Loading AI tools
Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Bradley Couling (born 27 February 1944), known by his stage name Mal or Mal Ryder, is a British singer who achieved popularity in Italy in the late 1960s, singing with his band Mal and the Primitives.[1] In 1989 he became a naturalized Italian citizen.[2] One of his biggest hits was the Italian theme of the TV series Fury.
Mal | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mal in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Bradley Couling |
| Born | 27 February 1944 Llanfrenchfa, Wales |
| Genres | Beat |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Labels | |
| Spouse | Renata Maialetti |
| Website | www |
Born in Llanfrenchfa, at young age Mal moved to Oxford, where he worked as an electrician and was vocalist in a number of local groups.[3][4] In 1963, he formed the group Mal Ryder and the Spirits, which whom he recorded two singles for Decca.[4]
In 1965, he formed the group Mal and the Primitives, with whom he recorded four singles for Pye.[4] The same year, Gianni Boncompagni and Alberico Crocetta offered the band a contract to perform at Piper Club in Rome.[4] In 1966, the band toured Italy, enjoying immediate success and deciding to settle there.[3] The band's debut Italian single "Yeeeeeh!" was a massive hit, but Mal attracted most of interest by media and fans, leading to the group splitting and Mal starting a solo career.[4]
Mal's first solo hit was "Bambolina", which was followed by his Sanremo Music Festival 1969 entry "Tu sei bella come sei" and by "Pensiero d'amore", a cover of Bee Gees' "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", which was also adapted in a musicarello film with the same title starring the same Mal and Silvia Dionisio.[3][4]
Following two more Sanremo Music Festival, in 1970 with "Sole pioggia e vento" and in 1971 with "Non dimenticarti di me", and a few more hits, notably "Betty Blue", Mal returned to perform in English language with "Mighty Mighty Roly Poly".[4] In 1975, his career was relaunched by the unexpected success of his cover version of 1932 song "Parlami d'amore Mariù", which topped the Italian hit parade.[3] In 1977, he sold over one million copies with "Furia", the Italian opening theme used for the re-run of the TV-series Fury.[3]
In 1982, Mal made his return to the Sanremo Music Festival with "Sei la mia donna".[4] In the following years, his musical career consisted mainly of live events and appearances on nostalgia-themed TV shows.[3] In 1997, he took part in a successful stage musical version of Grease starring Lorella Cuccarini.[3] In 2005, he took part in the Canale 5 reality show La Fattoria 2.[5] In 2023, he was the Hippo in Il cantante mascherato, the Italian version of Masked Singer.[6]
Mal is married to Renata Maialetti and has a son, Kevin, and a daughter, Karen. They live in Pordenone. Born in a Protestant family, he considers himself an atheist.[7]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
