Renato Fiacchini was born in Rome in the Via di Ripetta, next to the Via del Corso.
He quit his studies early to devote himself to his true passion, playing music and singing - though initially with little success. He replied to the criticisms (including the recurring insult Sei uno zero! - "You're a zero!") by assuming the alter-ego of Renato Zero. After several different jobs, including an appearance in an advertisement for ice-cream, he recorded his first singles in 1965: "Tu, sì", "Il deserto", "La solitudine", which were never issued. His first published single, "Non basta sai/In mezzo ai guai" (1967), sold a total of 20 copies.
In the late 1960s Zero's career was favoured by the glam-rock fashion, which he had somehow presaged with his sexual ambiguity and androgynous appearance. At the same time, this led him to be accused of cloning characters like David Bowie. In 1973 he issued his first LP, No! Mamma, no! (live), but with little success. The follow-up Invenzioni met the same fate.
Birth of the "Zerophilia"
It was not until 1976 that he scored his first hit with the single "Madame". "Madame" and the album including it, Trapezio, established a regular and loyal audience for Zero. This was to increase exponentially in the following years, until he could boast a huge following of die-hard fans that he dubbed "Sorcini" ("Little Mice").
The late 1970s were indeed years of great success for Zero's character, with the LPs Zerofobia ("Zerophobia", 1977), Zerolandia (1978) and Erozero (1979) topping the Italian charts. At this time Renato Zero was amongst the two or three most popular singers in Italy and his song "Il Carrozzone" was already regarded, also by critics, as one of the best Italian songs ever.
In 1979 Zero played himself in the movie "Ciao Nì" (his usual greeting to his fans, which can be roughly translated as "Hi pal!"). In Italy this film was to be more successful than the blockbuster "Superman".
The 1980s
In the 1980s he began to abandon make-up and greasepaint, but this did not rid Zero of his mania for grandeur: in the 1980 tour, for example, he entered the scene riding a white horse. In 1982 he began a collaboration with the opera director Renato Serio, who was to write the string arrangements for almost all of Zero's following LPs. In late 1983 he took part in RAI's Fantastico 3, then the most popular Italian TV show.
His career continued to be successful until 1984, with top-charts songs like "Amico" ("Friend") and "Spiagge" ("Beaches"). That year, however, his album Leoni si nasce and the tour of the same name, in which he appeared disguised as a lion and escorted by four aborigines, were commercial failures. The album Zero of 1987 marked the low point of his career: instead of playing in arenas and stadiums, Zero had to sing almost for free in the piazzas and discos of Italy's minor cities.
1990s and 2000s: the Comeback
In 1991 Renato Zero participated to the Sanremo Music Festival with "Spalle al muro", and from that moment on his career began to rise again. In 1993 he was nr.1 in the Italian charts with the LP Quando non sei più nessuno. The following year Imperfetto repeated this success. During his tour concerts would regularly sell out, and he returned to his famous dress changes during the spectacles, although in a less kitsch and more balanced style.
In 2004 his tour "Cattura il sogno/Il sogno continua" (Catch the dream/The dream continues) was awarded from Pollstar magazine as the most successful of the year in Italy and as well as one of the most successful worldwide (#30). The recording af the Roman concerts, held at Olimpico Stadium in June, was the best selled musical DVD of 2004. In 2005 he took part to the Italian stage of Live 8, in the Circo Massimo. In November his new album Il dono ("The Gift") topped the charts and maintained #1 until the end of the year. In December 2005 he performed in the Vatican with a song dedicated to Pope John Paul II. Renato Zero's most recent tour started in February 2006 and is entitled Zero movimento. During some concerts held at the time of the campaign for the April 2006 elections he declared himself against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Erotica apparenza
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La tua pelle non ha età
Un nuovo look una nuova vita
Un'altra identità...
Che talento quel chirurgo plastico. Che genio.
Mani d'oro pure lui.
Che tortura è mai.
Una cavia sei.
Di lettini e cremerie...
Sulla faccia non c'è alcuna traccia di malinconie
Ed il tempo triste e sconsolato si è già arreso
Alla scienza, all'alchimia
Sei fatale, sei monumentale, paraffineria...
Tu lo sai che in fondo al silicone non c'è umaneria
Fermati direi
Ora che lo puoi
Che scalare un cuore è assai più semplice
La natura sa
È lei che sceglierà
Se sei da copertina o da crociera
Sgonfiati così o scoppierai
Costretta in quella gabbia che fai...
Stanca passerella la vita ormai
Sotto quelle bende che insidia si nasconde, non sai...
Bella mia!
Troppo facile lanciare ovunque bocche finte
Gambe dai tre metri in su
Straripare con i seni fino a non amarli più
Sono uomini troppo meschini, troppo ini
Per capire dove sta
La genuinità
La femminilità...
Se ritornerò da mamma solo un'altra volta
Non me lo perdonerà
Se le porto in casa un'altra bambola mi ucciderà
Sono eternamente combattuto, frastornato
Fra la grazia e la virtù...
Fra l'erotica parvenza, e ciò che rappresenti tu...
Più pulita che plastificata, dubbi non ho più...
Fermati direi
Alla taglie tue
Unica perché non sei mai statica
Sotto i panni tuoi
La sostanza c'è
Basta avere voglia e buone mani
Non ti metterei in vetrina mai
Anche se un fenomeno sei
Lasciali per me i difetti tuoi
Li accarezzerò, li corteggerò, li sposerò!
Bella mia!!!
The song "Erotica Apparenza" by Renato Zero revolves around the theme of the damaging effects of plastic surgery and the quest for artificial beauty. Renato Zero expresses his concern and criticism towards the increasing trend of plastic surgery and the obsession with beauty standards. In the lyrics, he compliments the treatments and the surgeon who performed them, but he also highlights the negative consequences of such procedures. He describes the transformation as a new identity, for which the person sacrifices their genuineness and feminity.
Renato Zero refers to the person who underwent the plastic surgeries as "cavia" (guinea pig), indicating that the person has become a subject of experimentation. He also portrays the house of the person as a circus, full of training equipment and beauty products to maintain their artificial appearance. The chorus urges the person to stop and take a step back before it’s too late. Renato Zero advises the person to embrace their natural self and let nature choose whether they are fit for the cover of a magazine or just a relaxed vacation.
The lyrics of "Erotica Apparenza" are a critique of the superficial and fleeting nature of the beauty industry. Renato Zero warns against the dangers of going too far in one’s pursuit of beauty, the loss of self-identity, and the negative psychological impact of such procedures.
Line by Line Meaning
Complimenti per i trattamenti, complimenti
Wow, those plastic surgeries really paid off. Congrats!
La tua pelle non ha età
Your skin looks flawless and ageless.
Un nuovo look una nuova vita
You've got a fresh new image and a new lease on life.
Un'altra identità...
You're practically a whole new person now.
Che talento quel chirurgo plastico. Che genio.
That plastic surgeon is a true artist and genius.
Mani d'oro pure lui.
He's got magic hands, that one.
Che tortura è mai.
But what a painful process it must have been for you.
Una cavia sei.
You were basically a lab rat for experimentation.
La tua casa è come un circo equestre, di palestre, Di lettini e cremerie...
Your home is like a beauty circus, with gyms, tanning beds, and skincare products all over the place.
Sulla faccia non c'è alcuna traccia di malinconie
You don't have a single wrinkle of sadness on your face.
Ed il tempo triste e sconsolato si è già arreso / Alla scienza, all'alchimia
Even time has given up trying to make you look older, because science and alchemy have won.
Sei fatale, sei monumentale, paraffineria...
You look stunningly fatal and monumental, like a wax museum figure.
Tu lo sai che in fondo al silicone non c'è umaneria
You know that beneath all that silicone, there's no humanity left.
Fermati direi / Ora che lo puoi / Che scalare un cuore è assai più semplice
Stop now while you still can, because climbing into someone's heart is much easier than all this.
La natura sa / È lei che sceglierà / Se sei da copertina o da crociera
Nature knows what's best for you, whether you belong on a magazine cover or on a cruise ship.
Sgonfiati così o scoppierai / Costretta in quella gabbia che fai...
You're gonna deflate or burst eventually, trapped in that cage you've made for yourself.
Stanca passerella la vita ormai / Sotto quelle bende che insidia si nasconde, non sai...
You're tired of being a runway model, but you don't even know the danger lurking beneath those bandages.
Bella mia! Troppo facile lanciare ovunque bocche finte / Gambe dai tre metri in su / Straripare con i seni fino a non amarli più
My beautiful one, it's too easy to just fake it with fake lips and legs three meters long, to have breasts so big you stop loving them.
Sono uomini troppo meschini, troppo ini / Per capire dove sta / La genuinità / La femminilità...
Men are too petty to understand the true meaning of genuinity and femininity.
Se ritornerò da mamma solo un'altra volta / Non me lo perdonerà / Se le porto in casa un'altra bambola mi ucciderà
If I go back home to my mother and bring another doll like you, she won't forgive me -- she might even kill me.
Sono eternamente combattuto, frastornato / Fra la grazia e la virtù... / Fra l'erotica parvenza, e ciò che rappresenti tu...
I am eternally conflicted and confused, torn between grace and virtue, between your erotic appearance and your true nature.
Più pulita che plastificata, dubbi non ho più...
Now that I've seen you up close and personal, I know that you're more clean than plastic.
Fermati direi / Alla taglie tue / Unica perché non sei mai statica
Stop now, because what makes you unique is not your size, but your dynamic nature.
Sotto i panni tuoi / La sostanza c'è / Basta avere voglia e buone mani
Beneath the surface of your clothes, there's substance to your being -- all it takes is the desire and the right hands.
Non ti metterei in vetrina mai / Anche se un fenomeno sei / Lasciali per me i difetti tuoi / Li accarezzerò, li corteggerò, li sposerò!
I would never put you on display, even though you're a phenomenon. But let me keep your flaws for myself -- I'll cherish them, woo them, and marry them!
Bella mia!!!
My beautiful one!!
Contributed by Maya C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
DieCast Model Passion
Bellissima canzone! La adoro
MarmeladePro
AMO questa canzone *___*
Giuseppe Mirabile
Divino! Grande RENATO!!!!
I BARONCINI
Baratto
Gianluca Cacucci
Giuseppe Mirabile
Noemi Longo
Sempre avanti...
erdrago05
Immenso!!
Giampaolo Righetti
È una delle migliori canzoni che io abbia mai sentito... Top 100
Walter Piccolo
...CONQUSTARE UN CUORE E' ASSAI PIU' SEMPLICE...
Tiziano Del Bove
Stupenda!!! Renatinoo miooooooo