the london times

Summer of 2016: I was working at a company in Milan that would offer services such as building trade fair and conference booths. It was a 9 to 5, sitting in front of a computer, sometimes also not doing anything, as work was slow. At that stage I hated it, I felt like I was dying inside, no action, no gigs, nothing.

In Italy, a lot of companies usually close down for the month of August for holidays, and employees would receive their monthly salary anyway: mine was one of those companies. As August was approaching, I was thinking about going away for the holidays, and since up to then I’ve only been to London for work (touring), I never really got to enjoy the city in all of its splendor. I thought “I got the money and the time”, so why not?

One of my close friends just split with his girlfriend, and I thought maybe it would be nice to go together, for him to have some fun/distraction. So we booked a hotel in Golders Green (north London) and our Flixbus tickets (I was scared of flying back then), and here we go on our journey.

Upon announcing I’d be there, some friends reached out and asked me to go hang out with them too: it would have been a great 10 days!

So we went, long story short: we had an incredible time, I fell in love with the city and its culture, their ways of living. I loved everything about it, I also got to perform at an open mic at the Magic Garden (Battersea), where I met different musicians, one of them being Ny Oh (guitar player for Harry Styles), whose voice and talent I was smitten with.

It was a different reality, a city sweating culture, art and talent from every pore, with an incredible transportation system. And suddenly I knew: I knew that I belonged there.

We came back to Italy, I got back to work, but after 2/3 months I resigned from my job, telling everyone I would leave the country. I got called crazy by a lot of people, many of them worried I wouldn’t find a job. My choice was brave, as I had a somewhat “prestigious” position in the company and a secure job, both things almost impossible to have in Italy back in the day (because of the financial crisis the country was going through). For me though, it was a choice of leaving in order to have a shot at a fulfilling life or staying and dying inside. Oh boy, I’m so glad I listened to myself and my guts.

I remember I booked something like 10 days at a hotel in Mile End, then I started looking to rent a room in a shared apartment, I had a few viewings then I settled for a room in Stepney Green. It was a very small room, but I was ok with it, I didn’t need much. What was funny is, it took me literally 30 minutes to find a job, I went to the Leinster Arms in Bayswater, a pub where my friend Michele was working. I spoke to the manager and I got the job right away. I would work in many different pubs, the ones I worked the most were that one and the Porchester (previously known as the Royal Oak).

What followed was four incredible years of fun (classic sex drugs and rock’n roll shtick), music, work, happiness, despair at times too, as London is expensive as hell. I’m not going into detail, as it would take endless blog pages to describe my experience there, safe to say I ended up with no money in many occasions, but also had (Italian) friends to support and back me up, Mario and Giovanni (who I’m still friends with to this day). After Stepney Green, I lived at a hostel in Bayswater, so at least rent was cheap, even I had to share the room with other guys (some of them smelly and some of them dickheads, most of them nice though, as they would rotate). Many nights we had mice in the room too, you could hear them chewing on plastic bottles on the floor and other materials, squeaking too in many occasions. Mice everywhere in London, pubs were totally infested.

I would go to the Paddington Basin after work, and me and my friends Mario, Giovanni and Angel Roses (the writer of King of Kings) would spend the night playing ping pong and eating delivered food. Unforgettable moments, happiness peaking.

I worked with many musicians back then: I went to the Magic Garden in Battersea one night to play with my friend Daniel “DANI CALI” Cunningham (not the same DANI CALI I’m working with today) and network, and I exchanged contacts with Simone (a girl singer, whose voice I loved) and Ian Bennett (which would become a great friend and I would join on bass later in a band called Farrago). I ended up working with both, and recording at the Abbey Road Studios with both too.

One time at the Studios, I recall me, Ian, Tina (violinist) and her son Jack (drummer) taking a lunch break after tracking a couple songs: we tried to get to the lunch area, but the corridor was packed, and there were two big bodyguards at the entrance, telling us the lunch area was closed.

I remember throwing a moderate fit (I was hungry), then turning around and realizing what the reason of it being closed: standing a couple feet from me, there was this beautiful young guy, pale and tall, shy looking, with girls around him on each side. We looked at each other and he looked familiar. Yep, it was him, Harry Styles himself. I guess he was there recording one of his albums.

I’ve played in so many venues, with both Simone and Farrago, all over London: the Finsbury (for the second time, since the first one was with my Italian band Kalevala HMS while touring), the Hideaway, Streatham Space Project, Brixton Market, Paper Dress Vintage, Tooting Tram to mention some. Later, I would also play bass for an Australian singer, Emily Stratford (whose artist name was MEMMY back then): we had some cool shows, we did Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, Cargo in Shoreditch and other venues in the West End.

One night we played with Memmy at the Love Fest, in a venue called Folklore in Hoxton (East London), and that’s when I met this American girl, who would then become my long distance girlfriend first, wife later here in the States (now ex).

I would occasionally sub for another band’s bass player: the band was called Saint Patience, whose singer was none other than the amazing JP Bimeni (Mudibu), the now famous Burundian soul singer. Great guys, him and Spencer (who I later worked with on other cover shows). At the beginning they had this amazing Swedish drummer girl, Amanda. What a powerhouse! I still go back to our performance video every now and then, we kicked some butt, although I remember agreeing to play that show with just a couple days notice (I had to study the songs night and day).

The last band I worked with was called West On Sunset, a deliciously groovy funk band: we played a couple shows, then my time to leave the Uk for the States came. I was sad but intrigued as to what my journey would have entailed.

Not gonna lie: many times here in the US, maybe because of how depressed I was, I wished I could move back, but now, also because of Brexit, it wouldn’t be possible. Maybe one day in the future, sounds like an amazing city where to retire!

Everybody used to say “London, the city that makes you or breaks you”, and yes, it forged the being I am today. I will always have her in my heart, and on my skin (as a tattoo).

I will love you forever, London.