Sitting at his cluttered desk, evergreen, Italian, singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla laughs off the living-legend status he has earned over the decades. But the reality is he can't sever the mito label. So after denying he is one, he tries to explain why he may be considered so - it's his closeness to the public, paradoxically.

"What people like most is that I live like they do. I walk round the streets; go to football matches and sit with them; I don't have bodyguards... I am where the people are because my songs were always born amid them. I have almost never written about myself. Even when I lecture at the university, I do it as though I'm the student..."

It may not be every celebrity's way of being a myth: For example: "I'm a mate of Vasco Rossi but I haven't seen him in 25 years! He's always locked up in his house because his myth lies in keeping away".

Being locked up in Lucio Dalla's spacious apartment, bang in the Red City's pulsating, historical heart, wouldn't be such a bad thing though. It's a museum of an apartment in a typical red palazzo, overlooking a street of designer shops on one side and a sunlit courtyard on the other. Its walls are plastered in a colourful lifetime of art, photographs and posters; its ceilings are immaculately frescoed and the scent of intoxicating incense hangs in the air. But even though the lure of the Unesco City of Music, home to many an Italian musician, is strong, Lucio Dalla admits, after singing its praises, to being at his best in the south. "The further down I go, the more it is my territory."

He is, therefore, destined to feel at home when he performs at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta' Qali on May 23 in a concert organised by Renaissance Productions Ltd. Moreover, his connection with Malta dates back to 1966...

"Malta is a dream that has lasted more than 40 years. One of the first things I ever did was the Festival di Malta. I was still unknown in Italy... I was fascinated by Malta - maybe because it was one of my first jobs. Then, I returned last year and was conquered. It happened to me in Sicily and I bought a house there; it happened in the Isola Tremiti and I have a studio there. When I fall in love with a place, I end up frequenting it regularly. I believe I'll be hanging out in Malta a lot," he stresses. "I keep my boat in Sicily and I'm thinking of leaving it in Malta for a year and staying there as much as possible."

The L-shaped apartment is buzzing with Lucio Dalla's household entourage, but refuge is sought in his study, where the eye is distracted by the amount of items, antiques and art that cram the corner room, each one telling its own story.

The sunlight streams through its balcony over Piazza de' Celestini, reflecting on the blue glass of his earring, while the evocative, 16th-century background music has been playing since yesterday, he says. It is inspiring the versatile artiste for yet another project: The soundtrack of a Pupi Avati film.

"You wouldn't think that a pop, rock, jazz etc... musician would be listening to that... The more we know, the better the quality of our products," says the diminutive man with the insatiable appetite for knowledge.

Lucio Dalla has been around for 40 years and shows no signs of quitting. At 60 plus, he is constantly reinventing himself and has dabbled successfully in theatre, opera and movie productions, acting, doing soundtracks, writing books and having stints on TV.

His secret to remaining valid throughout the years is simple: "I enjoy it! I never saw what I do as a job even though I work hard... I don't get fed up because I change... It gives me energy and curiosity is the basis of everything... In reality, my holidays are never real holidays and my work is never work. I have a studio on my boat so I can record my music on it...

"I have fun and then I have more fun because I see that I'm having fun!"

The author of the timeless, record-breaking Caruso (1986), which has sold over nine million copies worldwide in a variety of versions, covered by numerous international stars, says he never envisaged its humungous popularity when he composed it. "It's long and has no drums."

Who sang it worst? "It's even being sung in Korea," he says, trying to slip the question. "I don't know, frankly. Everyone put in something," he carries on, diplomatically.

Of course, the most interesting collaboration was Luciano Pavarotti: The late tenor's world is "so far from mine and he was also such an extraordinary man".

Lucio Dalla coughs, practically chokes, and lights a Marlboro (light) almost in the same breath. Out of a cloud of smoke, he calls for a glass of "fresh" - sung in the voice of a tenor - water. His assistant doesn't understand, so he sings out the whole request almost to prove the resilience of his voice.

Lucio Dalla has seen the evolution of music over half a century, remaining on the scene by embracing change. "I too download music from my computer when I don't find what I want in the shops. When I can, I pay for it." Any new system of communication is important to reach the public, he maintains, pointing out that his main concern is not merely to sell records but for the public to get to know them.

"Money is not the main issue. It's useless trying to make more money than you already have," he says, implying that he has enough.

The experimental aspect of Lucio Dalla's music has been evident since the onset of his career, and, today, it still defines him. He churns out jazz versions of his classics; classical versions of his pop songs... Again, he boils it down to curiosity.

More evidence of his innovation lies in his opera, Tosca: Amore Disperato, inspired by Giacomo Puccini's own and he is off to Florence in the afternoon to put up a unique performance of music, narration and recitation in honour of the Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini - on the Ponte Vecchio for the first time in history.

"I'm most interested in bringing people together, which can only be achieved through culture and art, the soul of communication. Without art, there is violence..." But not everything constitutes art: The music on commercial radio stations, for example, does not appeal to Lucio Dalla. That is not to say that today's music is no good, particularly what is emerging from northern Europe.

"It's strange how a country as small as Iceland has produced so many important artists on the world's market... Hence, my theory that, beyond globalisation, it's only the small things that can grow... Therefore, Malta can become big; actually Malta has become big!"

The man who will be singing the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics anthem shrugs when he walks past a corner of platinum records in his apartment. They don't seem to mean much. It's his home cinema, seating 20, complete with the typical, old, wooden chairs, that he is most proud of, cinema being his passion.

In fact, of everything he does, Lucio Dalla admits to loving cinema most. He watches around two films a day when in Bologna and plans to write and produce a movie, he reveals.

The idea has been brewing in his restless mind for 20 years but, despite the proposals he has had, time is a problem. "I hope that, as I age, I can control it as I want," he augurs.

"But, in reality, my preferences are the things I still don't know. For example, I'd like to carry out a surgical operation," he says with a straight face.

With such varied ventures under his belt, it is almost pointless asking Lucio Dalla if he has any regrets. "Maybe only that, despite the fact that I have done so much, I could possibly have done more."

The tone turns philosophical and he stresses on the importance of working on the spirit as opposed to the physical. "To help the spirit, you need to keep it as free as possible, not dependent on money, success and image. The spirit does not have an image..."

And while Lucio Dalla may not seem to have one either, he explains that image does not necessarily mean beauty. His (non-)image is a "brand" in itself. "I wear a wig. I've been bald and wearing a cap for the last 20 years. At one point, however, I felt I was too recognisable in the streets. But my wig also amuses me: One day, it's blonde; the next, it's striped. The image I want to project is that of freedom. If you think too much of your image, you can't be free."

Tickets for Lucio Dalla's concert are on sale from www.maltaticket.com, Agenda Bookshops, BookEnds Bookshops, NewsKiosk and Exotique at €60, €45 and €35.

This interview was made possible thanks to Air Malta.

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