Italo Disco

Italo disco (sometimes hyphenated, such as Italo-disco, subjected to varying capitalization, or abbreviated as Italo) is a genre of music which originated in Italy and was mainly produced in the mid-1980s. The origin of the genre's name is strongly tied to marketing efforts of the ZYX record label, which began licensing and marketing the music outside of Italy in 1982. An early form of electronic dance music, Italo disco faded in the late 1980s as Italian dance music producers and consumers increasingly embraced pop, Hi-NRG and Italo house aesthetics.

Italo disco borrowed elements from traditional disco music, yet was more electronic. The genre employed drum machines and synthesizers and was usually sung in English. The genre was successful in Europe during the 1980s, except the United Kingdom where it was never particularly successful, although several Italo disco songs did become hits there, such as Ryan Paris's "Dolce Vita", Clubhouse's "Do It Again Medley", Laura Branigan's "Self Control" (a cover of the original by Raf), Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy", Taffy's "I Love My Radio", Spagna's "Call Me" and Sabrina's "Boys". Nonetheless, several British electronic acts such as the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and New Order are said to have been influenced by the genre.