Marcella Bella

Born in Catania into an artistic family (her brothers Antonio and Salvatore are musicians, and her brother Gianni is a singer-songwriter), Bella started her career at a very young age, and in 1965 she won the Festival degli sconosciuti, a victory that was not validated because she was two years younger than the rules required. She made her recording debut in 1969, with the single "Il pagliaccio", using the mononym Marcella. Marcella got her first success in 1971, with the single "Hai ragione tu".In 1972, she had her breakthrough taking part in the Sanremo Music Festival with "Montagne verdi", a semi-autobiographical song penned by her brother Gianni which turned to be a massive commercial hit. She later performed in other musical events, being a finalist in the 1973 edition of Canzonissima with "Un sorriso e poi perdonami", and winning the Festivalbar with "Io domani». Other significant successes of the decade include "Nessuno mai", later covered by Boney M. in an English version titled "Take the Heat off Me" and included in their eponymous album, "Abbracciati", which she presented out of competition at the 1977 Sanremo Festival, and her cover version of Domenico Modugno's canzone napoletana classic "Resta cu' mme". After a period of relative tarnish, in the early 1980s Bella began recording under her full name, and achieved an impressive success in 1983 with "Nell'aria", a song penned by Mogol together with her brother Gianni. Other hits followed across the whole decade, mainly linked to her participations to the Sanremo Festival, notably "Senza un briciolo di testa" (third place at Sanremo 1986), "Tanti auguri" (Sanremo 1987), "Dopo la tempesta" (Sanremo 1988) and "Verso l'ignoto" (a duet with Gianni Bella presented at Sanremo 1990). In the 1990s she slowed her activities. In 2004 she stood for the European Parliament election with National Alliance party, but was not elected. In 2005, she returned to the Sanremo Festival after a fifteen-year absence with the song "Uomo bastardo", ranking second in the "classics" tournament.