Eurovision’s new rock royalty
MÅNESKIN TELL JEN THOMAS WHY THEY HOPE TO BE INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ROCKERS
FOR the last few decades, Eurovision has been derided as career-ending for musicians who want to be taken seriously. But that all changed in 2021. Måneskin, an Italian rock group, changed the game by winning and becoming worldwide sensations, clocking up more than 173million listens on Spotify for their cover of the Four Seasons’ Beggin’.
They’re playing a show in London next month, one of a handful of European dates to not be hit by Covid cancellations. Fingers crossed.
I join them the morning after a sold out not-so-secret show at London’s Islington Academy, and the quartet are surprisingly fresh-faced (albeit it with a lot of smudged eyeliner and ‘I woke up like this’ hair). This is the next generation of rockstars, and bassist Victoria De Angelis says they’re proud to be inspiring teenagers to pick up a guitar. ‘Many of our fans are telling us that they are discovering some of the biggest rock bands through the covers that we play and the music that we share,’ she explains.
‘I think that this is a really important thing because many radio stations, labels or whatever think that rock music can’t work because it’s not mainstream or stuff, and so some younger people just haven’t been introduced to it,’ she says, shaking her head. Guitarist
Thomas Raggi agrees. ‘It’s very important for us that people are picking up instruments now, I think that’s the best thing they could do!’ Everything went haywire for the band after winning Eurovision, Beggin’ went viral and they ended up recording a new version of another popular track – I Wanna Be Your Slave – with rock royalty, Iggy Pop.
It was a surreal moment for the band, Victoria tells us, enthusiastically. ‘It was crazy! He was so, so nice and very humble. He made us feel like we were on the same level as him, he was talking to us completely normally and recording the whole song in front of us.’ ‘He kept asking, “Do you like it? Do you want me to do it again?”’ Victoria’s eyes widen with amazement. ‘We’re like, “No, do whatever you want, you’re f****** Iggy Pop! It’s fine, you can burp in the microphone and it would sound great.”’ Frontman Damiano David laughs. ‘And he did! Twice!’
It was the stuff of dreams for Victoria. ‘I was there just shaking, trying to control myself so I can’t tell him how much I love him.’
The band have since gone on to support The Rolling Stones on tour and are cementing themselves as bona fide rock royalty in their own right. They have a very dedicated fanbase, too, with TikTok and Instagram accounts dedicated to them – and those fans are very generous with gifts, it seems. ‘I get a lot of cat-themed stuff,’ says Thomas. ‘Some cat sunglasses!’
‘We get underwear and stuff, too,’ adds Victoria, ‘Sometimes used underwear!’
The Beatles and Tom Jones all had bras thrown at them, so they’re in good company there. Many fans have had tattoos of the band’s lyrics – which Victoria describes as ‘amazing but insane... I wouldn’t do that!’
She adds: ‘Some people ask you to write it as they want your handwriting tattooed and I tell them not to as my handwriting is s***’.
Some of the band’s original fanbase have been disgruntled that more of the newer songs have been sung in English instead of Italian, so will the band be continuing to sing in English or will they revert to their mother tongue? Damiano says: ‘We will do both, it’s a part of us and a part of our expression, it’s natural for us.’ Damiano is happy to sit back and let the others talk, reclining further back on the chair and mostly letting Victoria answer – with occasional enthusiastic contributions from Thomas and drummer Ethan Torchio, who lights up when asked what got him into music.
‘For me, when I started to learn instruments I used to play fusion jazz, progressive music and then bands like Genesis, Deep Purple and Gentle Giant. I loved it and learnt from there,’ he says.
Måneskin rocked the boat with their Eurovision win and hope that their success means the competition will be viewed in a different light going forward.
The UK hasn’t done well in recent years, so what advice do they have for us going forward? Damiano doesn’t miss a beat. ‘Send a band. You need rock’n’roll,’ as Victoria nods. ‘You need a rock band. Someone who wants to do it properly and would take it seriously and are willing to give their best. I think that’s the most important thing.’
Recording with Iggy Pop, opening for The Rolling Stones and inspiring a future generation of rockstars: the kids are alright.
‘Iggy was so nice and humble. He made us feel we were on the same level as him’
n Måneskin play Brixton Academy, London, on February 6, maneskin.it