Bianco
—  Comune  —
Comune di Bianco
Bianco Location of Bianco in Italy
Coordinates: 38°05′N 16°09′E / 38.083°N 16.15°E / 38.083; 16.15Coordinates: 38°05′N 16°09′E / 38.083°N 16.15°E / 38.083; 16.15
Country	Italy
Region	Calabria
Province	Reggio Calabria (RC)
Frazioni	Pardesca
Government
• Mayor	Cosimo Marafioti
Area
• Total	31 km2 (12 sq mi)
Population (2007)[1]
• Total	4,310
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Demonym	Bianchesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	89032
Dialing code	0964
Patron saint	Madonna of Pugliano
Saint day	August 15

Bianco is a town and comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria,in southern Italy. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old abbey and the ruins of a Roman house.

See also[link]

• Calabrian wine

References[link]

This Calabrian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Lory Bianco
Bianco in Warnemünde, 2001
Born	August 19, 1963 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Lory Bianco (born August 19, 1963) is an American singer and actor from the United States also working under the name Bonnie Bianco. She started her career in humble surroundings at the age of 10 performing in musicals, fairs, convalescent homes, hospitals, conventions, and beauty pageants. She was managed by Sam Gino and her mother Helen Bianco.

Career[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (December 2009)

Bianco sang solo and sang duet with her sister Holly and the two of them recorded their first single, "Give me a Minute". Later at 15, Bianco received her first professional break with Hal White and Mark Gibbons, who released a single on RCA records, "Teenager in Love". At eighteen Bianco was discovered by two producers from Italy, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. They held a talent search in New York, Texas, San Francisco and Hollywood. This was a dream come true; Bianco used to dream of going to Italy. The De Angeles brothers signed her to a management contract and became her record label Kangaroo Records/Polygram for five years. Also they changed her name to Bonnie Bianco.

In 1983 she landed the female leading role in the film–mini TV series Cinderella 80 or Cindy. The series was a renewed adaptation of the fairy-tale "Cinderella". She starred along with French actor Pierre Cosso, known from his movie La Boum 2 with Sophie Marceau. Bianco, who played a singer in Cinderella 80, also recorded the soundtrack for this TV series. The soundtrack album included a duet with Pierre Cosso, the hit single "Stay". Her album went gold in Germany.

From 1983 to 1985 Bianco was featured and sang and danced in the famous prime time Saturday Italian variety show Al Paradise. She became an overnight success in Italy. Her film Cinderella 80 was also released at the same time in the movie theaters and this as well gave her instant success as an actress in Italy.

In 1987 the two-hour film, that had 2 additional hours of film footage, was turned into a TV series and finally was aired in Germany and was a huge success. The duet "Stay" went straight to No. 1 on the Billboard German charts and stayed there for several weeks, and the album was in the number 2 spot for several weeks.^[1] The single became a Top 3 hit in Switzerland and Austria too.^[2] Cosso and Bianco became overnight sensations in Germany. Bianco also starred in a second TV mini series, Molly O, released only in Italy.

After going on a trip to Israel, Bianco painfully contemplated not to renew her contract with the De Angelis Brothers' record label, as she was signed exclusively to their label and was not able to work with other writers. She decided to explore other career opportunities. This was a very hard decision, but nevertheless she decided to take a risk.^{[citation needed]}

After several months of rest she signed with Christian De Walden and Steve Singer in a 1/3 business partnership. They signed a new record deal for the European market with Metronome Records. The first single off the album "Miss You So" was an instant Top 10 hit on the German charts. It was produced by Gunter Mende (Alexis, Falco) and Candy DeRouge (who scored a worldwide No 1 hit with Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" in 1985). Bianco and Christian De Walden had different ideas on the vision of Bianco's career and both came to a decision to break away.

She managed to get out of her contract with Metronome after a battle of seven months and signed a new deal with the German record company WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic, belonging to Warner Bros records). They produced a new album, True Love, Lory, as they mutually agreed to gradually fade away from the name "Bonnie". The record company stated that she had become famous by the name "Bonnie Bianco" and people would not know who Lory Bianco was. The album failed to continue the Top 10 success of the 2 previous albums, it even failed to reach the German Top 40. Moreover, neither of the two singles off that album cracked the German charts. German hit producer Dieter Bohlen (formerly of the 80s pop group "Modern Talking") was doing the soundtrack for a TV series and persuaded Bianco to sing one of the songs, "A Cry In The Night", which finally was another hit single for Lory "Bonnie" Bianco, but couldn't help the album to climb the charts.

For the second album with WEA, Lonely Is the Night, Bianco wanted to challenge herself and go a little more pop, with a touch of dance. She is known for her ballads and this was a huge risk; also dropping the name Bonnie, didn't help make it any easier, it took a lot of courage. Despite being produced by international top-notch producers, such as Klarmann/Weber and some of America's most successful songwriters Diane Warren and Jeff Lorber, Lonely Is The Night became a huge flop.

Bianco spent some more time in Israel, reflecting on her life, contemplating her career. She has led a very full life, but found herself homesick. Lory has been living in Europe for 10 years, she's left everything to follow her career, her home in the States, her family, and friends. She became weary of living out of her suitcase, not ever being able to establish a permanent home for herself in Europe due to the laws and regulations, etc. Bianco had come to a very painful decision again and it was to leave WEA records. She had to agree to walk away from at least $300,000.00 that was guaranteed to her as an advance if she would make two more CDs. She had systematically stopped her career. She has been offered several contracts since then, but has not found the right team.

In the year 2001 she managed to take a risk and produce and release a new album on her own. She recorded the album On My Own ... but never alone and distributed it through the internet and the biggest independent record online store, CDBaby. Because of her loyal fan base she even managed to promote her new album on German television in 2001.

After completing her trip to Germany, she returned on the night of September 10, and the next day, September 11, the World Trade Center in New York was bombed by terrorists. This event had a devastating impact on Bianco that she decided not to record pop songs anymore, but only sing Christian music.^{[citation needed]}

Lory Bianco still has a loyal fan base and her own international fan club from many parts of the world. She has a close connection to all of her fans and encourages them to go forward in their dreams and to never give up. Perseverance creates character.^{[citation needed]}

Bianco currently resides in the Pacific Northwestern United States and is working on a hymn CD-project, called Jesus paid it all.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1982 Bonnie Bianco (Italy and Germany 1983)
• 1983 Cenerentola ' 80 (Italy)
• 1984 Al Paradise EP (Italy - Songs of the TV Show)
• 1985 Un'Americana a Roma (Italy and Germany)
• 1985 Molly ´O (Italy)
• 1987 Cinderella ´87
• 1987 Un `Americana A Roma (Germany Re-release)
• 1987 Stay
• 1987 Rhapsody
• 1987 Just Me
• 1988 Too Young
• 1988 True Love, Lory
• 1989 True Love ("A Cry In The Night" included)
• 1990 Lonely Is The Night
• 1993 Miss you So - The Very Best Of
• 1993 Un `Americana A Roma (re-release)
• 1993 Stay - The Very Best Of
• 1993 You're The One
• 1996 Lonely Is The Night (re-release)
• 2001 On My Own...But Never Alone
• 2003 The Deluxe Edition (Double CD)
• 2007 Best of-Incl. Spanish Mixes (Double CD including Spanish songs)

Lory is hoping to release her new CD "Jesus paid it all" very soon (traditional, Christian-worship and meditative music)

Singles[link]

• 1984 EP-Single "Al Paradise"
• 1987 Stay (with Pierre Cosso)
• 1987 My First Love
• 1987 Miss You So
• 1987 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
• 1988 When The Price Is Your Love
• 1989 Straight From Your Heart
• 1989 A Cry in the Night
• 1989 Hold On (Austria only)
• 1990 Heartbreaker
• 1990 Lonely Is The Night
• 1992 Talking Eyes
• 1993 Stay (The 1993 Remix)
• 2002 I Feel The Rhythm (promo CD only)

Chart positions[link]

• 1987 "Stay" Germany: #1 Austria: #3 Switzerland: #2
• 1987 "Miss You So" Germany: #9 Austria: #7 Switzerland: #12
• 1987 "My First Love" Germany: #52
• 1989 "A Cry In the Night" Germany: #41 Austria: #1

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lory Lynn Bianco complex site
• Lory Bianco's latest CD

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

Matt Bianco is a UK band that was formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid 1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music.

Popular during the mid 1980s in continental Europe, Matt Bianco was part of the new jazz pop genre, that they shared with acts such as Working Week, Sade, Everything but the Girl, and The Style Council. The name suggests that Matt Bianco is a personal name, often referred to the main constant member and frontman, Mark Reilly, but Matt is in fact "a made up spy, a secret agent; we loved spy TV themes and film scores".^[1]

The early years as a trio[link]

Formed by Mark Reilly (vocals), Danny White (keyboards), and the late Kito Poncioni (bass) in 1982 from the shards of the abandoned art pop group, Blue Rondo A La Turk, for their first album, Whose Side Are You On?, they hired then unknown Polish vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska. Her vocal arrangements gave the album a jazzy dimension. Mixmaster Phil Harding applied what would become his signature style to the recordings. Hits like "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute," which Basia would feature live throughout her solo career, turned Matt Bianco into one of the biggest acts of Europe in 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Basia and Danny White, who subsequently formed a romantic relationship, left the group soon after the first album to pursue a very successful international solo career with Sony, under the name Basia, on the Epic label. They maintained their working relationship with Phil Harding until 1990, he continued to work with Matt Bianco as well.

Reilly found two new musical partners: Jenny Evans became the new female singer for Matt Bianco, contributing mainly backing vocals, and lead vocals on two album tracks, and ex-Wham and Second Image keyboarder and session musician Mark Fisher became White's collaborator as songwriter and producer, and the band's keyboard player. This line-up recorded the (self-titled) Matt Bianco album.

The Reilly-Fisher duo years[link]

With the addition of Mark Fisher, the sound changed considerably. Fisher, a keyboardist, composer and studio wizard, contributed a more contemporary sound, compared to that of the early Matt Bianco. The use of synthesizers increased notably: Yamaha's DX-7 can be heard providing the slap bass in most songs, but the choice of noted studio musicians remained consistent with Ronnie Ross being the most prominent example. After the first album with the new line-up, they took a 13-piece band on to a European tour, that saw them perform in front of an audience of more than 250,000 attendees in total.

In 1984 they appeared on the BBC TV morning show Saturday Superstore and were infamously subjected to a brief torrent of four-lettered abuse during a fan 'phone-in', which could not be cut as the show was live.

Jenny Evans left the group shortly after the recording of the group's self titled album and was not replaced.

Matt Bianco was now a household name in Europe, and Warner Brothers sought to market them in the United States. They hired Gloria Estefan's husband and producer Emilio Estefan to produce a few songs, and recorded their third album, Indigo, with the Estefan productions being chosen as singles. 1988's "Don't Blame it on That Girl" and "Good Times" only made a moderate impact. "Wap-Bam-Boogie", an album track originally on the B-side of the first single, which did well on the dance charts, and pushed the joint single release up to Number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Matt Bianco's most successful single.

Their first Greatest Hits album, entitled The Best of Matt Bianco, collecting their greatest hits from 1983 to 1990, was released in 1990. Another studio album was released in 1991 by Warner Brothers, the fractured Samba in Your Casa, the fourth long-playing by the group.

Reilly and Fisher then split from their record company and went freelance. From then on, they recorded their albums in their own studios, and then offered them to independent distributors worldwide.

They scored contracts with ZYX Music and Intercord in Europe, and Victor Entertainment in Asia, but failed to sign on with another major label. The next albums did not sell well in Europe, but they created a loyal fan base in Japan and the rest of Asia. The albums Another Time Another Place, Gran Via, World Go Round, A/Collection (not a greatest hits album, but more of a compilation album, compiling a number of remakes of Matt Bianco's stand-out album tracks plus remixes of a few of their hits), Rico, and Echoes sold well enough for a comfortable lifestyle in the South-East of England.

After twenty years recording and touring, the two split amicably.

The reunion of the original trio line-up[link]

Initiated by a mutual friend, Basia and Danny White joined with Mark Reilly to reform the "original" Matt Bianco, in 2003, signing to the Emarcy label. In 2004, Matt Bianco released the album Matt's Mood (the name is from one of their most popular early instrumental tracks), which featured well-crafted adult-contemporary/jazz numbers, in the spirit of their first album. This was accompanied by an extensive PR exercise, giving the album plenty of airtime. The following year, they embarked on a world tour, which included stops in the UK, Japan, and the United States.

The present: back again to the duo[link]

After the success of Matt's Mood, Basia and White left Matt Bianco again to reinvigorate the Basia brand. Reilly reunited with Fisher, and Matt Bianco were back as a duo. Three compilation albums were marketed between 2005 and 2008, including The Best of Matt Bianco - Volume 2, containing many of the Asian tracks, which were so far only available in Germany for European fans, and the re-release of the original 1990 The Best of Matt Bianco, featuring their European hits from 1983 to 1990. In May 2009 Fisher and Reilly released their first album as a duo for eight years in Europe, the UK and Japan. With HiFi Bossanova the band secured a recording contract with Edel Music in Europe and continued their cooperation with JVC-Victor in Japan. According to Mark Fisher a new album will be released in 2012.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1984 - Whose Side Are You On? (UK Albums Chart #35)
• 1986 - Matt Bianco (UK #26)
• 1988 - Indigo (UK #23)
• 1991 - Samba in Your Casa
• 1994 - Another Time Another Place
• 1995 - Gran Via
• 1997 - World Go Round
• 2000 - Rico
• 2002 - Echoes
• 2004 - Matt's Mood
• 2009 - Hifi Bossanova

^[2]

Compilations[link]

• 1990 - The Best of Matt Bianco (UK #49) (collection of best tracks from the European period 1983 to 1990
• 1993 - Yeah Yeah
• 1998 - A/Collection (collection of post-1990 tracks, and remakes of pre-1990 hits) (Japanese edition includes 17 tracks; European edition, released in 2000, includes 16 tracks)
• 2005 - The Best of Matt Bianco: Platinum Collection (re-release of The Best of Matt Bianco)
• 2005 - Let's Dance (Matt Bianco dance hits)
• 2006 - Wap Bam Boogie
• 2008 - The Best of Matt Bianco - Volume 2 (collection of best tracks from the German/Asian period 1991 to 2008 - Internet release)
• 2010 - Sunshine Days - The Official Greatest Hits (collection of re-recorded classic tracks and newer songs that were popular on Asian releases)

^[2]

Singles[link]

Singles Europe 1983-1990[link]

• February 1984 - "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" (#15 UK Singles Chart - 8 weeks in the charts), #8 Ireland
• April/May 1984 - "Sneaking Out the Back Door"/"Matt's Mood" (#44 UK - 7 weeks), #22 Ireland
• November 1984 - "Half a Minute" (#23 UK - 10 weeks)
• February 1985 - "More Than I Can Bear" (remix) - (#50 UK - 7 weeks)
• September 1985 - "Yeh Yeh" (#13 UK - 10 weeks), #15 Ireland
• February 1986 - "Just Can't Stand It" (#66 UK - 2 weeks)
• June 1986 - "Dancing in the Street" (#64 UK - 3 weeks)
• May 1988 - "Don't Blame It on That Girl" / "Wap-Bam-Boogie" (double A-side) (#11 UK - 13 weeks), #8 Ireland
• August 1988 - "Good Times" (#55 UK - 3 weeks)
• January 1989 - "Nervous / Wap-Bam-Boogie (re-mix)" (#59 UK - 2 weeks), #22 Ireland
• April 1989 - "Say It's Not Too Late" (UK -)
• September 1990 - "Fire in the Blood" (UK -)
• December 1990 - "Wap-Bam-Boogie 1990" (UK -)
• February 1992 - "What a Fool Believes" #23 Ireland

^[2]

Singles Germany/Asia 1991-1998[link]

• October 1991 - "Macumba"
• 1992 - "What a Fool Believes"
• September 1993 - "Our Love" (Japan)
• 1994 - "Our Love" (Germany)
• December 1994 - "Buddy Love"
• August 1995 - "Lost in You" (Germany)
• October 1995 - "Lost in You" (Japan)
• June 1997 - "Altozano"
• July 1997 - "Sunshine Day / Lost in You 1997"
• 1998 - "Boogie Mi Vista"

See also[link]

• Sophisti-pop

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Detailed discography