Numero 177
Armando Gallo
Armando a Gogo'
Armando Gallo is an Italian correspondent and photographer. He was born in Venice and spent his teen years in Rome. In 1966, age 22, he moved to London as an architectural designer. Fascinated by the Beatles and incredible cultural revolution that followed he started doing reportage for BIG the weekly magazine that he used to read back in Italy. In 1970 he accepted an offer that he could not refuse from “Ciao 2001”, the new music bible of every young Italian kid. In 1975 he moved to Los Angeles to be the Californian correspondent for the same magazine. Immediately he fell in love with Hollywood and started meeting and writing about actors that he had only seen on the silvers screen. He joined the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in 1978, becoming also a Golden Globe voter. In 1980 he founded DIY Books, to publish the biography of the English band Genesis. The book, “I Know What I Like”, was an updated and improved version of the same book published in 1978 by a London publisher. “I didn’t like the way they did it”, said Armando. “So, I did it myself for the rest of the world and the English publisher was forced to become the distributor of my book.” One of the first glossy presentation of a rock band, the book became a huge success worldwide and prompted Armando to form an Italian publishing company with his brother Claudio. Fratelli Gallo published over 40 books and a monthly magazine called PIX-Photorock. His passion of rock concerts made him a renown live photographer of band like U2, REM, Toto, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, and of course Genesis. For U2 he also produced, shot and co-directed the video “Even Better Than the Real Thing”, in Los Angeles, in 1992. With that he waved goodbye to rock and embraced again his love for movies. One year earlier he had met a Californian lady, Cheryl, fell in love, married and got sucked in into Hollywood and then quickly… 34 years went by. And 100 of thousand of pictures as well. Always on the go for new stories and photos, Cheryl’s two daughters, Lura and Tammy called him “Armando Go-Go”. Probably, only his 80th birthday and Covid epidemic stopped him in his track and now he is busy with a book of photos and storytelling. And still a voting member for the Golden Globe.
For the past few years, I’ve worked as a Hollywood foreign correspondent for various Italian weeklies, reporting on film releases and conducting interviews with actors and directors. I also photograph them, which adds a personal touch, especially in the age of the internet, where selfies with interviewees are appreciated. I’ve been doing this for 30 years—almost like a passion project in my retirement. In my free time, I enjoy cycling along a scenic route to the Pacific Ocean and, of course, watching Inter Milan’s matches.
I left Italy after 22 years, drawn to the cultural excitement of the 1960s—The Beatles, miniskirts, and the freedom to have easier relationships with girls, which felt difficult in Italy at that time. After nine years in London, I moved to Los Angeles in 1975, looking for new horizons. At 30, I felt I was getting old and wanted a change after working in music. I landed in LA with a contract as a journalist and started writing for various Italian newspapers about cinema, a niche that wasn’t covered much in Italy back then. But in 1984, disillusioned with American politics, particularly Reagan’s second election, I returned to Europe and founded a publishing company. Still, every time I came back to LA, I felt like I was coming home. In 1991, I met a wonderful woman, we got married, and I’ve been here ever since, fully committed to writing about cinema.
I have many memories, but two stand out. The best one was actually above the city, during my first landing in LA. It was early December or late November, flying in from Chicago at twilight. The city below was all straight lines, glowing, and someone said, “L.A.”—which in Italian sounds like “e’ lei,” meaning “it’s her.” The city felt like a beautiful woman, draped across its panorama. I fell in love with Los Angeles right then, midair.
Another unforgettable moment was with a new Irish band that intrigued me—U2. They had just released “The Joshua Tree,” an album full of spirituality. I flew from Rome and went to see them perform in Las Cruces, New Mexico, near White Sands, where the atomic bomb was tested. After shooting the entire concert, the band wanted to see the photos. A week later in Los Angeles, I met them at the Sunset Marquis. When I showed the pictures, they were blown away. Bono said, “You’re the only photographer who’s captured our energy on stage.”
I had shot in my usual way—letting the music guide me, spontaneous and instinctive. Some shots were slightly out of focus, and I thought I’d messed up. But Bono loved it. He told me that when they perform, they’re never “in focus” themselves. That day was unforgettable: that week they’d just gone #1 with “With or Without You,” and their album was at the top of the charts, The Joshua Tree was everywhere. They were on the cover of Rolling Stone and Time magazine. It was magic because I was in tune with the top band of the moment without realizing it. I remember thinking, “How the fuck did I get here? “.
Well, you know, this is my home. Earlier this year, I hit a big milestone—my 80th birthday! Can you believe it? How did I get here? (laughs). My wife threw me an amazing party, and she took everything off the walls, insisting we hang my photography instead. She asked me to pick out some favorites, and then she picked hers and practically dragged me to get them printed. The day before my birthday, the walls were filled with these photos, and after the party, the house stayed that way. It was really beautiful. Some people even said it looked like a museum. Even you, when you came over, said, “God, this is like walking into a museum.” For the photoshoot, I chose this blue Hawaiian shirt—I feel happy wearing blue. I’ve always loved it. I think blue suits Aquarians. I told Peter Gabriel that once, and he still loves to wear blue—and even got a blue Tesla. (laughs)
This Italiany in America project is absolutely fantastic! It’s beautiful to share because we are so many, talented, and full of life. We left Italy either because it felt too small or we just wanted to explore the world. As Shakespeare said, The world is your oyster. Oysters can be tough to open, but once you do, they’re delicious! It’s inspiring to see this collection of Italians who brought their talent to America, where optimism thrives. In Italy we love to kill new ideas with a “It’s been done before” or “It won’t work,” but here, especially in California, you hear, “That’s fantastic, man!” There’s such positivity, right where the Pacific Ocean meets ancient lands and parks, like Yosemite, with trees that are older than the Colosseum!
Being an Ambassador of Italian Culture and Arts: I felt that more in California than in England. England is quite closed-off, whereas in California, when people heard I was from Italy, it was always, “Oh wow, man!” They’d think of Fellini or call me “Fellini” because of my camera. There’s a deep appreciation here for Italy’s artistry—they think right away about Armani, Ferrari, Gucci etc. and all things of high quality. I came to realize how special Italy is, and though I’ve become American, Italy is always first in my heart, and I’m proud of that. For this reason it was a great honor receiving the “Traveling Heart” Award in Los Angeles during the Rock Festival HitWeek for promoting Italian Music abroad. The Award was presented to me by Franco Battiato.
This particular photo of Bob Marley is an interesting story. It was a leftover slide from a photoshoot I did in Jamaica in May 1980. During the session, one of my cameras fell on the ground, the back opened, and I knew the film had been exposed. After developing the images, I realized this one shot, where Bob was looking directly at me, was partly damaged but felt special and the slide remained for months on my light box. When Bob passed away 11 months later, the burned part of the image took on a new spiritual meaning—it felt like Bob Marley’s face had been kissed by the sun.
This photo is the album cover of “Peter Gabriel Plays Live,” a live album recorded in late 1982. Peter himself selected this particular image when I showed it to him the following March. I was totally surprised by the cropping. The original photo was showing Peter with his right arm raised and his blue eyes looking into the crowd, capturing one of his best live moments. The cropping focuses tightly on his face, emphasizing also the blue around his features rather than just his iris. I’m immensely proud this shot was used for the cover. His choice remains a cherished gift from Peter. Unfortunately, the original slide was lost by the Record Company, but Peter has since sold the print as a work of art available at Realworld Records.
I’ve admired Leonardo DiCaprio since he was 17. This photograph of Leo was one of the few I kept from about ten shots taken during a press conference for “Romeo and Juliet,” his last film before “Titanic.” At that moment, he was already embodying the character of Jack Dawson. When “Titanic” was released, this photo went viral; all the images I submitted to the photo agency Retna sold like hotcakes. A funny memory I have is encountering an Asian woman in Times Square drawing this exact photo, and when I showed her my business card made with this shot, she ran away, fearing I might sue her!
