Umberto Tozzi Tickets

Umberto Tozzi, Italy's pop song writing genius

It's one of the great tragedies of modern-day pop music that virtually no one who loves Gloria Branigan's unforgettable '80s pop hit, "Gloria", knows that it was a cover version. Even fewer have heard the original by one of Italy's truly great pop rock composers, Umberto Tozzi. Do yourself a huge favour and buy or sell Umberto Tozzi tickets on StubHub to find out more about his music

A worldwide pop hit sensation with "Gloria"

Thankfully, Umberto Tozzi hasn't lost any sleep over the lamentable state of affairs described above. He's had so many massive hits in his home country and further afield in Europe that he can easily match the success of the cover version with his own haul of roughly 70 million albums sold over a decades-long career. That's Hall of Fame territory, without a doubt, and he can't have minded the royalties from the English version of "Gloria" either. Interestingly, Umberto Tozzi was well aware of the hit potential of the song when he went to the trouble of recording an English version after releasing it in Italy in 1979. Sure enough, the tune caught the ear of radio audiences across the continent, and when he released his English version with UK singer Elkie Brooks, it became a minor chart hit. However, it faded away until Branigan's version propelled the song to international recognition once again. If you've never heard the original, trust us when we say that it sounds even better in Italian – go and find out for yourself by getting some Umberto Tozzi tickets the next time he's in town.

A string of huge Italian pop hits

Umberto Tozzi was never a one-trick pony, however, and he'd had his own big pop hits in Europe before writing "Gloria". Some of his songs had already been covered by other overseas artists, as was the case with "Stella Stai", which was translated and recorded in Spanish by vocal ensemble and erstwhile boy band before it became a thing, Menudo. He had a run of hugely successful singles in his native Italy as well, with songs like "Ti Amo" and "Tu" having accounted for many of those 70 million records sold. He was also Italy's Eurovision entrant in 1987, in a duet with Raffi, coming a very respectable third. He's also been a consistent lyricist and composer for other artists, mostly in his native language. You won't find a more engaging pop entertainer, no matter what language you speak. When you get Umberto Tozzi tickets, all linguistic barriers seem to melt away, as the universal understanding of music is carried in every song. You somehow know exactly what he's singing about even if you can't understand a single word. Umberto Tozzi tickets are available on StubHub whenever his live schedule is in swing.