Freddie Portelli was born on the 5th of May 1944 at St. Paul's Bay and took his education in St Paul’s Bay Primary School, and the Technical Institute(later), where Freddie got the City & Guilds of the London Institute Standard. Throughout the years, Freddie's primary occupation was as a draughtsman.
Portelli's career has spanned over 40 years and began as a member and chief songwriter of the group, The Malta Bums. He toured America, Canada, and Germany with the group for 5 months, and after returning to Malta in 1966, wrote the song "Viva Malta", and later, "Mur Hallini". His recordings have been released in Australia, Canada, America, and England. Freddie was also the leader of the legendary band "Black Train" with whom he released self-penned hit records.
Freddie was a national waterpolo player, involved with his hometown’s Sirens waterpolo team as well as with Neptunes and Valletta with whom he won the premier championship. He was an effective player with Malta's national team with whom he won the International Independence Tournament cup in 1964, the same year he won the premier championship with Neptunes.
It was his father who encouraged him to learn the guitar, and that's where Freddie's musical journey began. He took a few lessons from Carmelo Muscat, a laid-back, happy-go-lucky genius nicknamed "Il-Kaptan." Muscat, a friend of Freddie's father from Mellieħa and a fellow music enthusiast who played the guitar and mandolin, became Freddie's first music teacher.
Freddie began playing with various bands at a very young age, around 13 years old. In the early sixties he formed The Malta Bums and shared his knowledge with each member of the group.
First members where two (Perronis) Mario Perrone and Paul Perrone {both passed away some years ago}, then he met Tony Camilleri, known as il-Bayzo and showed him something on bass playing and they started doing harmonies together. When Mario emigrated to Australia, he was replaced by Tony Muscat, then known as il Maduwi, who started playing rhythm guitar and at times even lead guitar. Later, Paul Perrone could not continue and was replaced by Tony Bartolo Il-Gegu, who was suggested to Freddie by his father, to play drums and that was the final lineup of the ‘originals’ known as The Malta Bums.
As a singer, Freddie was initially opposed to participating in song contests of the era. However, with his band, then known simply as The Bums, they decided to enter one. Despite being the least equipped band, they made it to the finals. On the final day, after the curtain rose, one of their amps started distorting, prompting them to walk off the stage. The Boys won the festival, and the two bands celebrated together the next day.
Freddie Portelli founded The Black Train in 1973 after he left The Malta Bums. The initial lineup included Freddie Portelli on lead guitar and vocals, Freddie Calleja on drums and vocals, and George Baldacchino on bass and vocals. After George moved to Australia, Joe Vella took over as the bassist.
The band's name, Black Train, was chosen spontaneously when local promoter Leli Saliba urgently needed a name for publicity. The band quickly rose to prominence, consistently being voted Malta's best local band in popularity polls.
The Black Train performed regularly at venues such as the Phoenicia Ballroom and Palace Hall, and they also held summer concerts across Malta and Gozo. Their hit records and rising popularity led to international invitations for concerts and TV appearances in Canada, the UK, and Italy.
During their career, The Black Train released two albums and around twelve successful vinyl records. However, as their commitments increased, managing frequent gigs and appearances became challenging for Freddie Portelli, who was also still working as a draughtsman and involved in water polo, and he decided to put his career on hold.
In an interview at the time, he said: “…we were singing every night beside the weekend and was preparing to get married …… so I took a few weeks off!” He found this period of respite quite pleasant as he noticed that people were beginning to pay less attention to him wherever he went.
A few weeks turned into years, but music was in Freddie's veins. In 2001, he was strongly urged to make a comeback, particularly by Martin Schembri, known as Ir-Reġin, and Godwin and Mario Difesa of KTA Records. Reluctantly, Freddie began his solo comeback, performing Saturday nights at a venue in St. Paul’s Bay. The outcome exceeded all expectations, leading to the release of the double album "Ghall Dejjem," which included a new recording of the monumental "Viva Malta" and once again broke all sales records in the nation.
He participated in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest three times with "Don’t Be Gone Away" (1994), "There’s a Song" (1996), and "Summer Again" (1997). All three songs were later featured on the Hospice Movement CD album released in the summer of 2015. This comeback also led him to perform abroad, with a notable concert alongside Demis Roussos, where each artist performed for an hour and fifteen minutes.
Freddie continued to release numerous CD singles and albums, producing around 24 in total, including a triple album titled "Reaching Out." Over his career, he wrote approximately 400 songs. In Freddie’s words: “As long as people kept buying my releases, thus elevating my morale, I’ll keep writing and composing.” He performed internationally many times, visiting countries such as Germany, the USA, Canada, Australia, England, Italy, Greece, North Africa, and even performing on luxury ships.
Freddie married Carmen (née Darmanin) on December 5, 1972, and they have two daughters. Claudette, who became a specialist in clinical psychology, recorded some songs as a little girl, including the hit single "Claudette." His other daughter, Yvette, was a presenter on television and radio before moving to Italy.
“I can’t imagine what else I could have done. I’ve sold out concerts both abroad and in Malta, appeared on major international TV stations in England, the USA, Canada, Australia, and more, mainly performing live and always mentioning Malta. I’ve released many successful records and been very successful in water polo. I also achieved my wish of becoming a draughtsman and was a principal on various projects around Malta. I can’t imagine achieving more. One regret I have is missing opportunities to meet legendary people, like Elvis Presley, due to my forgetfulness.”
In 2019 a smash-hit jukebox musical Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej was staged, making a return in 2022 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre with a bigger and better spectacle than the original show staged in 2019.
Created and directed by Sean Buhagiar, based on the music hits of Freddie Portelli, and penned by Malcolm Galea with musical direction by Dominic Galea and choreography by Warren Bonello, the 2022 edition of the musical featured most of the original cast, with some new additions.
The coveted lead role of Il-Kredu was once again be played by singer Kevin Borg. Amber, Marilena Gauci, Max Dingli, Michela Galea, Mark Tonna, Petra and Manwel Cassar are also resumed their roles, while Debbie Scerri, Julie Pomorski, Gianluca Mifsud, Sean Briffa and Daron Galea joined the cast.
The musical features 30 of Portelli’s hits, including the popular Viva Malta, Flimkien, Xewqat Sbieħ, Se Jkolli Nemmen, Għal Dejjem and Ħallini but also lesser-known numbers like Bħalek Hawn Kemm Trid, Ma Taħraqni B’Xejn and Dak ir-Rock n’ Roll.
The producers have also released a remix of Ħallini, by DJ Micimago, which is available on Spotify along with the original cast recording of the musical.
Shows were staged between July 30 and August 15, 2022, and was supported by Arts Council Malta and Kinnie and produced by Balzunetta Productions.
Freddie Portelli was honored with the Medal for Service to the Republic on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, by the then-President of Malta, the Honorable Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. Additionally, he received the golden medal and the Ġieħ San Pawl il-Baħar. He was also awarded for being the best Maltese record seller, along with a lifetime achievement award. His upcoming biography, titled "Freddie Portelli 'il-Kbir Għadu Gej," is set to be released soon, while another book “Il-Ħajja u l-Istorja tal-Kantant Malti Freddie Portelli” was published in 2018.
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