Eros Ramazzotti was born in the Cinecittà district
of Rome on 28 October 1963. At school he studied
half-heartedly, but right from his childhood
cultivated two passions, football and singing.
At the age of eighteen he made his singing debut
at the Castrocaro Festival and signed his first
record contract. A year later, in 1982, he released
his first single (Ad un amico), but it was another
two years before his first big break, a period
that allowed him to hone his guitar technique.
In 1984 he took part successfully in the New
Performers section at the Sanremo Festival with
Una terra promessa. This entitled him to take
part in the 1985 Sanremo Festival. He presented
Una storia importante (featured on his first
album, Cuori agitati), which was so successful
that he decided to attempt to break into the
European market. A year later he again took
part in the Sanremo Festival and won the established
performers category with Adesso tu (on his album
Nuovi eroi). At the age of twenty-two he was
so popular that he was able to establish himself
in various European markets. The tour that followed
the release of his album lasted for nine months
and confirmed his popularity.
His third LP, In certi momenti, came out in
1987 (with Patsy Kensit singing in La luce buona
delle stelle) and established his reputation
once and for all. From now on, with every new
album he also produced a Spanish version for
the Latin American market.
In Spring 1988 he released a mini-album entitled
Musica è, which even surpassed sales of In certi
momenti. In 1990, after a two-year absence from
the record market, he released the album In
ogni senso, and decided to attempt to break
into the US market. He performed in the Radio
City Music Hall in New York and the show enjoyed
a triumphant success. His next lengthy tour
culminated in the double live album (Eros in
concert) recorded at the concert in Barcelona
broadcast by Mondovisione. Three years went
by before he produced another record, but his
next album Tutte storie proved to be the most
ambitious work of his career. Although success
was guaranteed, the results surpassed all expectations,
largely thanks to the video clip produced by
film director Spike Lee. After releasing the
album he set off for another tour. Besides Europe,
this tour also included numerous Latin American
countries.
On returning to Italy, he was involved in the
project of the Trio (Ramazzotti, Pino Daniele
and Jovanotti), which was to become the musical
event of the year. In the meantime he signed
an exclusive world contract with BMG Ricordi
and during the summer of 1995 took part in the
Summer Festivals in seven European cities (including
Berlin, Munich and Bucharest) together with
Elton John, Rod Stewart, Rob-ert Plant, Sheryl
Crow, Jimmy Page and Joe Cocker. In 1996 he
released his first self-produced album, Dove
c’è musica, recorded in Italy and California
with the collaboration of international musicians.
His next album was not long in coming and sold
more than six million copies. He finished his
next European tour just a few days before his
companion Michelle gave birth to their daughter
Aurora Sophie. Over the following months Ramazzotti
wrote That’s all I need to know for his friend
Joe Cocker.
The album Eros (which came out in 1997) was
the second record produced by Eros and was arranged
by Celso Valli. The album contains 16 songs
from his repertoire, including a couple of surprise
duets, Musica è with Andrea Bocelli, and Cose
della vita/Can’t stop thinking of you with Tina
Turner. It was intended to represent the culmination
of a career in which he conquered the world
and rose to incredible heights of popularity
(more than 5,800,000 copies sold worldwide).
In October 1998 he released Eros Live, his second
live CD with 15 tracks recorded during the tour,
including two guest appearances, Joe Cocker
(recorded on 5 July in the Koenigplatz in Munich)
and Tina Turner.
In October 2000 he released the original Stilelibero,
twelve tracks recorded in collaboration with
prominent international producers including
Trevor Horn and Rick Nowels besides his established
producers Celso Valli, Claudio Guidetti and
Adelio Cogliati.
In November 2005 his new album, Calma apparente,
was released. The current European hit, I Belong
to You, which is a duet with Anastacia, is also
featured on this album.
