His dark days and his arrival in Argentina
Before arriving in Argentina, Luca had a very bad time in Europe, after escaping from the Scottish Gordonstoun School in his last year (even Interpol was looking for him) his mother found him in Rome, addicted to heroin and in a very bad state emotional. Thanks to a doctor who declared him “insane” he didn’t do the Italian military service but he couldn’t do much to get out of the hell he was in.
In fact, at the time, things got worse with the suicide of his sister and he too was about to die from a heroin overdose; he fell into a coma. As fate would have it, the only friend he had made in Scotland, Timmy McKernwho had a family in Argentina and had settled in the Cordoba mountains, where he formed a family that was his salvation.
Timmy sent Luca a letter with a picture of him with his wife and little daughter and the saws in the background. And he invited him to spend some time with them. Luca arrived in Argentina in the early 1980s, escaping his life in Europe and the heroin. And he stayed forever.
He learned to speak Spanish by listening to people, radio and television thanks to his enormous language ability (in addition to Italian and English, he also spoke French) and deepened his love for music.
Life with Sumo
In Cordoba he met German Daffunchio Already Alexander Sokol. Before moving to the English neighborhood of Hurlingham, in Buenos Aires, and starting Sumo, he traveled to Europe for the last time to buy equipment and instruments.
With Prodan on vocals, Sokol on bass, Daffunchio on guitar and Stephanie Nuttalan English friend of Luca’s, on drums, gave their first concert at a nightclub in El Palomar called Caroline’s Pub.
The band established their base at Timmy’s mother’s house in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires Province. They offered shows with themes sung in English. They had serious problems during the Falklands War, when everything related to the United Kingdom — including the language — was banned. This situation caused Nuttal’s return to his native country at the request of his parents.
The second formation of Sumo was made up of Prodan (vocals), Daffunchio (guitar), Sokol (drums) and Diego Arnedo (bass). He would later join as a saxophonist Roberto Pettinatowho until then was a journalist for the magazine El Expreso Imaginario.
In 1984, Sokol left the band and joined Alberto “Superman” Troglio in the battery. Shortly after, and invited by Diego Arnedo, he enters Ricardo Mollo on guitar. Both were former members of MAM. The formation with Prodan, Daffunchio, Arnedo, Mollo, Troglio and Pettinato was the one that was maintained until the dissolution of the group.
From revolution to death
after publishing Bodices in the morning in the form of a cassette and with limited distribution, in 1985 the band released its first “official” album, Divided by Happiness in which they capture a lot of reggae with influences from Bob Marley and also funk and post punk; “The Stupid Blonde” It was the biggest hit from this album.
In 1986 they recorded The monkeys arrive, second album in which there is reggae, aggressive rock and post-punk. Some of his songs became hymns, like “Bursting from the Ocean”, “The Armored Eye” either “Hot TV”however the hit of the album was “The Old Vinegars”. That same year they gave an epic concert at Obras Sanitarias, consecrating themselves as one of the most attractive bands of that time.
In 1987 they released their third and last album, After Chabónalbum in which a notable maturity in musical and lyrical matters is shown: such is the case of “Tomorrow in the Abasto”in which Prodan gives a particular and emotional description of a typical neighborhood in Buenos Aires and one of his most remembered songs “Crua Chan”.
Sumo
Luca set a trend with his musical style, his imprint and his image: in the context of the eighties, being a bald rocker was countercultural. Prodan did not weigh this situation and ended up setting a trend.
Hand in hand with success and exposure, his addiction to gin grew, which led to his death caused by liver cirrhosis as a result of his alcoholism at the age of 34. He was found dead in the boarding house where he spent his last days, around the corner from the Colegio Nacional Buenos Aires, on December 22, 1987. Undoubtedly he lived a fast and sometimes extreme life, however those pauses that show the sensitivity of the artist are the ones that remained forever as an indelible mark on the popular culture of our country.
Tribute to Luca Prodan in Hurlingham
The City of Hurlingham will celebrate the birthday of Luca Prodán under an activity called “Luca Vive”, at the Leopoldo Marechal Cultural Center, Avenida Vergara 2396, at 5:30 p.m. with free admission for all residents.
In this context, the journalist Charles Polymeniauthor of the work “Luca a blind man guiding the blind”, Prodan’s first biography, will give an open talk to the community to remember and honor the great musician, reviewing his entire career.
Those who attend will also be able to enjoy a photographic exhibition called “Time, fate, love” with images of Sumo in 1982, from Claudina Puglieseand to end the tribute to there will be a great musical closure with “SUMO x Night Owl”.
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Source: Ambito
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