Eurodisco: A Brief History

The birth of Eurodisco is inseparable from the history of the drum machine and the “click”—the metronomic reference audio track that now resonates in the headphones of every musician in recording studios. By the late 1970s, disco was a global phenomenon and thus a major business; in Europe, it had a very brief but legendary run, bringing international hit records to countries such as Italy, France, and Germany. In 1979, while disco was being killed off and buried in America, it continued to survive and evolve in Europe until the 1980s, thanks primarily to the great skills of European producers. It was a phenomenon driven more by producers than by artists: in Germany, Giorgio Moroder; in France, Michael Cretu, Jean Marc Cerrone, and Jacques Morali; in Italy, Cecchetto, Celso Valli, Paolo Micioni, and Mauro Malavasi. In addition to Moroder’s “star,” Donna Summer, who also established herself through famous film soundtracks (winning two Oscars) such as “The Warriors” and “Midnight Express,” many artists emerged: Baccara in Spain; Alec Costandinos, Patrick Hernandez, and Sheila & B. Devotion in France; La Bionda and Easy Going in Italy; Imagination and Real Thing in England; ABBA in Sweden; and Patrick Juvet in Switzerland.

EUROPE vs USA

EURODISCO utilized electronic instruments and early synthesizers, whereas American disco was more closely tied to a tradition of brass, bass, and drums, and in the case of Philly Soul, real strings. American introductions typically lasted 3–4 minutes, while Eurodisco often extended them to 10 minutes. Beyond these differences, there was a common denominator, a universally valid disco element: the great strength of disco music was its catchiness for those who simply wanted to listen, and its energy for those who also enjoyed dancing to it.

PRINCIPAL EUROPEAN DISCOS

Germany: Trinity, Blue Bell, and Life1 in Hamburg; Edith and Why Not? in Munich; Biba in Frankfurt. France: approximately 3,500 venues, including the famous Palace in Paris. Soviet Union: did not permit the spread of disco.

HITS

The track that best expressed Eurodisco was “Love to Love You Baby” by Donna Summer, but it was “Save Me” by Silver Convention, released in January ’75, that transformed Eurodisco into an independent subgenre. The architects of this musical genre were Giorgio Moroder, Michael Kunze, and Silvester Levay, but the founder was likely Keith Forsey, who was involved in the records of nearly every member of the Europantheon (Donna Summer, Boney M, Giorgio Moroder, Trax, Suzi Lane, Sparks, Munich Machine, Roberta Kelly, Claudja Barry…).

DISCO IN ITALY

In Italy, disco arrived in the mid-1970s. Famous venues: Baia degli Angeli in Gabicce (DJs Bob Day and Tom Sison, later replaced by Daniele Baldelli and Claudio Rispoli); Cosmic on Lake Garda (DJ Daniele Baldelli).