Franco Battiato

Later, he played guitar and piano in restaurants, was also an organist in ceremonies and in radio and TV programs. The first money he earned he used to record discs that were sold in taverns and radio stations. In 1965 he performed at the San Remo Festival with a song called «L’amore é partito». Later, in 1968, he got a contract with Philips and started singing popular song versions.

In the 1970s, during his military service, he met Juri Camisasca, an experimental musician. Together they formed Osage Tribe, a band of psychedelic and progressive rock. As a solo artist, he released a single called La convenzione / Paranoia in 1971. From then on, he started to explore more electronic music, recording discs that at the time didn't get much attention, but are now valued by some.

His first LP was Fetus in 1971. The album caused a lot of controversy for talking about topics like abortion, extramarital relationships and social hypocrisy. The cover also had an image of a fetus, making it even more controversial. In 1972 he received the Billboard Europa Award as best debut opera. The following year he released Pollution, which also generated debate for including a song written from the perspective of a fish. It spoke about the body, about human irresponsibility towards nature and about how industries exploited people.

In 1975 he changed record companies and released Battiato, Juke Box and L’Egitto prima delle sabbie. With the last one he won the Stockhausen Award as best contemporary music.