Music Lesson

Introduction

And when I got back from New York, really, because I couldn't obtain a green card, which was the main problem, I started working on a little label in Bologna, helping them out, literally in putting together their records. The guy who owns it ended up being a very successful manager. They were working out of a studio just outside Bologna.

About Bologna

Bologna is quite an important city in Italy. It's a university city filled with radical fun. Lots of artists come from Bologna, including:

• Lucio Dalla
• Other notable figures from the dance scene

The dance scene that you came to know in 1988, 1989, is literally across the highway that goes from Milan to Rimini, which is on the east coast of Italy, on the Riviera.

The Sinclair

There was this very talented composer and arranger, Marco, who was working on this huge machine called the Sinclair.

"Yeah, do you remember Sinclair? Didn't ABBA use that as well?"

Trevor Horn was the Sinclair guy. I think A Slave to the Rhythm is totally made on a Sinclair, which was an awfully expensive machine at the time. It was during the time that the Fairlight and the Sinclair were the two things to have.

"Yeah. It had an enormous hard drive thing, didn't it?"

You had to wheel around like a Dalek tower hard drive, which probably was 60 megabytes, you know.

Collaboration

He was coming from dance music because he was doing all the Claudio Cecchetto records. He did that record I Love My Radio. I don't know if you remember, but it was massive in England. We just started working together because I had all these records that we could sample, and that's how we really started.

Through the label, I met a manager in England who was quite fundamental for me. His name is Stephen Budd; he's still a very good friend of mine and sometimes a business partner.

"Stephen used to manage Tony Visconti, who was a prominent producer at the time, along with a few other people."

I also became friends with John Moss, who was the Culture Club's drummer, whom I met at Virgin.

The Importance of Language

Because I was doing a bit of international relations, my advantage was that I could speak half-decent English. That really helped me, I gotta admit.

"In your career, there's always something external to what you do that will help you out."

Speaking English was crucial.

I've always said that when we deliver lessons to people, you have to look at different roles and departments in a record label. The number one thing the international department wants is languages.

"Exactly. It's got nothing to do with music. They just want the languages."

I think, in general, in professional life, you have to learn a trade that helps you throughout your career. For me, that was English.

Discovering English

I probably learned it very early because I had an uncle, Uncle Mario, who at one point in the 60s escaped to England. No one knows what he did, and no one asked.

I remember one day, we were at my grandparents' house by the record player, and he put on Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix. I knew there was a path that was my way out.

"But we never asked Uncle Mario what he was doing."

I was eight or nine, and we used to play Scrabble in English, forming words. He taught me, and I learned English through Scrabble.

Tip for Students

I advise Scrabble to everyone to learn languages.

"Get Scrabbled! Scrabble is a great tool for learning how to speak languages."

Learn something that can help you out in your everyday life. You never know how it might relate to your career.

• You could be a gardener one day, doing Clive Davis's gardening.
• Carole King was babysitting near Sidaka's kids, who knows? She could have easily been an accountant instead of one of the biggest songwriters ever.

Conclusion

I do think you should pursue something else that connects you to your purpose in life.

"You never know. You could fix Taylor Swift's dishwasher one day, and that'll be it."

Sometimes, that can be more useful than knocking on every industry door. It's fun!