Topo & Roby

Last updated
Topo & Roby
Origin Milan
Genres Italo disco [1]
Years active1980s

Topo & Roby was a 1980s Italian Italo disco duo consisting of Roby, the stage name of American-Italian vocalist Simona Zanini, and Topo, a robot. Zanini sang all vocal parts, including the automated voice of Topo, and the music was written, performed and produced by keyboardist Aldo Martinelli and producer Fabrizio Gatto.

Contents

Topo & Roby are mostly remembered, apart from their unusual line-up, for the song "Under the Ice" (1984), which received significant airplay in European disco clubs and radio stations [1] [2] and reached number 20 in France. [3]

Discography

Singles

YearTitleCharts
FR
1984"Under the Ice" [3] 20
1988"Set on Fire" [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Baltimora was an Italian music project from Milan, active from 1984 to 1987. They are best known for their 1985 single "Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States. In other European countries, including their native Italy, Baltimora scored a follow-up hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whigfield</span> Musical artist

Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson, known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 single "Saturday Night", which became an international hit the following year.

<i>Discovery</i> (Daft Punk album) 2001 studio album by Daft Punk

Discovery is the second studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 12 March 2001 by Virgin Records. It marked a shift from the Chicago house of their first album, Homework (1997), to a house style more heavily inspired by disco, post-disco, garage house, and R&B. Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk described Discovery as an exploration of song structures, musical forms and childhood nostalgia, compared to the "raw" electronic music of Homework.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarzan Boy</span> 1985 single by Baltimora

"Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album Living in the Background. The song was re-recorded and released in 1993, and has been covered by several artists throughout the years.

Annerley Emma Gordon, most known professionally as Ann Lee, is a British Eurodance singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She is known primarily for her hit singles "2 Times" and "Voices", both released in 1999.

Cristiano Spiller is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet ", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. It sold over two million copies and was rumoured to be the first song to be played on an iPod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daft Punk discography</span>

French electronic music duo Daft Punk released four studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, one soundtrack album, four remix albums, two video albums, twenty-two singles and nineteen music videos. Group members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 while studying at the Lycée Carnot secondary school. They subsequently recorded several demo tracks together, forming Daft Punk in 1993. Their debut single "The New Wave" was released the following year on the Soma Quality Recordings label. Daft Punk first found commercial success with the release of their second single "Da Funk", which peaked at number seven in France and topped the United States Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Scotch were an Italian Italo disco band, formed in Bergamo in 1982, that comprised Vince Lancini, Fabio Margutti, Franz Rome, Franz Felleti and Manlio Cangelli.

Fun Fun are an Italian Italo disco band formed in 1983. Their hits included "Colour My Love" and "Baila Bolero".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panic! at the Disco discography</span>

Panic! at the Disco was an American rock band that originated in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their 2005 debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, reached number 13 on the US Billboard 200, and has sold more than 2.2 million copies since its September 2005 release, spearheaded by the quintuple platinum top-10 hit single, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". The band's second album, Pretty. Odd., was released on March 21, 2008, entering the US chart at, and peaking at, number 2. Their third effort, Vices & Virtues, was released on March 18, 2011, and peaked at number 7 in the US. Their fourth album, 2013's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, entered and peaked at number 2 on the US chart, and contained the platinum-certified lead single "Miss Jackson". The band's fifth studio album, Death of a Bachelor, was released in January 2016 and became their first number-one album in the US. Their sixth album, Pray for the Wicked, was released on June 22, 2018, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. Their seventh and final album, Viva Las Vengeance, released in August 2022 and debuted and peaked at number 13 in the US.

Time Records is an Italian record company and label from Brescia founded by Giacomo Maiolini in the fall of 1984, teaming up with the duo Farina-Crivellente as the art producers. Except for a few of the early releases, it became a label distributed by Disco Magic and also a partner, until 1996, when Maiolini moved to start Self Distribuzione. Time Records rose to become one of the most prominent Italo labels from the middle of the eighties to the end of the decade.

<i>Ice on the Dune</i> 2013 studio album by Empire of the Sun

Ice on the Dune is the second studio album by Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun, released on 14 June 2013 by Capitol Records. The album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, with many commenting on the progression of the group's sound from their debut album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Facchinetti</span> Musical artist

Francesco Facchinetti, also known as Dj Francesco or as Oz, is an Italian DJ, producer, singer, musician and TV presenter. He rose to fame as a singer during the summer of 2003, when he released his debut single, "La canzone del capitano", which became a hit in Italy. Before retiring from his music career in 2007, he released three studio albums, and he competed in the Sanremo Music Festival three times. He is the founder of Italian EDM trio "We Are PresidentS".

Raggio Di Luna or Moon Ray is an Italo disco project which included producers Aldo Martinelli and Fabrizio Gatto, and singers Simona Zanini and Mandy Ligios. They are known for the song "Comanchero", which was a hit across Europe, reaching number 3 in West Germany, number 2 in Austria, number 4 in Switzerland and number 5 in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comanchero (song)</span> 1984 single by Raggio Di Luna

"Comanchero" is a song by Raggio Di Luna. It was written by Italian record producer Aldo Martinelli and Simona Zanini and released as a single in 1984 on Discotto S.A.S. It became a hit single in several European countries, reaching number 2 in Austria, number 3 in West Germany, number 4 in Switzerland, number 5 in France and number 17 in Italy.

Radiorama were an Italian Italo disco studio project formed in 1984.

Martinelli was a music project of Italian record producer Aldo Martinelli and American singer Simona Zanini.

<i>Ti Amo</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Phoenix

Ti Amo is the sixth studio album by French band Phoenix. It was released on 9 June 2017 by Loyauté and Glassnote Records. Recording began in 2014 at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, an arts centre that was built at the site of a theatre. The band promoted the album by releasing three singles and embarking on a world tour. "J-Boy" was the first single, released on 27 April 2017, "Ti Amo" was the second, released on 18 May. The third single, "Goodbye Soleil" was released on 2 June. The album received generally positive reviews from critics. It was a modest commercial success, peaking at number 17 in France and within the top 40 in Australia, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Italian Italo disco duo Righeira have released four studio albums, eight compilation albums, one extended play (EP), 14 singles and three music videos.

Italian Italo disco band Scotch have released two studio albums, three compilation albums and eight singles.

References

  1. 1 2 Francesco Cataldo Verrina (February 2014). ITALO DISCO STORY. Lulu.com. pp. 68–. ISBN   978-1-291-75288-5.
  2. "TOPO & ROBY - quando un robot incontra l'italo disco". 16 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 "australian-charts.com - Topo & Roby - Under The Ice". Hung Medien.
  4. "australian-charts.com - Topo & Roby - Set On Fire". Hung Medien.