Supersonic – Discs at Mach 2
To properly introduce these three famous radio speakers, who became known thanks to the hosting of the “Supersonic – records at mach due” program, I make use of a short note that I found online and which speaks precisely of the famous radio program that marked the golden era of Italian radio and which the majority of young teenagers of the 70s faithfully followed every evening around 8pm on Radio Due.
“The full name (of the program) was Supersonic – Disks at Mach-2 and alluded to the speed of sound (Mach-1) and supersonic aircraft (and also to the speed of flying style).
It was broadcast on the second channel of Radio RAI (Secondo Programma and then Radio Due) and was broadcast from 4 July 1971 to 16 December 1977, every evening from 8.10pm.
It had been designed as a filler program for the summer period, but the unexpected success convinced RAI to confirm the program which actually became one of the reference musical events for young people in the seventies.
The program was characterized by a fast pace, taken from the successful formula already adopted by Radio Montecarlo and which was also becoming familiar to the young Italian audience. It offered 31 musical pieces every evening. The choices were even more open than in the contemporary broadcast “For you young” and also included underground songs, both foreign and Italian produced, but also covered the more commercial side.
Already in 1972 the program evolved towards a more complex structure, with a weekly schedule that included a special evening on Tuesday, in which live concerts were organized with the presence of leading exponents of Italian music of the time: Premiata Forneria Marconi, Lucio Battisti, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, New Trolls, Lucio Dalla and many others. Among the concerts of particular importance is Lou Reed’s concert in 1975.
The concerts were organized primarily at the Rai headquarters in Turin (which has one of the public body’s main Auditoriums, where classical music concerts are also recorded). The Garzanti encyclopedia of the radio places them instead in Rome, in Room A of the RAI production center in Rome (the same one previously used by Bandiera Gialla).
Tullio Grazzini was responsible for the broadcast for a certain period (just over a year), but over the years other DJs have alternated at the microphones. who then became very well known, declared in possession of the “driving license” in the acronym, such as Gigi Marziali, Paolo Francisci, Antonio De Robertis, Paolo Testa, Piero Bernacchi. The musical choices were by Tonino Ruscitto and Massimo Lazzari, as well as Grazzini.
The effective theme song was taken from the suite “In A Gadda Da Vida” by Iron Butterfly, title track of one of the first albums (from 1968) that went beyond the song form; in particular, the selected part was the famous and enthralling electric bass solo by bassist Lee Dorman. The voice of the theme song was by Luciano Alto.
Supersonic was a true prototype program for Italian radio in the nascent period of free radio, offering to the public broadcaster’s very large audience the styles of hosting (fast pace, witty and irreverent interventions, great musical preparation) that had imposed in the sixties in the Anglo-Saxon world.
The great success of free radio from 1976 onwards marked the final phase of broadcasting, which closed in 1977, more due to internal conflicts within RAI than audience and competition problems, which were still distant at the time for the powerful Italian radio and television organisation. ”. (Sources: Garzanti Radio Encyclopedia and website https://amolaradio.it/wp/supersonic-dischi-a-mach-2/. The original text has been slightly modified).
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At that time and we are talking about 1971, the year in which “Supersonic” began, private radios had not yet arrived in Italy. We would have had to wait a few more years to listen to the programs of the so-called free broadcasters who began their activity on the FM frequencies of the Italian airwaves only in 1973 when in the Marche the first private radio that history remembers was Radio Emmanuel which began its broadcasts on 14 July 1973.
Over the next two years it was a succession of ons and offs. The Rai monopoly in the field of information had been abolished in 1974. Therefore the first free radios constituted an offense in themselves because they broadcast “illegally”. In fact, there is news of numerous seizures and forced shutdowns by the authorities who between ’73 and ’74 silenced many new radios whose transmitters occupied the frequency range from 87.00 to 104.00 and then 108.00 MHz of frequency modulation.
Before the massive advent and proliferation of private radios and TVs, Italians had a very limited choice: three channels
radio and only two television. For the young people of the time, mostly teenagers and teen agers, one of the best musical proposals in 1971 was represented by the broadcast of the second Rai radio channel entitled “Supersonic” about which I have already said something in the previous pages.
At that time, I was a young teenager of 12 years old and I remember that together with my brothers and some friends, every evening we tuned in to the Radio Due frequencies to listen to the legendary broadcast hosted by a trio of exceptional DJs like Antonio De Robertis, Gigi Marziali and Paolo Testa.
“Supersonic” was an evening programme, it aired around 8pm and lasted about an hour and a half, immediately afterwards another program was broadcast which was very popular among young people, which was “Radio due ventuno ventinove” because it started at 9pm, 29, immediately after “Supersonic”.
But those were not the only radio broadcasts that young people listened to in those years. During the lunch hours, at around one in the afternoon, “Alto Gramento” hosted by Arbore and Boncompagni were also broadcast, on Fridays Luttazzi’s “Hit Parade” and on Sunday around midday, the legendary “Dischi Caldi” by Giancarlo Watch out.
As for “Supersonic” I could say that the musical choices were not as obvious as the musical programs mentioned above. Within the evening musical lineup you could hear avant-garde artists and other more sought-after musical genres, as well as more popular pieces from both the international and Italian markets.
I remember some of them: Al di Meola and Paco de Lucia, Brian Eno, Sweet, Foreigner, Roger Daltrey and the most popular Genesis, Tavares, as well as Italian songs by singer-songwriters and the great successes of pop music such as “Come èdeep il mar” by Lucio Dalla, “Malamore” by Enzo Carella and many others.
The credit for the success of that program was essentially due to some key factors, real rules that the DJs had to adopt when broadcasting the songs:
1) an effective theme song,
2) a fast pace in the style of the already well-known Radio Montecarlo, which was perhaps, in the early 1970s, the only alternative to the RAI monopoly,
3) good hosts or disc jockeys who also had a captivating and radio-friendly voice,
4) a good choice of records and of course a great musical culture.
Let’s analyze them point by point:
Effective theme song: what better than the instrumental part of “In A Gadda Da Vida” by Iron Butterfly which we mentioned in the initial part of this chapter, could create the atmosphere of a truly supersonic program, or rather “Mach-due ” as the theme song itself said, something explosive and that would capture the attention of the listeners? The announcement of the title of the program immediately after the first three rounds of “bass-rolls” in the wake of an explosion with Luciano Alto’s voice effected with echo[1], was a technological innovation that had no equal to those times. No one had ever dared so much in the field of ether and the listeners showed that they appreciated the format, following with great interest what would become a fixed appointment every weekday. “Supersonic” was something that could not be missed, a trendy program that was talked about a lot among the youth of the 70s.
Fast pace: this particular conducting technique was also new at the time. Rai tried to imitate some radio programs of the Monegasque Radio Montecarlo but the “tight” rhythm actually had its origins from English and American radio stations overseas[2], which in the 1970s already numbered hundreds both in England and in the United States. This way of presenting and commenting on the records required the speaker (or the DJ as he was defined at the time) to make his interventions by speaking quickly and in a somewhat counterfeit voice. Another golden rule of conducting at the microphone in those years was to never talk about the singing, a rule that even today every self-respecting radio speaker should adopt so as not to look like an amateur.
Valid presenters and Disc Jockeys: also in this case Rai was truly a master in those times, because in addition to the two celebrated Arbore and Boncompagni, Luttazzi and Guardabassi for the Friday and Sunday programs hired by the writing office of Via Asiago, for the evening programs like “Supersonic” had an extraordinary poker of aces up its sleeve. The voices of Paolo Francisci, Antonio De Robertis, Gigi Marziali and Paolo Testa were the best, in terms of professionalism and diction, the top of what could be found on the market for a musical program like “Supersonic” which was intended for a young audience. Naturally the timbre of their voices (the different vocal textures) was “right” and very suitable for conducting a program like that.
Great musical culture and wise choice of records
: even the choice of records was entrusted to two highly respected experts: Tonino Ruscitto and Massimo Lazzari who, together with Grazzini, managed to catalyze the attention of music consumers on a series of artists who were establishing themselves on the Italian market and who were arriving from abroad. We are talking about solo singers or groups such as Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Gary Glitter, Al di Meola and Paco De Lucia, Brian Eno, etc. Here’s how a listener of “Supersonic” remembers those intense evenings listening to the radio: “From my little Geloso I listened carefully to Supersonic which had become a fixed appointment in my evenings as a thirteen-year-old, who had (rightly) to stay at home, to get news and information on pop music trends; at the beginning Marc Bolan’s T. Rex with Jeepster and Telegram Sam, then David Bowie with Starman, the desecrating Alice Cooper of School’s Out, Van der Graff Generator with the majestic Theme One, Ferry and Brian Eno’s Roxy Music with Virginia Plane, to move on to the rock of Status Quo with Paper Plane and arrive at the Glam Rock of Gary Glitter. And then again Chicago, Graham Nash, America and many, many others… The opening (and closing) theme was the final part of the long In a Gadda da Vida by Iron Butterfly with the unmistakable turn of the bass played by Erik Brann, then seventeen year old, which seemed like a real launching pad for the broadcast” Source: (http://progressiverock.altervista.org/supersonic.htm).
In April 2023, one of the hosts of the famous broadcast, Antonio De Robertis, made himself available to our editorial staff to provide us with some additional information on this radio program so loved by young people in the 70s of the 20th century. We asked him some questions and he very kindly answered us. Below is the short conversation with De Robertis:
We asked him who created the format of “Supersonic” as it was conceived (a formula that made the history of Italian radio and which was an example for the large group of speakers and DJs of the 70s and decades later). Here’s what he told us: “The idea was born from various conversations between Pier Luigi Tabasso, the then manager responsible for the musical programs, and Tullio Grazzini, a contract collaborator as a setlist writer”.
Another question concerns the formula of “Supersonic”. We asked Antonio if it was unpublished for those times or there was already something similar in circulation (not in Italy because the private ones had not yet arrived but overseas, perhaps in America) which perhaps the people responsible for the program were inspired by. And he told us that the “formula – was – largely new: great rhythm, passages from one song to another, which never went completely, very carefully studied in terms of modality (cut, mix at the same level, cross fade) based on speed and pitch, without “whites”. Primarily rock choices, with windows on the slow tempos that gave breathing room, conducting with the obligation not to talk about the singing but only on the intros and internal instrumental moments. The dedications were the truly original aspect which boasts, as we know, countless imitations.” What has been reported is really interesting, because in addition to illustrating the program formula, it also provides many useful suggestions for DJs. and radio speakers who wish to carry out their work in a professional manner. For example, the rule “no talking about singing” is considered “sacred” for radio hosts. Many of them, in fact, in the years to come, after the advent of private radios, adopted this technique.
At this point Antonio makes a note and recalls that “Supersonic” holds, together with “Alto gradimento”, the record for duration of airing: seven years”.
At this point we asked him: “Who invented the title of the program and what did the subtitle “a mach due” mean?”.
Antonio told us that the title was invented by Pier Luigi Tabasso. “In aeronautical language – explains De Robertis – Mach 1 is the speed of the aircraft equal to that of sound, therefore Mach 2 wanted to give the idea of a music program that went at double the speed of sound”.
Since Antonio De Robertis, Gigi Marziali and Paolo Testa (the most well-known hosts of the program) are considered by many music critics and professionals to be true masters, those who have inspired and initiated many speakers and DJs into the profession. who in the following years would have had to deal with the experience of private radios, we asked if Antonio, Gigi and Paolo also had teachers and who inspired them in their approach as hosts for such an innovative program as “Supersonic”?
Antonio explains to us that “We all have a model, and we don’t escape the rule. Some time earlier Gianni Boncompagni had introduced me to Radio Luxembourg, i
English, which however was broadcast from Luxembourg City precisely to circumvent the legislation that still prohibited private broadcasting in England. It was listened to on Medium Waves, a frequency of 1440 kHz, and I was fascinated by the style and the non-uniform but elegant way of conducting of a DJ whose name I honestly don’t remember.
I don’t know about Paolo Testa – adds Antonio –.
As for Marziali, I know for a fact that he was inspired by Wolfman Jack, the real-life DJ who can be heard in the film “American Graffiti”.
And at this point Antonio provides us with some in-depth links to the well-known Radio Due radio broadcast and points out an interview of his in which he talks about “Supersonic” informing us that the last 30 episodes of 1977 are available on RaiPlaySound for fans of the programme.
Here are the links: https://www.rai.it/ ufficiostampa/assets/template/us-article.html?ssiPath=/articoli/2022/02/Supersonic-live-1974–bf6ddf13-a9a9-444b-95b2-39b1e2b55f70 -ssi.html
In short, “Supersonic” was the regular evening event for many young people who loved following music and the evolution of musical genres that came from abroad and were forcefully imposing themselves in Italy too.
As I have already mentioned above, I was a very faithful fan of “Supersonic” and the voices of Antonio De Robertis, Gigi Marziali and Paolo Testa had literally “kidnapped” me so much so that in the afternoon, between doing a school assignment and a topography lesson , I started imitating one of the three in rotation, playing the hits of the moment that I went to get cheaply in a juke box shop that put used records on sale and periodically replaced them with new ones.
It was a real hunt for the hit single, perhaps the latest trend. I went to that store at least a couple of times a week to see if I could also find some songs that I heard on “Supersonic”. Once I managed to get my hands on a very well-kept copy of “Love is like oxigene” by Sweet, another time I recovered an excellent “Point me at the sky” by Pink Floyd. And with these and other records that I alternated on my home Philips turntable, I improvised a radio program, presenting the various hits in the manner of the three hosts of “Supersonic”.
This is precisely how I developed the passion for doing radio and through a series of curious combinations, after a few years, I began to collaborate with some private broadcasters in my city. I still remember their names: Radio Trento Alternativa, Radio Nettuno, with which I had a much longer collaboration and in which I also trained as a speaker and radio host as well as as the author of a program entitled “Free Music” which followed in the footsteps of the most famous “Supersonic” which ended its cycle of live broadcasts in 1977.
This long introduction was necessary to make the reader understand how important that program was to me and how much both my friends and I loved the hosts of “Supersonic”, to the point of emulating them and choosing to do the same profession as them.
In February 1980, upon returning from military service, I founded Radio Luna International and began my long career as a speaker and disc jockey which ended in 2007.
Only a few years after starting my private radio, I took part in a competition organized by the Rai of Trento which was looking for voices to send to Rome for a DJ challenge on behalf of the Roman headquarters. I won the regional selections for Trentino-Alto Adige and from May to July 1983 I moved to Rome to participate in the live evening broadcasts on Rai Stereo Uno. The winner would have won a fixed-term contract for a broadcast of his own on the first channel of Radio Rai which in the meantime had become stereo.
And it was precisely on that occasion that I met those three legendary hosts that I had heard many times on the radio as a young teenager. I remember that the adrenaline was at 1,000! Getting on the mic with your three favorite disc jockeys and hosting a portion of their show live nationally?! It was a blast! And I was sky high of course. A dream that had come true.
Both Antonio De Robertis and Gigi Marziali as well as Paolo Testa welcomed the new arrivals with great affection and availability. They put us at ease and so began my radio experience in Rai, which would then also continue at the regional headquarters of Trentino-Alto Adige together with Sandra Mattei, relative of the more famous Maria Concetta Mattei, famous face of the Rai news program of which I talked about it in a previous chapter.
The emotion was great and the mere thought of being on air with those I considered true masters was a source of great pride for me. I learned the microphone conducting techniques from them. And I even had the opportunity to tell one
of them in 2013 when I participated, almost by chance, in a TV 2000 program in which Paolo Testa, one of the three speakers of “Supersonic”, had been invited, who retraced his professional career as an announcer.
It was wonderful to be able to say hello, even if only on the phone, and remember the times of “Supersfida DJ” and the even more exciting ones of the legendary show “Supersonic”. To greet him as was appropriate, I decided, in agreement with the manager of the TV 2000 program “Time flies” to begin my speech with the announcement of the theme song for “Supersonic”.
The host, Silvio Vitelli, announced that there was a surprise for Paolo Testa. He widened his eyes and said pleasantly: “Oh my goodness…”. I began my speech with these words: “Live from the Rai production center in Via Asiago 10 in Rome, we broadcast: “Supersonic, sonic, sonic (also imitating the echo of the theme song and the bass lines of the famous “Inna A Gadda Da Vida”), records at mach two, two, two”.
After my announcement, which I tried to make in the most professional way possible, I passed the ball to Paolo for the continuation of the program. He was very amused and added: “Well, you pass me a really hot ball…”.
I said hello to Paolo, I remembered the times of “Supersonic” and “Supersfida DJ”, I recommended him to also say hello to Gigi and Antonio and we promised to meet again in Rome, perhaps live, to remember other extraordinary moments of the radio of the 70s live.
There is also a video contribution available on Youtube from that evening. You can view it at this link: https://youtu.be/an-Lofw3u00
My days in Rome in ’83 at the Rai studios in Via Asiago 10 passed to the rhythm of music, interviews and visits to the production centers and record companies of the capital. The three speakers, or as they were called at the time “radio announcers”, honored me with some personalized announcements for my Trentino radio made with their voices.
For me it was truly the best to be able to broadcast, even for just a few moments, the voices of De Robertis or Paolo Testa within my radio program. It was a real joy. And so, even in Trentino, hundreds of thousands of people were able to know, even after “Supersonic” had ended, their extraordinary voices, which a few years later were broadcast again on the newly formed Rai Stereo Uno in a program of national and international hits very similar to the legendary “Supersonic”.
I remember that one evening, Paolo Testa was announcing my musical space within the “Superstereouno” program. He said: “And now a competitor who comes from Trentino-Alto Adige, Beppe Amico, who is here in front of me and looks a bit like Scialpi at Azzurro”. I was struck by this comparison but perhaps what he said was true; my way of dressing and my hair could perhaps make the debutant Scialpi think that after his participation in the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari that year, he would come to the attention of the general public with a piece that would become very famous and which it was called “Rocking Rolling” which would later be followed by other great successes. And since we’ve talked about it, I can tell you that we will also deal with Scialpi in detail in a separate chapter.
Returning to my experience in Rai, I remember that one day I was very impressed when, entering the broadcast room, passing through the control room to enter the microphone room where I was supposed to host my programme, the console technician who was in charge of broadcasting my setlist musical, rolled his eyes and said, “Paul”! I remained as if petrified, I smiled at him and took my place in front of the microphone. I sat down and as soon as I looked at the director again, over the intercom he said to me: “Sorry but I was stunned to see you come in, you looked like Paul Mac Cartney!”.
At this point I couldn’t help but smile and this time in a less restrained way than a few moments before. However, I must admit that I considered this second pairing with a character like Paul more relevant (only for the physical aspect of course).
It’s true, someone said that around the age of 24 I resembled the famous Paul of the Beatles, some others like the great Renato Zero, but never like Scialpi. The following year I met him too, but this is another story that I will tell in a few chapters.
