Tributes paid to pioneering Peterborough businessman Tony Scibelli

Tony sadly passed away last month at the age of 66, with his family paying tribute to his unique achievements alongside his warmth and support he showed to others.

He was best known in Peterborough for his business interests which saw him play an instrumental role in founding Papa Luigi Dial-A-Pizza, the country’s first pizza delivery service as well as being half of S&M Entertainments who hosted countless gigs throughout the 70s and 80s.

Tony used his entrepreneurial spirit right from an early age, amassing a network of paper boys to work under him while still in his teens in his first job. Then, at the age of 15, he began organising coach trips to Hunstanton, Skegness and Posh matches.

Just a year later, he took that experience and forged a new path, inspired by his love of music, and together with Stef Malajny formed S&M Entertainments in 1976.

The company was famed for its events and discos in the city in the late 70s and early 80s, with it all beginning with a Motown night at the South Grove Centre in 1976, which attracted well over 250 people.

S&M went from strength to strength with its events which encompassed a mix of Soul, Jazz Funk, Reggae, Northern Soul, Rock and Punk Rock. One of the largest event ever hosted by S&M was the EMI World Disco Dancing Championships in the late 70s.

Many will also remember the nightclub Viva La Rock that sprung up above the Papa Luigi restaurant on Bridge Street in the 80s. The club featured alternative music with stars such as Andy Bell of Erasure trying his hand at DJing.

In 1982, Tony expanded his portfolio further by taking over The Kebab Shop in Rivergate and turning it into Papa Luigi, a name still going strong in the city today.

After finding success cooking and serving pizzas in the restaurant, the idea was hatched to deliver pizzas to people’s doorsteps, something that no other pizza business in the country was doing.

Therefore, Papa Luigi’s Dial-A-Pizza became the country’s first pizza delivery service in 1983.

By the mid 80s, Papa Luigi had around 30 delivery vans covering Peterborough with shops in Bridge Street, Werrington and Lincoln Road. The next step was franchise expansion with Papa Luigi popping up in Northampton, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Bletchley and Rugby among other areas in the East.

Tony also put together a sizeable property portfolio and was the driving force behind supermarket giant Aldi coming to Peterborough for the first time. It was Tony who sold land in Stanground to Aldi to allow the building of its first city store.

Tony’s nephew Pep Cipriano, who is Chief Operating Officer at Peterborough Positive, has paid tribute to the way his uncle helped to shape his life.

He said: “My uncle Tony is the reason I am where I am today. He stepped into the role of a father figure to me when my parents divorced when I was 11. It was him who persuaded me that I had a flair and creative instinct and should pursue a career in marketing and promotions.

"He pushed me in the right way and got things out of me I didn’t know were there. I have checked in with him in every job I have had and asked his thoughts. He was always encouraging and a great sounding board.

"He has always wanted his family to do the very best. He had a really good 360 view of the world and of business and people. He was very shrewd and very intelligent.”

One of the DJs who worked closely at S&M with Tony and became a friend was Steve Jason.

He said: “I first met Tony as an up and coming DJ. We got on really well and had a similar outlook on life. We both wanted to do something with our lives and had a similar taste in music.

"I remember some of the things we used to pull for publicity. I had Anglia TV knocked on my door during the World Cup once when Tony had invented a story that pizza drivers couldn’t get people to answer the door because they were watching the football. I remember getting a phone call from Tony asking me to put a sign on the door saying ‘Pizza delivery man please knock loudly.’ I get a knock at the door and Tony is there and TV cameras were following him into my house!

“We always had a laugh whenever we saw each other.”

Just before Tony passed, Steve challenged him to come up with his all time top 20 songs and he will be playing these songs, alongside Shaun Pearce, at Tony’s wake, which will take place at The Fleet on Friday August 14 at 4pm.

One of Tony’s wishes was that his family and friends might consider donating to Pancreatic Cancer UK to help support research into pancreatic cancer, improve early detection and ultimately save lives.

A fundraising page has been set up at: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/tony-scibelli-pancreatic-cancer-research.