Righeira: «Ho sempre odiato gli anni 80!» (I always hated the 80s!)
With songs such as “Vamos a la playa”, he has had immortal global hits and now Johnson Righeira is also taking some fun at himself with the new funny single “Ho sempre odiato gli anni 80”. The song was written in collaboration with the creative multi-talent Gionathan. An artistic collaboration that will be a talking point. A catchy tune that will not only delight fans of the 80s because of the many allusions to this era.
On July 12, 2024, the eagerly awaited new single by Johnson Righeira will be released together with Gionathan from Turin. The song was produced by Gionathan, who also wrote the song together with Samuel De Luca and Phoenix Haven. Even the title “Ho sempre odiato gli anni 80” (I always hated the 80s) is promising: it ironically and light-footedly alludes to the fact that the artist owes everything to this historical and musical era on the one hand, but that it has almost become a persecution for him on the other, as the public has only been asking for these hits for almost 40 years.
The single was inspired by Gionathan in 2023: «The sound of the 80s is still very popular today,» explains the singer and musician from Turin, who released a great song called “Mojito” with disco dance queen Neja in the summer of 2023: «I was in Switzerland in November, as a guest of my music label, and while I was there I started producing something and humming along to it. But I wanted a song that made fun of an era that so many people seem to regret.»
While working out the final details of the song, Gionathan came up with the idea of including Johnson Righeira: «He would have been the ideal artist to make a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 80s without taking himself too seriously. Stefano Righi’s (Johnson Righeira) family were customers of my grandfather, who had a butcher’s shop in the center of Turin,» continues Gionathan, «I met Johnson a few years ago at a festival in Ivrea. I was singing with my band and he was one of the judges. I reminded him of my grandfather Pino and he was very happy.»
A few months ago, Gionathan decided to write to Johnson on Instagram and suggest that he collaborate on the new song “Ho sempre odiato gli anni 80”. «His idea really amused me and I agreed,» smiles Johnson, «together with Gionathan we worked on the lyrics, then we went into the studio. It’s a song with a nod to the 80s, but with a modern sound, very much in the spirit of The Kolors. In the chorus, I refer to that era in an almost annoyed way and shout “Enough!” several times.»
Gionathan adds: «It amused me that he, one of the iconic artists of the 80s, could confess his “true” feelings about that time,» he says with a wink. «In the lyrics, we make fun of his greatest hits (“Vamos a la playa”, “No tengo dinero” and “L’estate sta finendo”) and play with the stereotypes and pop icons of the time. For example, we mention Back to the Future, the legendary bomber jacket, the Amiga, DriveIn, Karate Kid, Hulk Hogan, Madonna, Top Gun and Flashdance. On the cover we put the Rubik’s Cube and for the lettering we used the same characters from iconic movies like Alien and Back to the Future. Those who lived through that time will enjoy the quotes from movies, characters, songs and consumer goods from that era.»
«In the circle of friends I introduce the tracks to, “Ho sempre odiato gli anni 80” is considered the coolest track I’ve worked on in recent times,» says Johnson, adding: «It has a surprising flavor that people really like. It has everything you need for a hit.»
