LISTEN: This strapping gay ’60s singer-songwriter shook up the … – Queerty
Singer-songwriter Umberto Bindi truly knew how to write a tune. Yet, even with a warm and inviting vocal, his own recordings of his songs never seemed to be the ones that took off.
His 1959 debut record “Arrivederci” didn’t hit the tops of the Italian Hit Parade singles chart ’til the Don Marino Barreto Jr. version released, which went on to be the best performing Italian single of that year. His 1960 song “Il nostro concerto” didn’t take off until being performed by Miranda Martino in New York, after which it ruled the singles chart for over two months.
His biggest crossover song into the English-speaking world was likewise with the help of another voice. This time, his 1963 song “Il mio mondo” saw itself translated and redone by English singer and TV presenter Cilla Black as “You’re My World”. Black’s version saw the song go number one in the UK and Australia, as well as to the top 40 of the US, Canada, and much of Western Europe.
Despite his clear talents, it seemed as though Bindi was kept mainly in the background by the music industry of the time. It wouldn’t be until decades after his musical career had waned that Bindi would share the reason he was pushed to the sidelines.
Suspicions of the singer’s sexuality had flared back in 1961 when he performed at the Sanremo Music Festival while wearing a pinky ring, then a coded gesture akin to the earring code in the US.
The singer officially came out to the public on the popular Italian talk show The Maurizio Costanzo Show in 1988, citing that moment and the perception of his sexuality for the mistreatment of his career and its potential. He made it clear that his long-running hit “Il nostro concerto” would have launched him to new heights without the discrimination against his open-secret homosexuality.
However, try as they might have to keep his voice tampered down, his songs are still well-enjoyed in Italy and beyond to this day.
Listen to the heart behind “You’re My World” with the original, “Il mio mondo”: