Ago Presta

“Making music is a family affair,” Ago recounts. “Techniques may change, but music is in your blood. And even though many say that back then being a DJ wasn’t a profession, for me it already was. The year I started was 1974 in a venue in Vieste on the Gargano.”

HIT PARADE: The 3 hits that couldn’t be missed 1. Jonny Harris (’80) “Odyssey”; 2. Lamont Dozier (’77) “Going back to my roots”; 3. Free Life (’81) “Dance fantasy”.

3 hits I play today: Boystown Gang “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”; Billy Ocean “Are You Ready”; George Benson “Give Me the Night”.

MEMORIES: Tom Savarese’s performance at La Bussola (Versilia). “I remember very well that from a technical standpoint, not to boast, but he didn’t have much to teach Italian DJs of that era. He was already working with 3 turntables, but I did that too. What struck me, though, was how long he would let a single record play. I timed it and one lasted 16 minutes, incredible. I thought: ‘when is he going to change this?’ For us, the maximum time for a record could be 4 minutes, no more.”

TRIVIA: “The vinyl trunks, those historic ones that gave you a backache just looking at them. Having steel handles on the sides, and being quite wide, it was practically impossible to lift them alone. I now own 6 of them full of records.”