On ...

in "Senza pensieri".

Discography

Albums

* ''Streaking'' (1974) * ''Normale o super'' (1976) Italy: Gold * ''TIR'' (1977) Italy: Gold * ''BandaBertè'' (1979) Italy: Platinm * ''Loredana Bertè'' (1980) Italy: Platinum * ''Made in Italy'' (1981) Italy: Platinum * ''Traslocando'' (1982) Italy: 5× Platinum * ''Jazz'' (1983) Italy: Platinum * ''Lorinedita'' (1983) * ''Savoir faire'' (1984) Italy: Platinum * ''Carioca'' (1985) Italy: Platinum * ''Fotografando'' (1986) Italy: Platinum * ''Io'' (1988) Italy: Gold * ''Best'' (1991) * ''Ufficialmente dispersi'' (1993) * ''Bertex, ingresso libero'' (1994) * ''Ufficialmente ritrovati'' (1995) * ''Un pettirosso da combattimento'' (1997) Italy: Gold * ''Decisamente Loredana'' (1998) * ''BabyBertè'' (2005) Italy: Platinum * ''BabyBertè – special edition Buch+cd+dvd'' (2006) * ''BabyBertè live 2007'' (2007) * ''Bertilation'' (2008) * ''Lola & Angiolina project'' (2009) * '' LiBerté'' (2018) Italy: Gold

Singles

* "Volevi un amore grande" (1974) * " Sei bellissima" (1975) Italy: Diamond * "Meglio libera" (1976) Italy: Platinum * "Fiabe" (1977) Italy: Platinum * "Grida" (1997) Italy: Platinum * "Decisamente Loredana" (1977) * " Dedicato" (1978) Italy: Diamond * " E la luna bussò" (1979) Italy: Diamond * "In alto mare" (1980) Italy: Diamond * "Movie" (1981) Italy: Platinum * " Non sono una signora" (1982) Italy: Diamond * "Per i tuoi occhi" (1982) Italy: Platinum * "Acqua" (1985) Italy: Platinum * "Re" (1986) Italy: Platinum * "Io" (1988) Italy: Gold * "In questa città" (1991) * "Stiamo come stiamo" (1993) * "Amici non ne ho" (1994) * "Portami con te" (1998) * "Dimmi che mi ami" (2002) Italy: Gold * "Sarà perché ti amo (chi se ne frega!!)" (2004) * "Strade di fuoco" (2006) Italy: Gold * "Musica e parole" (2008) Italy: Gold * "Cattiva" ( Loredana Errore feat. Loredana Bertè) (2011) * "Respirare" (with

) (2012) Italy: Gold * "Ma quale musica leggera" (2012) * "Non ti dico no" (with

) (2018) Italy: 2× Platinum * " Cosa ti aspetti da me" (2019) Italy: Platinum * Tequila e San Miguel (2019) * Senza Pensieri (2019) Italy: Platinum * Figlia di... (2021) Italy: Gold * Tuttapposto (2021) * Che sogno incredibile (2021) Italy: Gold

Filmography

Films

Television

Stage

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berte, Loredana 1950 births Living people People from Bagnara Calabra Italian women singers