Jarvis Cocker has clearly heard this song...From the Guardian obituary of Laura Branigan (31st August 2004);
"Her first and biggest hit, in 1982, was the Grammy-nominated Gloria. It was an English language version of a then recent Italian hit sung by Umberto Tozzi composed by Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi. It was given an arrangement in the power ballad style pioneered in America by Pat Benatar and the music video of the song showed Branigan, in the spirit of the Eighties, in black spandex trousers and knee-high boots with a single discoball spinning above her head. Gloria remained in the United States top 40 for 22 weeks in 1982 and peaked at number two. It was also a British top 10 hit."
Only God and Italian speakers know what this song was about in the original version, but in translation, this might be the most berserk thing in pop history in translation;
Gloria (Gloria!)
I think they got your NUM-BER! (Gloria!)
I think they got the A-LI-AS! (Gloria!)
That you've been living UN-DER! (Gloria!)
Tremendous! And what happens to Gloria (is she on the run? Is she about to throw her youth away on an unworthy man?) is clearly of the utmost importance and significance Laura Branigan.
I know very few records as likely to cheer me up and take me out of myself as 'Gloria'.
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