Berlusconi's Love Songs Out on Cd

Three lucky Italian couples will soon have the opportunity to be married to the strain of love songs written by their prime minister.

A CD of pieces largely written by Silvio Berlusconi hits the shops today with a special offer: buyers counting the days to their wedding can enter a draw. The winning couples, one each from the south, centre and north of Italy, will be serenaded during the ceremony by his "artistic collaborator" Mariano Apicella, singing songs from the CD.

Meglio 'ne Canzone (Better a Song) carries 14 tracks with lyrics by the Italian leader, five of them written in collaboration with a professional librettist. The seeds of his improbable venture were sown a couple of years ago when Mr Berlusconi, once a crooner on a cruise liner, was dining at a restaurant in Naples where Mr Apicella was performing.

The prime minister was so impressed by his singing and guitar-playing that he asked him to perform for his house guests. The Neapolitan songster has become Mr Berlusconi's "minstrel-in-residence" and has performed for, among others, the Russian president Vladimir Putin. "The idea of a disc was born after we'd written four or five songs together," Mr Apicella said.

It has been reported that he is a former parking attendant. Yesterday he said that the Italian word for a parking attendant was the same as the Neapolitan dialect term for a musician like himself. He said Meglio 'ne Canzone was unlikely to be his last joint project with the prime minister. "Thirty other songs are ready now and lots more are in the works."