A week ago I posted some material from the Sanremo promotional tour in 1986, including a memo from Gabriele Paoli, who was the product manager looking after international acts. Some time previously when I was planning the article I’d made an attempt to contact Gabriele to ask him about the tour, but at the time of posting I’d heard nothing back.
However he just got in touch, and explains:
“There are now more than 5 years since I left my job in record business in Sony Music dedicating myself to my passion for art.
“I didn’t know there was still so much interest around Prefab Sprout and this makes me very happy. Indeed it has been several years since, in 1986, I worked as a Product Manager Int’l for CBS devoting myself mainly to the UK repertoire. In that time I worked with many British groups and artists such as Sade, Eighth Wonder, Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Alison Moyet, King, Bonnie Tyler and others. It’s certainly a nice memory of when working in the record industry was a real privilege just for the fact of being in contact with these artists …… then we were in the 80s that will remain historic in terms of social and musical !!!
“In 1987 I was promoted to Director of Strategic Marketing and Catalogue, and, unfortunately, I didn’t get more way to stay in direct contact with the artists, but I had the opportunity to work on their catalog and create many new products for the Italian market.”
Paolo included a selection of images. One of these – his backstage pass for the Milan Rolling Stone gig – will be put onto the gigography page. The photo above was a polaroid from a photo shoot at Fabio Nosotti studio on Feb. 10th . Paddy is doing a very convincing Stan Laurel impersonation and Wendy is wearing her raspberry beret (the kind you find in a secondhand video from the “Primavera Festival”) flanking Gabriele, Martin and Neil squeezing into shot somehow.
And a postcard from the band sent from the Japan tour, which is self explanatory but rather nice.
