Exclusively for SMILER & STORYTELLER: Interview with Italian actors Daniela Scalia and Luca Tramontin – in memory of Robin Le Mesurier

Just this morning, I stumbled across a video of Rod Stewart's first live performance of ‘Young Turks’ from 1981. The recording was brought to life by Rod's magnificent humour (‘I'm the guy with the big nose and the funny hairstyle’), with which he began the performance, but also by the no less magnificent guitar solo by Robin Le Mesurier, who sadly passed away far too early in December 2021.

Le Mesurier was a big fan of the Faces and, as a guitarist, loved artists such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. In 1977, he toured the USA with Air Supply as the opening act for Rod Stewart. Three years later, he was recruited by Sir Rod for his band and from then on was the guitarist and backing vocalist in the singer's band. He also worked with Stewart on the production of his 1980s albums ‘Tonight I'm Yours’, ‘Absolutely Live’, ‘Body Wishes’, “Camouflage” and ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’.

Robin was a big supporter of SMILER throughout his life. It was him who first told Rod about the fan club, whereupon Stewart immediately chose SMILER as the official Rod Stewart fan club in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Le Mesurier became the musical director of French singer Johnny Hallyday and also formed the band Farm Dogs, which included Bernie Taupin, known for his collaboration with Elton John, and Jim Cregan, Rod Stewart's long-time guitarist and bassist.

In 2015, Robin once again shared the stage with Rod Stewart and Faces veteran Ronnie Wood at the Faces reunion in Hurtwood, England.

Le Mesurier also appeared in several episodes of the Italian-Swiss TV series Sport Crime, which is broadcast in the United Kingdom and the United States on Prime Video. His role was clear: he simply played himself.

The two lead actors, Daniela Scalia and Luca Tramontin, gave SMILER and STORYTELLER an exclusive interview about Rod Stewart and Robin Le Mesurier.

Daniel and Luca beam cheerfully at the camera as we meet for our online meeting. The former rugby player sits casually on a chair, tanned and dressed in sportswear. Next to him, Daniela smiles at the camera. The journalist and multi-sport athlete from Verona makes a few minor technical adjustments and then our interview can begin.

Luca gets straight to the point: ‘I've been a big Rod Stewart fan since the 1980s.’ The man knows what he's talking about when he wants to chat about SMILER and STORYTELLER, and we're immediately on the same wavelength in our conversation.

Daniela and Luca – they both wrote and produced the TV series ‘Sport Crime’ together and also played the leading roles. The cast of the series also included Robin Le Mesurier, who played in Rod Stewart's band until 1987.

‘He just had that rock face,’ Luca recalls. ‘You could see he was a rock star even from a distance.’ The Italian had been following the musician's career since the early 1980s. ‘I follow all the former musicians who played with Rod. Robin, Ronnie Wood and also Jim Cregan,’ says Luca.

He fondly remembers his first phone call with Robin. ‘I think we spent the first hour just talking about cricket, because his father was an avid cricket player.’ John Le Mesurier's ‘main profession’ was as a British actor who appeared in numerous films and television series between the late 1940s and 1980. So it was a perfect fit that his Robin followed in his footsteps and was hired by Daniela and Luca for their series ‘Sport Crime’.

‘This combination of music, sport and acting was the perfect mix for Robin and for us and the series,’ says Daniela, explaining that the musician was quickly enthusiastic about the idea and agreed to take part. ‘It was also particularly helpful that he had a great sense of humour. That meant we were on the same wavelength pretty quickly,’ adds Luca.

They met in person for the first time in 2018 – at Verona Airport. Robin had travelled from Los Angeles especially for the shoot. During filming, they were able to engage in very intensive exchanges. ‘Robin talked a lot about Rod, with whom he was always very close and always remained so,’ recalls Luca.

But they also talked about music, football, cricket and how important personal fitness is for a rock star.

Le Mesurier came across as the buddy next door, even though many fans recognised him during filming in Verona and Milan in November 2018 and asked him for autographs. ‘There was this one woman who approached him but didn't speak a word of English,’ Luca reports. ‘But he was completely relaxed and communicated with her using his hands and feet, and somehow they understood each other.’

Backstage, Luca always found time to chat with Robin about his passion as a Rod Stewart fan. ‘It all started for me when I heard the Faces song “Debris”. From then on, I was a fan and followed all the members of the band. That wasn't so easy back then, before the internet,’ says the actor. ‘I just wanted to know everything about them and read everything that was ever written about them in the newspapers.’

But the problem was that the Faces weren't as popular in Italy, where Luca and Daniela grew up, as they were in England. ‘I had a friend who was well connected in the music scene and who kept me up to date with everything new and interesting,’ says Luca, who is still glad today that he was always up to date with what his favourite band was doing. ‘For me, there was only the Faces, I spent all my money on them,’ says the former rugby player.

And then, in December 2021, the shocking news broke that Robin Le Mesurier had died of lung cancer. ‘It was terrible,’ Luca recalled. ‘That news just knocked me sideways.’

Robin hadn't been in touch with Luca for a few days. ‘He was still so motivated, full of new ideas, when we last spoke. And then suddenly I heard nothing more from him and had to find out from the news that he had died,’ says the Italian actor, two tears rolling down his cheeks.

The news of the musician's death completely threw Luca, who was otherwise always so full of life, off track. ‘For at least a month, I was unable to watch the episodes of the series in which Robin appeared. During that time, I also couldn't listen to any of the music we had made together or any of the songs and albums he had collaborated on with Rod.’ Luca was completely down and took a long time to get over the loss of his friend.

"One day, I started listening to “Baby Jane” again and watching “What Am I Gonna Do”, probably the funniest video ever. But I still thought about all the backstage stories Robin always loved to tell me,‘ says Luca. ’Today I'm fine, I'm over it. I listen to “Tonight I'm Yours” or “Absolutely Live” and also the album “Body Wishes”, which I think is completely underrated, to recharge my batteries before my training."

But Luca readily admits that he still misses Robin Le Mesurier terribly. ‘I'd be lying if I said I didn't,’ he admits.

And many of us who grew up in the 1980s with Rod Stewart and his music surely feel the same way.