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.
La Cura
Banda Bassotti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dimenticare Che Non Hai Famiglia
Ogni Giorno Senza Legge
Crescono I Bambini
Combattero' I Giganti
Con Una Fionda Con Il Coltello
Suonano Gli Archi
Quando Rubano Una Honda
Gli Corre Dietro La Polizia
Sognano Un Mondo Di Risate
La Sirena Delle Guardie
Si Allontana
Loro Continuano A Correre
Non Erano Due Santi
Li Vicino Un'altro Mondo
I Ladri Di Regime
Vendono Sangue Infetto Per Le Tue Vene
Stipendi Da Papi
Per Questa Gente Per Bene
Pensano Al Mondo Che
Che Gli Appartiene
Gente Per Bene
Ladri Veri Non Per Gioco Come Noi Ribelli
La Buona Cura C'e' Per Quei Signori
Una Bella Passeggiata
In Mezzo A Noi Pezzenti
Il Popolo V'aspetta A Braccia Aperte
Il Vento Bacia I Fuorilegge
Sa Che Non Saranno Mai Come Loro
Loro La Notte Riposano E Il Giorno Pure
Coi Pantaloni Corti Giocano Ancora
A Guardia E Ladri Quando E' Sera
La Vita Non Si Dimentica
Ancora Pensano A Quei Giorni
E Alle Corse Sulla Moto Le Sirene
La Legge Non Esisteva Mai
Non Sono Due Santi
The lyrics of Banda Bassotti's song "La Cura" depict a rebellious and optimistic perspective on societal injustice and the struggle for a better world. The first verse portrays a group of young individuals who lack a family but find solace in their first loves and short pants (symbolizing their innocence). They live each day without the constraints of laws, and as they grow up, they fight against the giants (representing the oppressive powers) with a slingshot and a knife. They play the arches (possibly referring to musical instruments) when they steal a motorbike. Despite the authorities' pursuit, they dream of a world filled with laughter, while the sirens of the police fade away. The final line suggests that although they may not be saints, they are not the ones to blame.
Line by Line Meaning
Pantaloni Corti I Primi Grandi Amori
Short pants, the first great loves
Dimenticare Che Non Hai Famiglia
Forget that you don't have a family
Ogni Giorno Senza Legge
Every day without law
Crescono I Bambini
Children grow up
Combattero' I Giganti
I will fight the giants
Con Una Fionda Con Il Coltello
With a slingshot with a knife
Suonano Gli Archi
The arches play
Quando Rubano Una Honda
When they steal a Honda
I Calzoni Sono Lunghi
The pants are long
Gli Corre Dietro La Polizia
The police chase after them
Sognano Un Mondo Di Risate
They dream of a world of laughter
La Sirena Delle Guardie
The siren of the guards
Si Allontana
It moves away
Loro Continuano A Correre
They continue to run
Non Erano Due Santi
They weren't two saints
Li Vicino Un'altro Mondo
Nearby, another world
I Ladri Di Regime
The thieves of the regime
Vendono Sangue Infetto Per Le Tue Vene
They sell infected blood for your veins
Stipendi Da Papi
Daddy's paychecks
Per Questa Gente Per Bene
For this respectable people
Pensano Al Mondo Che
They think about the world that
Che Gli Appartiene
belongs to them
Gente Per Bene
Respectable people
Ladri Veri Non Per Gioco Come Noi Ribelli
Real thieves, not for fun like us rebels
La Buona Cura C'e' Per Quei Signori
The good care is there for those gentlemen
Una Bella Passeggiata
A nice walk
In Mezzo A Noi Pezzenti
In the midst of us poor people
Il Popolo V'aspetta A Braccia Aperte
The people are waiting for you with open arms
Il Vento Bacia I Fuorilegge
The wind kisses the outlaws
Sa Che Non Saranno Mai Come Loro
Knows that they will never be like them
Loro La Notte Riposano E Il Giorno Pure
They rest at night and also during the day
Coi Pantaloni Corti Giocano Ancora
With short pants they still play
A Guardia E Ladri Quando E' Sera
At cops and robbers when it's evening
La Vita Non Si Dimentica
Life is not forgotten
Ancora Pensano A Quei Giorni
They still think about those days
E Alle Corse Sulla Moto Le Sirene
And to the races on the motorcycle, the sirens
La Legge Non Esisteva Mai
The law never existed
Non Sono Due Santi
They are not two saints
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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