Magic Moments at the Derby Club

It was 1965 when Bruno Munari and Achille Castiglioni created the first poster of the Derby Club. In no time, the dark basement club near the horse-racing track of San Siro would become the hottest night club in Milan. At Via Monte Rosa, some of the greatest musical legends went on to play, such as Charles Aznavour, John Coltrane and Quincy Jones. And the patrons? From Giorgio Strehler to Mina and Marcello Mastroianni, from Gianni Rivera to Mike Bongiorno, from Dario Fo to Bettino Craxi, the Derby was an obligatory stop for everyone. Among its diehard regulars was robber, artist and writer Luciano Lutring, known as “the submachine gun soloist”. More than once, other patrons would watch him leave his champagne half-finished and rush out the nearest window to dodge the police. The Derby became a landmark in the city and architects and artists would compete over the honour to embellish it and leave their own mark on it. Times were ripe for change - Via Monte Rosa became the Mecca of Cabaret, gathering the talents of a city undergoing a lively transformation. The son of the coat lady Diego Abatantuono took the stage, but also Teo Teocoli, Massimo Boldi and Giorgio Faletti, just a few of the new generation of comics who shared the spotlight with older seasoned artists like Cochi & Renato, Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Iannacci.