Francesco (Franco) Battiato (born 23 March 1945 in Riposto) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes. His collaborations from 1994 onward with the nihilistic-cynical philosopher Manlio Sgalambro have added lyrical references to Emil Cioran, Friedrich Nietzsche and other anarchistic thinkers.

Together with Alice, Franco Battiato represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "I treni di Tozeur".

Franco Battiato was born in 1945 in Riposto (in the former municipality of Jonia, that included also Giarre) in the province of Catania, Sicily.

At the age of 20 he moved to Milan and in 1967 he obtained the first musical contract. His single La Torre was released and Battiato appeared on TV to perform the song. He scored some success with the romantic song È l'amore. After further covers of pop songs, he met the experimental musician Juri Camisasca in 1970 and collaborated with Osage Tribe, an Italian psychedelic-progressive rock band. As a solo artist, he released the science-fiction single La convenzione (The convention), one of the finest Italian progressive rock songs of the 1970s.

Gialappa's Band is the name used by Marco Santin (born 11 February 1962 in Milan), Carlo Taranto (b. 16 December 1961 in Milan) and Giorgio Gherarducci (b. 1 November 1963 in Milan) , the Italian trio of TV and radio commentators.

Gialappa's members formed in 1985 at the Radio Popolare of Milan, where they launched the show Bar Sport. The show contained satirical commentary on Sunday matches of Italian football Serie A. The trio also commented on the FIFA World Cup, employing large doses of sarcasm and sound effects (crashing glasses, car crashes, babies crying) to emphasize the players' errors or game fouls. The format was very successful and, as of 2006^[update], they have broadcast comments on every football match for the European Championships and World Cups since 1986. Several UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup matches were also commentated during the 1990s.

However, Gialappa's main event remains the European and World Football cup. Several editions of the program also featured guests from the same nations as the playing teams. The trio moved from local radios to major private radio Radio Deejay and, later on, to Radio Due. In 2006, satellite television Sky Sport offered the Gialappa's commentaries as an alternative to the official report.