Den Harrow
Encyclopedia
Den Harrow is an Italian
new wave project which was especially popular in the '80s. Stefano Zandri (born on June 4, 1962 in Nova Milanese
, Italy
) a fashion model from Milan
, Italy
was chosen to be the frontman of Den Harrow.
, Germany
, Switzerland
, and Sweden
with hits like "Future Brain", "Mad Desire", "Bad Boy", "Don't Break My Heart", "Day by Day", and "Catch the Fox", all from the first two albums Overpower and Day by Day. The name "Den Harrow" was invented by the producers of the project, which according to them is based on the Italian word "Denaro" (money).
, Massachusetts
. This was done so Polydor Records
could market him more easily in the English-speaking world, where Italian-produced music was, at the time, viewed with skepticism.
American vocalist Tom Hooker
, a.k.a. Thomas Barbey, who was residing in Italy
during the Italo-Disco
era, sang most of the songs for the Den Harrow project, including the 1985–1986 European hit singles "Don't Break My Heart", "Bad Boy", "Catch the Fox", and "Future Brain". Another vocalist, Anthony James from England, was contracted to sing the lead vocals on the Lies album (1988), and also provided the lead vocals on songs like "Holiday Night", "My Time", "You have a way". During an interview, Tom Hooker explains why it was decided to be done this way:
Also according to Tom Hooker, Chuck Rolando's voice was used in the early singles "To Meet Me" and "A Taste of Love". Later on, Silver Pozzoli
was chosen to do the single "Mad Desire"; however, Hooker provided the vocals for the album releases of "Mad Desire". Although Hooker continued co-writing tracks for Den Harrow project, the producers wanted to use a higher-voiced vocalist for the 1988 album Lies. Hooker says that Zandri did sing on the 1991 Den Harrow single "Ocean".
. In 2005, he hosted the Italian-language TV show "Radio HARROW" on the satellite TV channel "Match Music". In 2006, he took part in a reality show: the Italian
version of "Celebrity Survivor
" broadcast on Rai Due
. In 2007, via his web site, Zandri released a new song, "FEDEN - Lo so", written and sung by Zandri and his wife.
As of the late 2000s, Stefano Zandri continues to make live public appearances, especially in eastern Europe
, under the name Den Harrow. Although he claims that he has learned to sing himself, he still lip-synchs to Tom Hooker's voice in these performances.
for exposing the vocal inauthenticity of the Den Harrow recordings. Hooker asserts that Zandri no longer has permission to publicly lip sync to Den Harrow recordings that use Tom Hooker's voice.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
new wave project which was especially popular in the '80s. Stefano Zandri (born on June 4, 1962 in Nova Milanese
Nova Milanese
Nova Milanese is a comune in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 13 km north of Milan.-External links:*...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) a fashion model from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
was chosen to be the frontman of Den Harrow.
Career
Den Harrow was a popular project in the 1980s and reached the top ten in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with hits like "Future Brain", "Mad Desire", "Bad Boy", "Don't Break My Heart", "Day by Day", and "Catch the Fox", all from the first two albums Overpower and Day by Day. The name "Den Harrow" was invented by the producers of the project, which according to them is based on the Italian word "Denaro" (money).
Revealing the truth
After years of fame and popularity, it was revealed by front-man Stefano Zandri and his producers that Zandri did not actually sing the Den Harrow songs; he was essentially a character who lip-synched to vocals recorded by a number of other singers. Furthermore, since they did not consider Zandri's name and origin to be "trendy" enough, the producers R. Turatti and M. Chieregato concealed Zandri's Italian origin, marketing him as having been born Manuel Stefano Carry in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. This was done so Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
could market him more easily in the English-speaking world, where Italian-produced music was, at the time, viewed with skepticism.
American vocalist Tom Hooker
Tom Hooker
Thomas Barbey is a singer and photographer.-History:Barbey, known as as Tom Hooker, was brought to Europe when he was six months old. At the age of ten, he started his musical career as a drummer. At 13, he created his first band...
, a.k.a. Thomas Barbey, who was residing in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the Italo-Disco
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
era, sang most of the songs for the Den Harrow project, including the 1985–1986 European hit singles "Don't Break My Heart", "Bad Boy", "Catch the Fox", and "Future Brain". Another vocalist, Anthony James from England, was contracted to sing the lead vocals on the Lies album (1988), and also provided the lead vocals on songs like "Holiday Night", "My Time", "You have a way". During an interview, Tom Hooker explains why it was decided to be done this way:
Also according to Tom Hooker, Chuck Rolando's voice was used in the early singles "To Meet Me" and "A Taste of Love". Later on, Silver Pozzoli
Silver Pozzoli
Silver Pozzoli is an Italian italo-disco singer who was popular in the 1980s.-Career:He also used pseudonyms, for instance "Club House", under which he released several italo-house records such as I'm A Man Medley" & "Yeke Yeke in 1987.His many singles in the 1980s included Around My Dream, Step...
was chosen to do the single "Mad Desire"; however, Hooker provided the vocals for the album releases of "Mad Desire". Although Hooker continued co-writing tracks for Den Harrow project, the producers wanted to use a higher-voiced vocalist for the 1988 album Lies. Hooker says that Zandri did sing on the 1991 Den Harrow single "Ocean".
Den Harrow in the 1990s and 2000s
In 1997 Stefano Zandri moved to California to take part in the TV series Sunset BeachSunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...
. In 2005, he hosted the Italian-language TV show "Radio HARROW" on the satellite TV channel "Match Music". In 2006, he took part in a reality show: the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
version of "Celebrity Survivor
Celebrity Survivor
Celebrity Survivor, also known promotionally as Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu and Australia's Celebrity Survivor, was an Australian television series that screened on the Seven Network in 2006, based on the popular reality television show, Survivor...
" broadcast on Rai Due
Rai Due
Rai 2 is one of the three main television channels broadcast by Italian public television company RAI alongside with Rai 1 and Rai 3. Rai 2 first started transmissions on November 4, 1961...
. In 2007, via his web site, Zandri released a new song, "FEDEN - Lo so", written and sung by Zandri and his wife.
As of the late 2000s, Stefano Zandri continues to make live public appearances, especially in eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, under the name Den Harrow. Although he claims that he has learned to sing himself, he still lip-synchs to Tom Hooker's voice in these performances.
Dispute with Tom Hooker
In 2010, Tom Hooker recorded and published on YouTube a press conference-style video in which Hooker, flanked by Den Harrow co-producer Miki Chierigato, states and demonstrates that he was the vocalist on most of the Den Harrow records, and in which he accuses Zandri of continuing to publicly lip synch to those recordings. He also states that Zandri made threats and insults against Hooker and his family on FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
for exposing the vocal inauthenticity of the Den Harrow recordings. Hooker asserts that Zandri no longer has permission to publicly lip sync to Den Harrow recordings that use Tom Hooker's voice.
Albums
- 1985 - Overpower [#29 Sweden, #20 Switzerland]
- 1987 - Day By Day [#13 Germany, #25 Sweden, #4 Switzerland]
- 1988 - Lies
- 1989 - The Best Of Den Harrow
- 1996 - I, Den
- 1999 - Back From The Future
- 1999 - Mad Desire (I Successi)
Singles
- 1983 - "To Meet Me"
- 1984 - "A Taste Of Love"
- 1984 - "Mad Desire" (#13 Italy(1))
- 1985 - "Future Brain" (#6 Switzerland, #17 France, #12 Italy(1))
- 1985 - "Bad Boy" (#11 Switzerland, #17 France, #5 Italy(2), #20 Germany)
- 1986 - "Overpower"
- 1986 - "Charleston" (#17 Switzerland, #27 France, #18 Germany, #17 Italy(2))
- 1986 - "Catch The Fox" (#16 Sweden, #8 Switzerland, #8 Italy(2), #27 Germany)
- 1987 - "Don't Break My Heart" (#6 Switzerland, #10 Italy(3) , #4 Germany, #5 Sweden)
- 1987 - "Tell Me Why" (#12 Switzerland, #22 Germany, #15 Italy)
- 1987 - "Energy Rain"
- 1988 - "Day By Day" (#29 Italy, #10 Sweden)
- 1988 - "Born To Love" (#20 Italy(4), #45 Germany, #12 Sweden)
- 1988 - "You Have A Way" (#17 Italy(4), #56 Germany)
- 1988 - "Lies" (#39 Italy)
- 1989 - "Holiday Night" (#38 Germany)
- 1989 - "Take Me Back"
- 1991 - "Ocean"
- 1992 - "Real Big Love"
- 1992 - "All I Want Is You"
- 1993 - "Take Me"
- 1994 - "The Universe Of Love"
- 1994 - "You And The Sunshine"
- 1995 - "Tomorrow Is Another Day"
- 1995 - "I Need A Lover"
- 1996 - "I Feel You"
- 1998 - "Future Brain '98"
- 2000 - "Future Brain 2000"
- 2001 - "Don't Break My Heart (Remixes 2001)"
- 2006 - "Push Push"
- 2007 - "FEDEN - Lo so"
- 1-Those Italian chart positions indicating (1) on the right side of Italy are taken from Hit Parade Italia (1985)
- 2-Those Italian chart positions indicating (2) on the right side of Italy are taken from Hit Parade Italia (1986)
- 3-Those Italian chart positions indicating (3) on the right side of Italy are taken from Hit Parade Italia (1987)
- 4-Those Italian chart positions indicating (4) on the right side of Italy are taken from Hit Parade Italia (1988)
External links
- http://www.eurodancehits.com/italodanceartists/denharrow.html
- Den Harrow publicly declines his generalities on Italian TV and tells the story of the name Den Harrow (Italian)
- Tom Hooker responds to Den Harrow's threats