Mauro Scocco

by Lars Lovén
Mauro Scocco first reached fame in the '80s as a member of the pop group Ratata. In the '90, he went solo and repeatedly scored radio and chart hits with his romantic and slick ballads. Just as important was his work as a songwriter for, among others, soul and pop singer Lisa Nilsson and as record company owner and producer. Scocco's mainstream pop appeal lessened slightly in the late '90s, but he was still a major artist on the Swedish adult contemporary scene.
At the age of ten, Mauro Scocco moved with his parents to Stockholm from the small town of Fristad. Eight years later, still attending school, he formed the band Ratata with Anders Skog, Johan Kling, Heinz Liljedahl, and Johan Ekelund. In 1981, they released their debut single and soon also a full-length album. Due to internal conflicts, the band soon broke up but was re-formed as a duo, now only featuring Scocco and Ekelund. It was with this setting, and romantic mainstream pop, that Ratata became one of the more important Swedish pop groups during the '80s. In 1988, they took a break and Scocco released his self-titled solo debut. His even more radio-friendly solo material matched the success of Ratata very well and the song "Sarah" was the big hit in Sweden in 1988.
Ratata reunited for M?nniskor Under Molnen and an arena tour, but, in 1991, Scocco had gone solo again and released Dr. Space Dagbok. The big hit from this album was, not unexpectedly, another soft ballad: "Till de Ensamma." The same year, he released another, more obscure album: Det Sjungande Tr?det. Containing only instrumental piano music, the rather unknown effort is an interesting contrast to the radio pop that Scocco is usually associated with. During the '90s, his sound changed to become even more polished and sophisticated, leaving most traces of '80s pop behind. The result is often described as pop-soul, very slick and radio friendly. 28 Grader i Skuggan from 1994 is considered the record where this change was first fully realized. Meanwhile, Scocco was just as successful as a songwriter. Among the hits he has written is Lisa Nilsson's "Himlen Runt H?rnet," released on Scocco's own Diesel.
The album Godmorgon Sverige followed the same slick pop-soul formula as the prior album and featured the big hit "Om Det ?r O.K.," but on Tillbaks till V?rlden, Scocco released a somewhat more earthy album, even considered by some as a singer/songwriter.