Legendary Italian DJ Claudio Coccoluto has died

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  • He passed away earlier this morning aged 58.
  • Legendary Italian DJ Claudio Coccoluto has died image
  • Legendary Italian DJ, producer, author, radio host and journalist Claudio Coccoluto died earlier this morning, March 2nd, aged 58. Coccoluto, who was born in 1962 in the central city of Gaeta, passed away following a "serious illness," La Repubblica reports. The mayor of Cassino, the town where Coccoluto died, announced that a mural would be painted in his honour. A DJ for more than 40 years, Coccoluto, AKA Cocco or Coccodance, began DJing aged 13 before graduating to radio and finally going professional in 1985. He played at venues all over Italy and beyond—including The Sound Factory in New York, where he was the first European DJ to be booked—but his home was Goa Club in Rome, where he set up the long-running Ultrabeat party with Giancarlino, among other things. In a 2004 interview with RBMA, Coccoluto said "my job is to be DJ, and produce is my hobby." Nevertheless, he released and remixed dozens of records, including his biggest hit, "Belo Horizonti," in 1997. Read some tributes to Coccoluto, and revisit his 1997 Essential Mix recorded live at Goa Club alongside Pete Tong.
RA