| Den Harrow | |
|---|---|
Den Harrow (2009) |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stefano Zandri |
| Born | June 4, 1962 Nova Milanese , Italy |
| Origin | Italy |
| Genres | New-wave, Italo-Disco |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | Baby Records, Polydor Records |
Den Harrow stage name of Stefano Zandri (born on June 4, 1962 in Nova Milanese, Italy) a fashion model from Milan, Italy was chosen to be the frontman of Den Harrow.
Contents |
Den Harrow was a popular project in the 1980s and reached the top ten in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden with hits like "Future Brain", "Mad Desire", "Bad Boy", "Don't Break My Heart", "Day by Day", and "Catch the Fox", all from the first two albums Overpower and Day by Day. The name "Den Harrow" was invented by the producers of the project, which according to them is based on the Italian word "Denaro" (money).
After years of fame and popularity, it was revealed by front-man Stefano Zandri and his producers that Zandri did not actually sing the Den Harrow songs; he was essentially a character who lip-synched to vocals recorded by a number of other singers. Furthermore, since they did not consider Zandri's name and origin to be "trendy" enough, the producers R. Turatti and M. Chieregato concealed Zandri's Italian origin, marketing him as having been born Manuel Stefano Carry in Boston, Massachusetts. This was done so Polydor Records could market him more easily in the English-speaking world, where Italian-produced music was, at the time, viewed with skepticism.[1]
American vocalist Tom Hooker, a.k.a. Thomas Barbey, who was residing in Italy during the Italo-Disco era, sang most of the songs for the Den Harrow project, including the 1985–1986 European hit singles "Don't Break My Heart", "Bad Boy", "Catch the Fox", and "Future Brain". Another vocalist, Anthony James from England, was contracted to sing the lead vocals on the Lies album (1988), and also provided the lead vocals on songs like "Holiday Night", "My Time", "You have a way". During an interview, Tom Hooker explains why it was decided to be done this way:
| “ | There was a small problem, however. He couldn't sing. So the solution was to never let him sing, or to put his voice so low in the mix that it was non existent. He started as an image. He would work on his costumes and clothes and someone else would sing on the records. The truth is, vision is a more developed sense in humans than hearing. People tend to buy and listen what they like to see.[2] | ” |
Also according to Tom Hooker, Chuck Rolando's voice was used in the early singles "To Meet Me" and "A Taste of Love". Later on, Silver Pozzoli was chosen to do the single "Mad Desire"; however, Hooker provided the vocals for the album releases of "Mad Desire". Although Hooker continued co-writing tracks for Den Harrow project, the producers wanted to use a higher-voiced vocalist for the 1988 album Lies. Hooker says that Zandri did sing on the 1991 Den Harrow single "Ocean".[2]
In 1997 Stefano Zandri moved to California to take part in the TV series Sunset Beach. In 2005, he hosted the Italian-language TV show "Radio HARROW" on the satellite TV channel "Match Music". In 2006, he took part in a reality show: the Italian version of "Celebrity Survivor" broadcast on Rai Due. In 2007, via his web site, Zandri released a new song, "FEDEN - Lo so", written and sung by Zandri and his wife.
As of the late 2000s, Stefano Zandri continues to make live public appearances, especially in eastern Europe, under the name Den Harrow. Although he claims that he has learned to sing himself, he still lip-synchs to Tom Hooker's voice in these performances.
In 2010, Tom Hooker recorded and published on YouTube a press conference-style video in which Hooker, flanked by Den Harrow co-producer Miki Chierigato, states and demonstrates that he was the vocalist on most of the Den Harrow records, and in which he accuses Zandri of continuing to publicly lip synch to those recordings.[3] He also states that Zandri made threats and insults against Hooker and his family on Facebook for exposing the vocal inauthenticity of the Den Harrow recordings. Hooker asserts that Zandri no longer has permission to publicly lip sync to Den Harrow recordings that use Tom Hooker's voice.[3]