In July 1986 Italian singer Ivana Spagna released the single “Call Me”. In the UK it reached #2 UK Singles Chart (blocked by Communards' “Don't Leave Me This Way”), making Spagna the first Italian female vocalist to break the UK top-3 with an English-language track. Germany - #1 for five weeks. France - #3. “Call Me” was the last major Italo-disco hit to penetrate the British and German mainstream before the genre dissolved into late-80s house.
Ivana Spagna: from Valeggio sul Mincio to London
Ivana Spagna was born in December 1954 in Verona, Italy (she grew up in Valeggio sul Mincio, a village of 12,000). By 1984 she had spent 10 years singing in Italian bars - mostly covers of American hits. Her first original single “Easy Lady” (1986) became a minor Italian club hit but didn't travel beyond Italy.
Everything changed when Larry Pignagnoli - owner of the label Italian Style Production - met Spagna at a Milan club. Pignagnoli was one of the main Italo-disco producers of the 1980s, working with Den Harrow, Sabrina, and Silver Pozzoli. He saw in Spagna the potential for the English-language mainstream: she had good English, a strong voice, and a photogenic image.
Pignagnoli and Spagna wrote “Call Me” in April 1986 at Midas Studios in Milan. Co-writers - Alfredo Larry Pignagnoli and Ivana's brother Theo Spagna. The song was built for the British market - English lyric, minimal Italian melisma, and synth production that would read for a UK audience.
Recording: Midas Studios, Milan, May 1986
“Call Me” was tracked at Midas Studios in Milan in May 1986. The main instrument - Roland Juno-60. Pignagnoli plays it himself, laying the main pad and the mainline melody. The signature “italo-disco” sound - a synth with a light chorus effect creating a “wide” tone.
Bassline - classic Italo-disco: eighth notes on a Moog Prodigy running root and fifth. Tempo 128 BPM - standard Italo-disco pocket. Drums - a Roland TR-808 with added live claps.
The critical moment was Spagna's vocal take. Ivana recorded the lead in four passes. The fourth was the keeper. Pignagnoli: “On the first three she sang too „Italian" - with vibrato, theatrical delivery. On the fourth I asked her - „sing like an English pop singer". She sang simpler, with a straight tone, no drama. That's what worked for the UK”.
“I didn't think „Call Me" would hit in Britain. It was an Italian pop song. I made it for Italy. But when it landed at #2 UK Chart, I realised - I can work outside Italy. That changed my entire career.”
- Ivana Spagna, Top of the Pops interview, 1986
Sound anatomy
- Key: D minor, modulating to F major on the bridge
- BPM: 128
- Length: 3:45 (single), 7:10 (12-inch club mix)
- Synths: Roland Juno-60, Moog Prodigy, Yamaha DX7
- Drum machine: Roland TR-808 + live claps
- Producer: Alfredo “Larry” Pignagnoli
- Album: Dedicated to the Moon (October 1986, Italian Style/CBS)
- UK sales: 600,000 singles
- Worldwide: over 3 million
Chart history: #2 UK blocked by Communards
The single dropped on 29 July 1986. Early weeks - slow UK climb. By October 1986 - #12. By November - #4. January 1987 - #2 UK Singles Chart. Two weeks at #2.
At #1 was Communards' “Don't Leave Me This Way” (a cover of the 1975 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes original). Communards - British Hi-NRG duo Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. Their single held four weeks at #1, blocking “Call Me” from the top.
In Germany “Call Me” rose to #1 in September 1986, holding for five consecutive weeks. France - #3. Italy - #4. Netherlands - #1 for three weeks.
Interestingly: “Call Me” didn't spread in the US. The single only released in Canada (via CBS Canada), reaching #45 on the Canadian chart. American radio wasn't playing Italo-disco in 1986 - they were occupied with “Walk Like an Egyptian” and US hard rock.
Spagna and Eurovision 1990
In 1990 Ivana Spagna represented Italy at Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, with “Sembra incredibile”. She placed #16 of 22 countries - not a high result, but Eurovision gave her European fame for the next 15 years.
Through the 90s Spagna kept working in Italy: albums No Way Out (1991, with the hit “I Wanna Be Your Wife” - #3 Germany), Siamo in due (1995), Indivisibili (1996). She also hosted an Italian TV programme and appeared in several films.
By 2024 Spagna still tours - mainly in Italy and Germany. “Call Me” remains her concert closer, every show.
“Call Me”'s place in Italo-disco history
By 1986 Italo-disco was at a pivot. The classic Italo-disco formula (synth + eighth-note bass + female voice) was giving way to Chicago house and acid house. “Call Me” was one of the last major Italo-disco hits to break the British top-3.
After “Call Me” the British charts turned harder to access for Italian artists. Den Harrow, Silver Pozzoli, Baltimora - all had minor hits after 1986, but none repeated “Call Me”'s UK top-3 level.
“Call Me” is a transition artefact: its sound is still classically Italo-disco (TR-808, Juno-60, female voice), but the production is more “British” - a cleaner mix without Italian melisma. This hybrid became the template for most 1987-1990 Euro-pop.
What to listen to next
For 1985-87 Italo-disco context: Spagna “Call Me” (1986) → Sabrina Salerno “Boys (Summertime Love)” (1987) → Den Harrow “Future Brain” (1985). Three Italian artists, each broke internationally through an English-language single. “Call Me” was the most successful in the UK.
For the “Italian success on the German market” parallel, listen to Raf “Self Control” (1984), Ryan Paris “Dolce Vita” (1983), and Baltimora “Tarzan Boy” (1985). Four Italian singles, all #1 or top-3 in Germany. German audiences loved Italo-disco more than British or American.