Loredana Bertè and Rettore: the Armageddon of the 80s pop divas

Sanremo 1986. A Rai journalist wanders around the backstage of the Ariston interviewing the various protagonists of that edition of the Festival. Rector, competing in the event with “Star love” for the fourth time, when asked “You are many women: what are your relationships?”, he comes out with a laconic: “Uterine”. And he makes a face. “That is?”, urges the journalist. “You must know this very well, since you are a woman too. Enmities and gossip? As far as I'm concerned, no: I live in wonderful solitude”. Loredana Bertè, on the other hand, is an absolute debutant at Ariston. The singer from Bagnara Calabra entered the competition with “King” (he will monopolize the media's attention with that fake belly that will also inspire Lady Gaga), in a stalemate phase of his career after hits like “E la luna bussò”, “In alta mare”, “Non sono una donna”, as he is preparing to change record company from CBS to RCA.

“The festival is female. The relationships between us women? They are splendid,” she says to the same journalist who had interviewed Rettore shortly before. And when the reporter, without mentioning the Venetian singer-songwriter, points out to Loredana that others have responded differently, she replies: “.Are you sure they were women? Women are usually much more intelligent than men: they stand together and are much stronger. There must be competitiveness, but competitiveness does not mean unfair rivalry. I'm the best, so I have to win”.

Loredana did not win: she came ninth, four positions above Rettore. Small parenthesis. It went better Marcella Bella wich was protagonist of an unforgettable and very acidic exchange after the festival with Rettore herself (“I'm a singer who doesn't need to do Sanremo”, said the voice of “Lamette” to her colleague, who criticized her intolerance towards the competition): the Sicilian singer placed third with “Senza un io di testa”. Eros Ramazzotti won with “Adesso tu”. Parenthesis closed. Almost forty years later, thirty-six to be precise, Bertè and Rettore return to compete. Not in Sanremo, but in a different race:

that of summer catchphrases. By a bizarre coincidence their new singles come out on the same day, tomorrow. Bertè, 73 years old, who in recent seasons has explored the genre in all its forms, ranging from the duet with Boomdabash on “Non ti dico no” to the one with Emma on “Che dream incredible”, this time he has joined forces with the Eiffel 65 for “Bestiale”, once again putting themselves into play with upbeat rhythms and dance sounds. Rettore, 68 years old, who runs alone (and hadn't released a solo single for ten years: the last one was “Ciao ciao”, dated 2013), plays more on the classic, singing with “The sense of danger” a hymn to carefreeness and that “state of perpetual but pleasant fever that doesn't make you think, that makes you bang against the glass doors of shops with people insulting you shouting: 'Hey, where's your head? !'”. It will be the Armageddon of two of the greatest and most iconic divas of Italian pop of the 80swhich after years continue to catalyze attention (for the record, a new single by Anna Tatangelo will also be released tomorrow: the Italian pop icon of the 2000s, who with her latest album “Anna zero” in 2021 gave to trap, returns with “Mantra”).

The clash will renew a musical rivalry that has lasted at least forty-five years. It was 1979 when both competed at the Festivalbar, on the threshold of the 1980s. Rector sang “Splendid shining”, Bertè “And the moon knocked”. The first one went better, winning the “Revelation of the Year” award, also thanks to a very interesting album like “Brivido divino”, between punk, disco and a captivating aesthetic, with that androgynous aspect that was inspired by the stars of British glam rock, from Bowie on down. With “Kobra“, the following year, Rector once again got the better of his colleague, who with “On the high seas”, taken from a delightful album like “LoredanaBertè”, flirted credibly with funk. 1981 was the year of consecration for the Rector with “Donatella”, while Loredana seduced the whole of Italy with “Lullaby“, only to then take definitive revenge the following year with “I'm not a lady”. Entering forever into the Olympus of Italian music.

Revolutionary, incendiary, iconoclastic, after those magical years Loredana and Donatella got lost. Between perhaps too bold choices and deceptive encounters for a while they were finished on the fringes of show biz, forced, in the 2000s, to also participate in reality shows to relaunch themselves (Loredana at “Music Farm” in 2004, among old glories such as Riccardo Fogli, Scialpi, Fiordaliso; Rettore at “La Fattoria”, again in 2004, among disgraced showgirls, former porn stars and even psychics), before returning to the scene in style, to vindicate the impact that both have had on Italian pop culture. “The rivalry? It's something that Loredana invented, then she continued to believe in it and it became a reality. But I absolutely don't feel like I'm in competition, in fact, if you want, let's even do a duet now, I'm very available”, Rector said in an unsuspecting time, speaking of his colleague, who however does not reply.

Fun facts: .the two now have the same record label, Warner. Who knows, a duet might really escape us.