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.
Sciopero
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La mia mente si è esaurita dormirò
Perché spendere la mia genialità
Se ogni giorno è uguale a un altro
E il sesso mio non va.
Dormirò
Non mi va di intossicarmi coi perché
Mentre il corpo esulta l'anima dov'è
Fuori Negrieri sciacalli banchieri
E falsi benefattori.
Fuori! Qui tutti si credono Dio.
Fuori! Antenne microfoni penne
Una minaccia perenne
Muori per ciò che puoi avere e non hai
Lui ruba ma sei tu che pagherai.
Sciopero
Che la vita faccia finalmente sciopero
Umiliata offesa appesa a questa incognita
Che sordido ricatto è questo mai
Fosse sciopero
Per gli amanti che ci sono e non li vedono
Per quel pugno di poeti che ci credono
Quante speranze violentate già.
Troppi assassini ancora in libertà.
Dormirò
Sono stato troppo sveglio dormirò
Un satellite mi scruta da lassù
Dovrò difendermi anch'io o non sarò più io, mai più.
Muto il mondo appiattito scontato
Delle ricchezze spogliato
Mondo conteso da mille Net Work
Fiuto un destino arbitrato e giocato
Come fosse un campionato
Rifiuto chi passa la palla e chi
Si crede in<> e poi muore in serie<
Sciopero delle pillole e di tutti i profilattici
Fra non molto a chi serviranno quei giocattoli
Bambini di ottanta anni tu vedrai.
Fosse sciopero
Perché un uomo possa ritornare libero
Non si può sempre sperare in un miracolo
È già un miracolo se siamo qua
Solo l'amore ci risveglierà
In Renato Zero's song "Sciopero," the singer expresses exhaustion and a desire for rest. He is tired of trying to understand the world around him when every day feels the same and his sex life is unsatisfying. He wants to sleep instead of being intoxicated by questions that the body enjoys while the soul is neglected. The singer also critiques society, calling out bankers and false benefactors, and stating that everyone believes they are a god. He calls for a strike and rebellion against a life that is full of uncertainty and degradation. The singer desires a different world, one where lovers can be free and poets can believe in their dreams. The song concludes with the idea that only love can awaken us from our slumber and bring us to a new, more fulfilling reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Dormirò
I will sleep
La mia mente si è esaurita dormirò
My mind is exhausted, I will sleep
Perché spendere la mia genialità
Why waste my brilliance
Se ogni giorno è uguale a un altro
If every day is the same as the last
E il sesso mio non va.
And my sex life is not going well
Non mi va di intossicarmi coi perché
I don't want to intoxicate myself with 'whys'
Mentre il corpo esulta l'anima dov'è
While the body is happy, where is the soul
E chissà se un'altra vita poi davvero c'è.
And who knows if another life truly exists
Fuori Negrieri sciacalli banchieri
Out with slave traders, jackals, and bankers
E falsi benefattori.
And false benefactors
Fuori! Qui tutti si credono Dio.
Out with everyone who thinks they are God
Fuori! Antenne microfoni penne
Out with antennas, microphones, and pens
Una minaccia perenne
A perpetual threat
Muori per ciò che puoi avere e non hai
You die for what you can have but don't
Lui ruba ma sei tu che pagherai.
He steals but you will pay
Sciopero
Strike
Che la vita faccia finalmente sciopero
Let life finally go on strike
Umiliata offesa appesa a questa incognita
Humiliated and offended, hanging in this uncertainty
Che sordido ricatto è questo mai
What a sordid blackmail this is
Fosse sciopero
If it were a strike
Per gli amanti che ci sono e non li vedono
For the lovers that exist but are not seen
Per quel pugno di poeti che ci credono
For that handful of poets who believe
Quante speranze violentate già.
How many hopes have already been violated
Troppi assassini ancora in libertà.
Too many murderers still free
Sono stato troppo sveglio dormirò
I have been awake for too long, I will sleep
Un satellite mi scruta da lassù
A satellite is watching me from above
Dovrò difendermi anch'io o non sarò più io, mai più.
I will have to defend myself too, or I will no longer be me, ever again
Muto il mondo appiattito scontato
The world is silent, flattened, taken for granted
Delle ricchezze spogliato
Stripped of its riches
Mondo conteso da mille Net Work
A world contested by a thousand Net Works
Fiuto un destino arbitrato e giocato
I sense a destiny that is arbitrated and played
Come fosse un campionato
As if it were a championship
Rifiuto chi passa la palla e chi
I reject those who pass the ball and those
Si crede in<> e poi muore in serie<
who believe in 'A' and then die in series 'C'
Sciopero delle pillole e di tutti i profilattici
A strike of pills and all condoms
Fra non molto a chi serviranno quei giocattoli
Soon, who will those toys serve
Bambini di ottanta anni tu vedrai.
You will see children who are eighty years old
Fosse sciopero
If it were a strike
Perché un uomo possa ritornare libero
So that a man can become free again
Non si può sempre sperare in un miracolo
You can't always hope for a miracle
È già un miracolo se siamo qua
It's already a miracle that we are here
Solo l'amore ci risveglierà
Only love will awaken us
Contributed by Mila R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Claudio Sergio Dente
Un vero e proprio capolavoro!
Resterà attuale nei secoli! ❤
Gino P.
31anni fa nasceva questo caplavoro
petronela nita
Canzone universale dato che " tutto il mondo è un paese" ....oggi come ieri!
Antonio Iavarone
Grande !
Alessandro Agnelli
Uno dei suoi brani eccellenti e non famosi
Alessandro Agnelli
Uno dei suoi brani eccellenti e non famosi
Antonello Zerofavola
grazie ni'...