Pippo Baudo & Patty Brard
Forty years ago, a significant milestone in Patty Brard's television career took place in Italy.
On February 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1985, the former Luv' singer co-hosted the Sanremo Festival— the most popular Italian song contest aired on RAI 1—alongside legendary TV presenter Pippo Baudo. Here’s a look back at this unforgettable chapter in her journey.
In July 1980, Patty Brard took everybody by surprise when she suddenly left Luv', the Dutch girl group which made her a household name. The Luv' singers scored hit after hit (including You're the Greatest Lover (1978), Trojan Horse (1978), Casanova (1979) and Ooh, Yes I Do (1979) in eighteen countries. They collected 14 gold and platinum records in a couple of years (1978-1980). The beautiful Indo-Dutch celebrity escaped to Los Angeles to live there with Carlo Nasi, an Italian music publisher, record producer and member of the wealthy Agnelli family (founders of FIAT).
In early February 1981, Patty's debut solo single, the soft pop-rock song "Hold On To Love", came out. The track, written by Barry Richards and Bobby Hart of the Boyce and Hart duo that wrote hits for The Monkees, was the lead single from the album All the Way, which was released later.
Patty Brard in 1981
"Hold On To Love" peaked at #19 on the Dutch Top 40 and #14 on the Nationale Hitparade (currently Single Top 100) in the Netherlands. It reached #4 on the BRT Top 30 and #7 on the Ultratop in Belgium as well as #12 on the South African Springbok Radio chart.
The "All This Way" album reached Nr. 35 on the "Nationale Hitparade LP Top 50 in Holland.
Patty's solo success in the music marketplace was short-lived and couldn't surpass Luv's international prestige. The follow-up records to "Hold On To Love" all flopped despite Carlo Nasi's crucial support. The enfant terrible of Dutch showbiz had to reinvent herself. Television would be her salvation.
On January 25th, 1983, Patty made her TV hosting debut on the TROS hidden camera show "De Bananasplit Show", co-hosting alongside Ralph Inbar. This program was an overnight success, attracting an impressive average of 7 million viewers per episode across the Netherlands and Flanders. Patty was involved in Bananasplit until 1985.
Patty Brard on De Bananasplit Show (1983)
Patty Brard, Willeke Alberti & Ralph Inbar on De Bananasplit Show (1983)
Patty Brard & Ralph Inbar (1983)
In early 1983, Patty and Carlo got married. Their daughter, Priscilla, was born in Los Angeles on July 23rd, 1983.
Because of Patty's connections with the influential Nasi-Agnelli family and the composer-lyricist Alberto Testa, the Indo-Dutch entertainer (who was unknown in Italy) had the privilege to present the Sanremo Festival.
The 1985 Sanremo Music Festival (Italian: Festival di Sanremo 1985), officially the 35th Italian Song Festival (35º Festival della Canzone Italiana), took place at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo from February 7th to 9th, 1985, and was broadcast on Rai 1. The show was hosted by Pippo Baudo, with Patty Brard as his co-host.
The scenography of Sanremo 1985 was built upon the innovative staircase from the previous year, incorporating it into a massive computer structure from which the singers would emerge and descend the stairs. A platform featured a full QWERTY keyboard with all the keys, marking the area where groups and singers performing with pianos took the stage. The "Sanremo 85" lettering was designed to evoke the look of LCD displays from that era. To complete the effect, a starry sky was projected onto the walls, creating a captivating 'space' atmosphere.
In the "Big Artists" category, Ricchi e Poveri won with their song "Se m'innamoro," while Matia Bazar received the Critics' Award for "Souvenir." The Newcomers Award was presented to Cinzia Corrado for her song "Niente di più."
Claudio Baglioni was a special guest at the event, receiving the "Italian Song of the Century" award for his iconic hit "Questo piccolo grande amore."
In addition to the contestants, several international pop acts performed during the 1985 edition of the festival. Among them were Duran Duran, Sade, Bronski Beat, Jermaine Jackson & Pia Zadora, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Village People, Spandau Ballet, and Chaka Khan.
Pippo Baudo, José Luis Moreno and Patty Brard
Patty Brard interviewing Duran Duran before they performed "Wild Boys"
Pippo Baudo & Patty Brard announcing Sade's performance of "Smooth Operator"
Pippo & Patty interviewing Frankie Goes To Hollywood before they performed The Power Of Love
Patty used the Sanremo Festival as a platform to promote her single "Woman In Love", which was later included on her third solo LP, "Red Light", and the original soundtrack of the Italian movie "L'Attenzione".
Patty Brard singing "Woman In Love"
The official "Sanremo '85" LP compilation featured Patty's song.
Front cover of the "Sanremo '85" compilation, including songs by Ricchi e Poveri, Patty Brard, Billy Ocean, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Jerman Jackson & Pia Zadora, Sade and Village People
Patty's track also caused a little controversy. The singer, the songwriters (Mario Flores, Pino Donaggio, Trevor Veitch) and the producer (Carlo Nasi) were accused of plagiarism. "Woman In Love" sounded like another single entitled "Maybe One Day", performed by the Italian band The Creatures.
Maybe One Day (written by Mario Flores and Maurizio Sengisy) came out in 1984, peaked at #11 on the Italian singles chart and sold 150.000 copies.
The Creatures: Maybe One Day (1984)
Mario Flores was mentioned in the credits of both singles. Click here to read an article about this scandal published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on February 15th, 1985.
Patty's appearance on a high-rated TV program (which drew 20 million Italian viewers) was part of the strategy to organize her breakthrough in Dante's country.
Dutch and Italian press clippings
De Telegraaf - January 25th, 1985: Patty Brard presents the Sanremo Festival
Limburgsch dagblad - February 2nd, 1985
Click here to read the article online
Patty Brard in Privé magazine
Pippo Baudo and Patty Brard on the cover of "Gente" magazine (Thanks René van Ooijen for the scan)
Limburgsch dagblad - February 6th, 1985
Click here to read the article online
Het vrije volk - February 7th, 1985
Click here to read the article online
De Telegraaf - February 7th, 1985: Patty in the Lion's Den in Sanremo
Click here to read the article online
De Telegraaf - February 21st, 1985: Patty's plans in Italy after the Sanremo Festival (television and cinema)
Click here to read the article online
The Sanremo Festival was a painful experience for La Brard.
In 1995, Carlo Nasi discussed Patty's participation in the festival on Bart de Graaff's TV show "Onder de B van Brard" on RTL 5. "If I had to go back, I would suggest not to do it. She was the first non-Italian host of Sanremo and that created a big, big problem," he explained.
Onder de B van Brard - RTL 5 - 1995, including Patty Brard and Carlo Nasi discussing the Sanremo Festival
In 2014, Patty appeared on Linda de Mol's talk show Linda's Zomerweek on RTL 4 and told how her recruitment happened. "I lived in LA. Alberto Testa (a friend of my former husband) asked me to present the Sanremo Festival. I told him that I didn't speak Italian. I had to learn it in one month. I was selected from 300 beautiful applicants because of my humour. It was a difficult experience. Pippo Baudo (a kind of half-Berlusconi) was very irritating," the diva said.
Patty Brard on RTL 4's program Linda's Zomerweek (August 21st, 2014)
In an article about his successful career in the music industry, posted on the website of the Italian edition of Rolling Stone on October 20th, 2019, Carlo Nasi once again mentioned the tragedy of his ex-wife in Sanremo. Click here to read the article.
Moreover, in his autobiography entitled "Ecco a voi, Una storia italiana" co-written with Paulo Conti and published in 2018, Pippo Baudo dissed his former colleague by saying that she was not very talented and that she did not speak Italian very well.
After the Sanremo Festival, the ambitious Miss Brard (supported by her wealthy husband) tried to build a career in Italy. In late 1985, she released another dance-pop single entitled "Red Light", whose music video was shot in Frascati (near Rome) and featured extras who appeared in Federico Fellini's movies.
Red Light by Patty Brard - music video
Patty sang Red Light on RAI 1's music show Discoring. Despite this exposure, her record flopped. The singer did not achieve her goal. She gave up her projects in Italy and focused her efforts on the Netherlands. The Prima Donna later found success again in the Dutch showbiz.
Patty Brard on Discoring (1986)
Source: Wikipedia, Luv weblog archives, Marco Rens, Italie.nl, La Reppublica, Rolling Stone Italia, Indiscreto.info, Davidemaggio.it, Corriere.it, Sorrisi.com, YouTube, Discogs...
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