 By
Sergio Messina (1990)
recorded and mixed by Massimo
Terracini at Oasi Studio, Rome
free, no © cassette
This is the one track that put me on the maps, and gave me the
stage name I've used for many years. Let me quote from my contribution
to Re-inventing
Radio: aspects of Radio as Art:
"An Italian judge had discovered Gladio (or “Operation Stay Behind”),
a secret organization created in Italy in the late forties by
the American intelligence, to prevent a communist revolution and
make sure the left stayed at the opposition. They had money, weapons,
explosives (as well as close contact with some dangerous right-wing
extremists), all apparently financed by the U.S. I asked an american
friend if he knew anything about this, having also paid for it,
and he said it wasn’t in their news. So I made a little reggae
beat and, in DJ style, I told the Gladio story: RadioGladio. I
hand-made 300 cassettes and sent them to random Americans, from
radio stations to magazines, political organizations—I even sent
one to Howard Stern (little did I know). The cover said “RadioGladio,
a radio message from Italy to USA” and “No Copyright.” It also
said “duplication is encouraged,” and it spread very fast: people
made copies (it was only four minutes long) and sent them to American
friends. Since there were no names on it, people started calling
me RadioGladio (and some still do). Thanks to a common friend,
Frank Zappa also received a copy, and praised it in an interview.
Unfortunately, RadioGladio got me banned from Rai, the italian
national broadcast: “It’s too easy to write a political manifesto
and sing it,” was one remark I received from a Sopranos looking
executive. But lots of people picked it up; I have to thank Andy
Caploe for helping me spread it in the U.S., and Heidi Grundmann
for having me play it live on stage at the Funkhaus in Vienna."
Fun trivia: the very first mention of RadioGladio anywhere online
(and a good example of how it was disseminated) is in this misc.activism.progressive
Usenet group message, dated Aug 15, 1991, subject: Italian
"Gladio" musical satire available: "We don't
know who the original source is, but there is a U.S. contact on
the label: Andrew B. Caploe, Culture Contact, Inc. (...) You may
wish to call him to get a copy of the tape - they are probably
free and better than later-generation dubs. If you can't reach
Culture Contact, send us a blank cassette & a self-addressed
envelope with 52 cents postage, and we'll dub it for you."
I've played this track live countless times, and there's an evil
italian version of it in my Buddha Stick album. The original
beat is quite outdated (with those big, 80s electro drums) but
the lyrics still do the job.
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