11 December 1982
Just when the Italian community were probably thinking the radiation cloud of ‘Shaddap You Face’ was finally dissipating, 1982 brought the Cornetto ice cream ad in which an operatic gondolier sings “Just one Cornetto / Give it to me” to the tune of ‘O Sole Mio’. This became cultural shorthand for Italy and opera in countless TV shows and comedy routines for the rest of the decade.
I’m speculating that the ’82 taste for the Cornetto ad in particular and ‘foreign stuff’ humour in general helped get this to the Christmas number one in the UK and Ireland. The song’s histrionic melodrama may also have tugged the same heartstrings as Charlene’s ‘I’ve Never Been To Me’ earlier in the year. And let’s not exclude the percentage of any population who are just eejits.
Those are just a few of the possible enablers behind another dreadful ’80s novelty hit. Save your breath, my darling.
