Mal (singer)

Mal, 2018

Mal is the stage name of the British singer Paul Bradley Couling (born February 27, 1944 in Llanfrechfa , Wales ; other pseudonyms: Paul Bradley , Michael Florence and Mal Ryder ), who has lived in Italy since the mid-1960s and one of the most successful artists there Was late 1960s and early 1970s.

biography

Getting started in the UK

Paul Couling's family moved to Wolvercote, near Oxford , when he was three years old. At 15 he left school and became an electrician - apprentice . His career began as a singer of rock and roll - cover band The Meteors . Soon he joined the most famous band from Oxford, the Spirits , with whom he released some singles as Mal Ryder & the Spirits , including on Decca Records . In 1964, during the Beatboom , they also went on tour in Germany. After returning to Great Britain, the Meteors disbanded , but a little later, Mal joined the band The Primitives , which released the single "Every Minute of Every Day" on Pye Records in 1965 .

The Primitives went on tour in Norway in 1966 , then to France and finally to Italy . At that time, the new drummer was David Withers, who became known by his nickname Pick as the drummer of Dire Straits .

The Primitives in Italy

The band received a contract at the Roman Piper Club , the leading venue in Italy for the beat time, where later stars like Patty Pravo or The Rokes , who come from Great Britain like Mal, also performed. The Primitives' album "Blow Up" appears on the club's record label , with cover versions and own titles. The single "Yeeeeeeh!" will be a greater success. The record company decided that the singer should be highlighted because of his impact on female record buyers; from The Primitives were times ei Primitives - launched the solo career.

The solo career

Mal released hit after hit in the late 1960s. The best known of his songs were Bambolina (1967), Occhi neri occhi neri (1968), Tu sei bella come sei (with whom he in 1969 at the Sanremo Music Festival took part) and also in 1969 Pensiero d'amore , a cover of Bee Gees -Hits I gotta get a message to you . On the basis of this song a music film was made, with which Mal (under the name Michael Florence ) also started an acting career; other films of the same type with titles such as Lacrime d'amore ("Tears of Love") and photo romances, which were fashionable at the time, followed and made Mal a star in Italy for good.

In 1970 and 1971 he again took part in the Sanremo Festival, but also released a cover version of John Kongos ' rock song He's Gonna Step on You Again . In 1972, Mal dared to take a brief trip to Germany again, which gave him small successes with singles such as Who loves is never alone , Mighty Mighty Roly Poly (reached number 49 in the German charts at the beginning of 1972) or Alle Menschen sucht Liebe , the German version of the Pop tops songs Road to Freedom . He also gave a series of concerts in Las Vegas in 1972 with the band Cyan , which as Cyan Three was formerly the accompanying group Patty Pravos and in which the former Primitives guitarist Dave Sumner now played. After a few unsuccessful singles, Mal returned to the charts in 1975 with a version of Parliami d'amore Mariù and in 1977 with Furia (Cavallo del West) , the theme song for a popular youth television series.

After these two hits, he also tried his hand at disco singer with songs in English under the pseudonym Paul Bradley , which is actually part of his real name. But neither these songs nor any other canzoni achieved commercial success. After another appearance at the Sanremo Festival in 1982 did not bring the desired success either, he temporarily stopped recording, but gave concerts with his hits from the 1960s on a regular basis.

The new millennium

In 1997 and 1998 Mal celebrated new success; not as a hit parade singer, but as an actor in the Italian performance of the musical Grease . Several television appearances followed, which in 2005 led him to the decision to reunite the primitives and return to his roots in rock and beat music.

Mal lived in Pordenone in February 2008 ; In 1998 and 2001 he and his girlfriend became parents. In 2009 the album "Attimi" was released .

Discography

Albums

with the primitives :

• 1966: Blow Up
• 2001: Maladjusted

as Mal dei Primitives :

• 1967: Sua eccellenza Mal dei Primitives
• 1968: Mal dei primitives

as Mal :

• 1969: times
• 1970: Mal (these are two different long-playing records)
• 1975: Parliaments d'amore
• 1976: Chiudi gli occhi
• 1977: Furia
• 1979: Uomo squalo e altre storie
• 1983: Cooperation
• 1991: Yeeeah!
• 1996: Quella Luce negli tatting
• 2006: Pop Christmas with Mal
• 2009: Attimi

as Paul Bradley :

• 1981: silhouette

Singles

with Mal Ryder & The Spirits :

• 1962: Heaven's Door / Isis
• 1963: Cry Baby / Talk Over
• 1964: See the Funny Little Clown / Slow Down
• 1964: Your Friend / Forget It
• 1965: Lonely Room / Tell Your Friend

with the primitives :

• 1965: Every Minute of Every Day / Pretty Little Face
• 1966: Yeeeeeeh! / L'ombra di nessuno
• 1967: L'incidente / Johnny No!

as Mal & i primitives :

• 1967: Bambolina / Vite vendute

as Mal dei Primitives :

• 1968: Betty blu / Una volta nella vita
• 1968: Tu sei bella come sei / Tu sei una donna ormai
• 1969: Pensiero d'amore / Non c'è ragione
• 1970: Occhi neri, occhi neri / Hey dove sei

as Mal :

• 1970: Sole pioggia e vento / Guardo te e vedo lei
• 1970: Treno che corri / Ciao felicità
• 1970: Da lei / Oggi mi apri le braccia
• 1971: Non dimenticarti di me / Love Peace Music
• 1971: He's Gonna Step on You Again / Ti porta via
• 1972: Mighty Mighty and Roly Poly / Nowhere Left to Play
• 1972: Whoever loves is never alone / The way to Jerusalem is long
• 1972: All people need love / Oh Susanna
• 1974: Crazy Kings / Love Collector
• 1975: Parliaments d'amore Mariù / Oh piccolina
• 1976: Dolcemente tu / Non arrossire
• 1976: Se devo vivere / Una malattia
• 1977: Gelosia / Come stai
• 1977: Furia / Furia (instrumental)
• 1977: Penne colorate / La banda dei bucanieri
• 1978: Furia soldato / Furia e la bella Mariù
• 1978: Mackintosh / Piccole cose
• 1978: Uomo squalo / Sul dirigibile
• 1979: Male d'anima / Pensiero d'amore
• 1982: Sei la mia donna / Don't Save Your Love
• 1984: Coming Home / Secrets
• 1985: Cooperation / Why Not Co-Operation?

as Paul Bradley :

• 1980: I'll Never Be the One / Silhouette
• 1980: Let It Be Love / Sunday
• 1986: Always Find Me Waiting / Una volta nella vita

Filmography

• 1968: Il cavallo in doppio petto
• 1969: Pensiero d'amore
• 1970: Amore Formula 2
• 1970: Lacrime d'amore
• 1970: Terzo canale avventura a Montecarlo

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit-Bilanz, Deutsche Chart Singles 1956-1980 . Taurus-Press, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 131.

Web links

• Mal's website ( Italian and English )
• Times in the Internet Movie Database (English)