Banda Bassotti was formed in 1988, by a group of politically active musicians who began to sympathize with the Nicaraguan, Salvadorean, Palestinian, and Basque people fights. This group of friends supports the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional with solidarity initiatives by creating some work brigades. From 1984 to 1987 they took part to a three months brigade with the building cooperative XXV Aprile, to build some students houses and a school. From 1987 to 1989 the group creates a rock-band which begins to stir in the squats and in the demonstrations. The Banda Bassotti together with other comrades establishes the project Gridalo Forte No fascism! No racism! A documentation centre against fascism and racial prejudice.
From 1990 to 1991 they organize an antiracist festival with the same title who took place in Rome on 1991 May 3rd and 4th. European antiracist bands took part into such festival with concerts, videos and meetings. From this documentation centre, after two years the label Gridalo Forte Records is created. From this documentation centre the project Balla e Difendi arises, always in 1991, where the Banda Bassotti, took part to, together with other roman bands, such as: Red House, Filo da Torcere, AK 47. In this record, produced by the Gridalo Forte Records independent label, took part the most active bands of the left roman antagonist scene. "Figli della stessa rabbia" the first Banda Bassotti cd follows the success of such initiative and it is produced by the same label. This cd obtained a great success of both audience and critics and acted as an ingagements band multiplier: from a roman dimension to a national, and then an international one.
Without abandoning their roots, the BB obtained appreciation in Spain and especially in the Basque Country, where they performed in several concerts together with some independist left bands. During the recording of "Bella Ciao" together with the GANG, it raised the idea to play in Salvador for the FMNL. The occasion to realize such idea comes out few months later in march 1994, for the first political elections after 11 years of civil war in Salvador. The Banda Bassotti played with the Negu Gorriak in San Salvador central square at the end of the campaign with an audience of 50.000 people. They performed in 4 concerts in less than a week.
In June 1995 the band moved to Euskadi for 15 days in the IZ studio, on the mountains and with Kaki Arkarazo –sound technician and Negu Gorriak guitarist- they recorded "Avanzo di Cantiere" produced by Gridalo Forte Records label. Fermin Muguruza took part to the traditional song "Carabina 30-30" This cd is sold also in Euskadi and Spain, published by Gora Herriak Records a branch of the International Basque label Esan Ozenki. The record has been presented in several concerts in Italy and all over Spain: Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Santiago De Compostela, Saragoza, Gasteiz, Oiartzun. The Banda Bassotti played with the Negu Gorriak in summer 1995 in Bilbao Gaz Square at the town party with an audience of 10.000 people. After a while the Banda Bassotti took part to a Hitz Egin demonstration for the freedom of expression, a big concert to raising funds for the Negu Gorriak trial against the civil guard General Galindo. The song reported is Ustalkerria. They raised 200.000.000 liras for the defence, about 12.000 people took part to it and 15 bands played, there were all Basque bands and the Banda Bassotti represented the international sympathy.
In the mid 1996 the band decided to stop because of great energies spent and the obvious difficulties to go on both with the band and to work in the yard.
In February 2001 Negu Gorriak -who broke in the same time of of the Banda Bassotti- decided to keep the promise to get back together to play in a concert to celebrate the end of the legal prosecution of Colonel Galindo against their song Ustalkerria when the Negu Gorriak won the trial. The agreement stated that also the Banda Bassotti should have to rejoin nad play with the Basque band. The Banda Bassotti decided to increase the instruments of the band with the brass section: Sandokan to the tombone -singer of the Ramiccia and trombone of the International Fermin Muguruza Dub Manifest and of the Radici nel Cemento- and Stefano Cecchi to the trumpet -trumpet of the bands International Fermin Muguruza Dub Manifest and Radici nel Cemento-. They rearranged their songs and left for Bilbao.
Concerts in February should have been two but they were three, due to the great demand of tickets (30.000). Seizing this opportunity the Banda Bassotti organized two concerts in Rome on 15th and 17th March 2001. The first concert is in support of the people reported for the demonstration against the nazi Haider arrival in Rome, while the second took place in the Social Centre "Villaggio Globale" with an audience of 9.000 people. The great success of these occasional concerts was the input to find new energies and the Banda Bassotti started to reorganize its future as a band. They started again to play and they received great demands from Italy and Spain.
In May 2001 a double live cd has been published by the label Gridalo Forte Records with the title "Un altro giorno d’amore" recorded at the Villaggio Globale and mixed in the Euskadi Garate Studio by Kaki Arkarazo. The video is the live concert of May 17th as well. Fermin Muguruza took part to roman concerts singing "La Linea del Frente" and "Zu Trapartu Arte" the two most famous songs by Fermin Muguruza’s first band: the Kortatu. After a while they shoot the video of "Carabina 30-30" and Maurizio Gregori -Ramiccia’s saxophonist- joined the band.
In summer 2001 the Banda bassotti is on tour again in Italy, Spain and the Basque Country until September when they played at the Independent Day Festival with Manu Chao, Africa Unite, and so on. Without forgetting their attitude, the Banda Bassotti and their label organized a concert in Rome to support the partisan Walter Dall’Olmo and his family. After that they performed in Italy and Spain and in November 2001, during their first seven concerts tour, they had a total audience of about 30.000 people.
In their second tour in December, with four concerts their audience was of around 7.000 people. During this month they released a compilation with the title "Poetry and reality" for the Japanese label Two Children Records.
Singer Angelo "Sigaro" Conti, died at the age of 62 on 11 December 2018.
Juri Gagarin
Banda Bassotti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Padre loro che sei nei cieli, sia fatta la tua volontà, fanteria cacciabombardieri, cosi in cielo come sulla terra, i ribelli dentro ai cimiteri, e la plebe chine a lavorà, le baracche e i grattacieli, omelie bombe e povertà.
Sempre più su, sempre più su i conti in banca a le preghiere, sempre più su, sempre più su beati i santi di wall street,
sempre più giu sepmre più giu gli operai nelle miniere, sempre più giu sempre più giu sempre più giu.
Oggi 12 aprile 1961 alle 9 e 07 ora di mosca dal cosmodromo di baikonur unione repubbliche socialiste sovietiche, lancia l'astronave vostok 1 per il primo viaggio spaziale pur orbitando nel pianeta terra.. radio vostok .. radio vostok
Un astronauta figlio di un carpentiere, Juri Gagarin figlio dell'ottobre rosso.
Sempre più su, sempre più su non vedo angeli nel cielo, sempre più su, sempre più su niente maria niente gesù, sempre più su sempre più su la falce insieme col martello, sempre più, sempre più su, sempre più su.
(Grazie a Lodo per questo testo)
The lyrics of Banda Bassotti's song "Yuri Gagarin" conveys a strong message of social criticism and inequality, contrasting the hypocrisy and corruption of those in power with the achievements and ideals of the Soviet Union. The opening lines criticize the religious leaders who preach chastity and virginity while exploiting children, as well as the president's affair with his secretary, all hypocritically claiming to trust in God. The reference to the Lord's Prayer is ironic, as it exposes the difference between the prayer's request for the Father's will to be done on earth as in heaven, and the reality of warfare, poverty, and oppression that the people face. The contrast between the rebels confined to cemeteries and the working class struggling to make a living is highlighted, alongside the imposing skyscrapers and slums and the combination of homilies and bombs that further worsen the people's living conditions.
The song then shifts its focus to Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into space, portrayed as a symbol of hope and progress in contrast to the inner turmoil of Western society. Gagarin's humble origins, as the son of a carpenter, are emphasized to underscore the role of the working class in achieving scientific breakthroughs. The second chorus contrasts the emptiness of the Western religious figures with the proud Communist symbols of a hammer, sickle, and a red flag, and the lack of angels, Maria and Jesus in the skies. The final line, "sempre più su," (higher and higher) serves to uplift Gagarin's achievements and the Soviet ideals over the disparity of capitalism, epitomized by Wall Street's self-righteous "saints" and the miners' struggles, relegated to the depths of the earth.
Line by Line Meaning
La castità,la verginità, monsignore adora i bambini, il presidente con la segretaria, in God they trust in God they trust.
Religious leaders preach purity and innocence while indulging in harmful actions such as child abuse, and politicians claim to trust in God while being involved in scandals with their secretaries.
Padre loro che sei nei cieli, sia fatta la tua volontà, fanteria cacciabombardieri, cosi in cielo come sulla terra, i ribelli dentro ai cimiteri, e la plebe chine a lavorà, le baracche e i grattacieli, omelie bombe e povertà.
Praying to God for his will to be done while living in a world full of violence and oppression, where rebels are silenced and the working class is exploited, dwelling in shanties while religious leaders preach about bombs and poverty.
Sempre più su, sempre più su i conti in banca a le preghiere, sempre più su, sempre più su beati i santi di wall street, sempre più giu sepmre più giu gli operai nelle miniere, sempre più giu sempre più giu sempre più giu.
The wealthy get richer while praying for more money, those who work hard in mines get pushed down further, and the cycle continues as the rich saints of Wall Street rise higher and higher.
Oggi 12 aprile 1961 alle 9 e 07 ora di mosca dal cosmodromo di baikonur unione repubbliche socialiste sovietiche, lancia l'astronave vostok 1 per il primo viaggio spaziale pur orbitando nel pianeta terra.. radio vostok .. radio vostok
On April 12, 1961 at 9:07 am Moscow time, the Soviet Union launched the Vostok 1 spaceship for the first manned space flight, orbiting planet Earth, as announced by the radio station Vostok.
Un astronauta figlio di un carpentiere, Juri Gagarin figlio dell'ottobre rosso.
Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, had humble origins as the son of a carpenter and a symbol of the October Revolution.
Sempre più su, sempre più su non vedo angeli nel cielo, sempre più su, sempre più su niente maria niente gesù, sempre più su sempre più su la falce insieme col martello, sempre più, sempre più su, sempre più su.
As we reach greater heights, we see no angels or holy figures in the sky, no Mary or Jesus. Instead, we see the symbols of the hammer and sickle, representing the unity of workers in their struggle for justice.
Contributed by Audrey R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.