Richie and believe the composition of the group. Ricky and Believe - Italian pop group

Ricchi e Poveri (Italian: Rich and Poor) is a famous disco and pop band from Italy. The name translates as "rich and poor". The career of this group began in 1968 in Genoa. At this time, Ricky and Believe are performing at the Cantajiro festival. They performed the song "L'ultimo amore". In this song, the influence of the Mamas & Papas is quite noticeable.

Ricchi e Poveri, whose biography includes 17 full-length albums and 12 compilations, originally consisted of four members: Angela Bramarti, Marina Occhiena, Franco Gati and Angelo Sotju. In 1981, Marina leaves the group. The band members have been fond of music since childhood: Franco and Angelo played in the group “I Jet”, Marina studied vocals, and Angela sang in Ligurian institutions. In one of the interviews, Angelo and Angela admitted that they were in love with each other in their youth and planned to get married. They decided to start a relationship when Angela was 16 years old.

Two years after the first concert in the history of Ricky and Believe, the band takes part in one of the San Remo festivals. The group performs the song "La prima cosa bella" written by Nicola Di Bari. The song took second place. In 1971, the show again takes place with the participation of Ricky and Believe, and the Italians, together with José Feliciano, perform the song "Che sarà". Soon the group is invited to participate in a musical comedy on one of the TV channels. In 1972, Ricchi e Poveri again performed at the Sanremo Festival and delighted fans with a new hit "Un diadema di ciliegie".

In 1973, with the participation of Ricchi e Poveri, the show "Sweet Fruit" takes place. The musical was an incredible success throughout the country. Three years later, the band again finds itself at the Sanremo festival and performs a song composed by Bardotti. The group later goes on a theater tour.

In 1978, an important event for Ricky and Believe biography takes place - the team represents Italy at Eurovision. The composition "Questo amore" takes 12th place.

In 1980, Ricky and Believe recorded the last album as a four-piece (“La stagione dell'amore”). Then there is a serious conflict, after which Marina leaves the group.

The team continues to make progress, and in 1981 he will have a triumph in San Remo. The song "Sarà perché ti amo" becomes a super hit. The music created by Ricky and Believe is now admired in Europe. Another song, "Come vorrei", becomes the opening theme for the TV show Portobello. In the same year, one of the most successful albums in the history of Ricky and Believe, "E penso a te", was released.

The next year becomes the peak of the musical career for the band. They release the single "Mamma Maria". This composition is the title track in the best-selling album in Europe. You can listen and download this, as well as other songs of the band, in the MP3 section. In 1983, the song "Voulez vous dancer" received an award as the best-selling composition in Europe. Soon with the participation of Ricchi e Poveri the concert takes place in Chile. In 1985, the team won the San Remo Festival. The composition "Se m'innamoro" brought success to the Italians. More than 150 thousand spectators, fascinated by the music performed by Ricchi e Poveri, voted for this song. The group goes on tour to Australia, and a year later - to Soviet Union, where he gives 44 concerts. In total, performances in the USSR gathered 780 thousand fans. And in 1987, Ricky and Believe again find themselves in San Remo, where they present the composition of Toto Cutugno. The last album with new songs of the group is released - "Publicita`". In the future, the discography of Ricky and Believe is replenished only with albums with remakes of previously written compositions.

In 1988, not the best event in Ricchi e Poveri history takes place. The group performs in San Remo, where they perform an unusually dark composition "Nascera` Gesu". This song is dedicated to the problems and issues of genetic engineering. The composition was perceived ambiguously by both listeners and critics. The newspapers wrote that it was a real failure. However, the musicians rehabilitated already in 1989 and presented at the festival a much more interesting composition "Chi voglio sei tu" to the public. A song from the 1990 festival became the opening theme for a TV program in Italy.

IN next year the Italians signed a contract with the RAI TV channel and became the hosts of the famous TV program "Domenica In". Another year later Ricky and Believe in Once again take part in the Sanremo Festival and present the composition "Così lontani" by Toto Cutugno. In 1993, the musicians signed a contract with the Mediaset TV channel.

1994-2008 - the time of tours for the team, after which there are a bunch of photos and a lot of positive emotions for their fans. Ricchi e Poveri performs in Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Lithuania, Albania, Australia, Moldova, Slovenia, Belgium, USA, Hungary, Canada. With the participation of Ricky and Believe, various TV shows take place. At the moment, the albums of the Italian band have been released with a circulation of at least 20 million copies.

Ricchi E Poveri(pronounced: ricky believe me; rich and poor) - Italian pop group popular in the early to mid 80s.

Members

• Angela Brambati (1968 - present)
• Angelo Sotju (1968 - present)
• Franco Gatti (1968 - present)
• Marina Okkiena (1968-1981)

Story

The band's musical career began in Genoa in 1968, when they took part in the Cantajiro festival with the song L'Ultimo Amore("Last Love"), in which the influence of the American group Mamas & Papas was noticeable.

In 1970, the group takes part for the first time in the Sanremo festival with the song La Prima Cosa Bella(“The First Beautiful Thing”), which was written by Nicola Di Bari, and takes 2nd place at this festival. In 1971, Ricchi e Poveri was again second at the festival with the song Che Sara(“What will be”), which the musicians perform together with José Feliciano. In the same year, the team participates in a musical comedy on the RAI TV channel. In 1972, Ricchi e Poveri again participate in the Sanremo festival with the song Un Diadema Di Ciliege("Cherry Diadem").

In 1973, together with the Italian TV presenter Pippo Baudo, the group participated in the musical "Sweet Fruit", which was a huge success throughout Italy. In 1976, the collective performed again at the Sanremo festival with a song composed for them by Sergio Bardotti. In the same year, Ricchi e Poveri make a theatrical tour with Walter Chiari.

In 1978, Ricchi e Poveri represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Dario Farina Questo Amore("This is Love"), where they take 12th place. In 1980 they are guests of honor at the Radio Monte Carlo celebration. In the same year, they record their last disc as a four-piece, "La Stagione Dell'amore".

In 1981, the group arrived in San Remo in full strength, performing at rehearsals (Italian television has kept a video of the rehearsals). However, before the first competitive performance on the first evening of the festival, there was a scandal - a member of the group, Marina Okkiena, said that she refused to perform and left the group. "Ricky e believe" had to go on stage three together, the song - Sara Perche Ti Amo(“Probably because I love you”), with the stormy support of the audience, took 5th place. Then the song gained immense popularity, holding out for 10 weeks in first place in the Italian hit parade, at the end of the year it took 6th place, ahead of all the songs of the festival. The song also became a super hit in Europe, in France in 1981 the song became 8th, in Switzerland it rose to 2nd, in Austria to 7th, in Germany - to 11th place. The performance with this song in the "Tommy Pop Show" TV FRG (1983) was also included in the New Year's (1983/84) release of the program "Melodies and Rhythms of Foreign Variety Music", becoming the first appearance of "Ricky e Believe" on Soviet television. The album "E penso a te" released this year also includes the song Come Vorrey(“How I wish”), which rose to 3rd place in the Italian hit parade, which became the screensaver for the television show Portobello. Single released in 1982 Mamma Maria("Mama Maria"), which occupied high places in the European charts, including 19 weeks on the German charts, and the album of the same name, released in Italy, reached number 4 in the charts in 1983.

Popular album coming out in Europe next year Voulez-Vous Dancer("Do you want to dance?"). In the same year, the group becomes an honored guest of a music festival in Chile. In 1985, the group won the Sanremo Festival with the song Se Mi Innamoro(“If I Fall in Love”), having received 1506812 viewer votes for it, rising to 6th place in the Italian hit parade, and also tours Australia. The first tour in the Soviet Union, which took place in the summer of 1986, includes 44 concerts, which gather 780 thousand spectators. On November 21, 1986, Central Television showed a television version of the concert.

In 1987, the band took 7th place at the Sanremo festival with the song Canzone D'Amore by Toto Cutugno and released the last album, in terms of the novelty of the songs, "Publicita`". After that, only albums with remakes of old and a small number of new songs are released ("Baciamoci", 1994; "Parla Col Cuore", 1998).

In 1988, the musicians took 9th place in Sanremo with a rather complex and pale song in a musical sense. Nascera`Gesu devoted to the problems of genetic engineering and accepted rather ambiguously by both the public and critics. However, a performance at the 1989 festival with a song written by former producer Eros Ramazzotti Piero Cassano Chi Voglio Sei Tu, is of much greater interest to the listeners, the song took 8th place. 1990 festival song Buona Giornata becomes the screensaver of one of the Italian television programs.

In 1991, the band members signed a contract with the RAI TV channel and became the hosts of the popular television program "Domenica In" and released the album "Una Domenica Con Te". In 1992, Ricchi e Poveri performed a song by Toto Cutugno at the Sanremo Festival Così Lontani(“So far”), and the following year sign a contract with the Italian TV channel Mediaset. In the same year they recorded the album "Allegro Italiano" - their own versions of popular Italian songs: Caruso, L'italiano and some others.

In 1994-2008, the group conducts numerous tours in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Moldova, Georgia, Lithuania, Australia, Albania, Slovenia, Hungary, Canada and the USA. The group also takes part in various television shows. TO today The band's records have sold over 20 million copies. In 2012, the band released their first album after a 14-year hiatus with several new songs called "Perdutamente Amore".

• In an interview with the TVC channel, Angela and Angelo admit that they were once in love with each other and even thought about getting married. When they started dating, Angela was only 16 years old.

Discography

Numbered studio albums

• 1970 - Ricchi e Poveri
• 1971 - Amici Miei
• 1971 - L'Altra Faccia Dei Ricchi e Poveri
• 1974 - Penso Sorrido E Canto
• 1975-RP2
• 1976 - I Musicanti
• 1976 - Ricchi e Poveri
• 1978 - Questo Amore
• 1980 - La Stagione Dell'Amore
• 1981 - E Penso A Te
• 1982 - Mamma Maria
• 1983 - Voulez-Vous Dancer
• 1985 - Dimmi Quando
• 1987 - Publicity
• 1990 - Una Domenica Con Te
• 1992 - Allegro Italiano
• 1998 - Parla Col Cuore
• 2012 - Perdutamente Amore

Collections

• 1982 - Profile Musicali
• 1983 - Made in Italy
• 1983 - Ieri E Oggi
• 1990 - Canzoni D'Amore
• 1990 - Buona Giornata E
• 1993 - Anche Tu
• 1996 - I Nostri Successi
• 1997 - Un Diadema Di Canzoni
• 1997 - Piccolo Amore
• 1998 - The Collection
• 2000 - I Successi
• 2001 - Made in Italy

MUSIC RICCI AND BELIEVE

"Ricchi and Poveri"(Rich and poor) is an Italian pop group, popular in the 70-80s of the last century. Initially, the team was a quartet like ABBA, but in 1981 it turned into a trio, and in May 2016 became a duet. However, this did not diminish the interest in the music of this rather popular vocal group today.

The group "Ricchi e Poveri" was born in Genoa in 1967 as a result of the division of two groups: "I Jets" and "I Preistorici". The group "I Jets" consisted of Angelo Sotju, Franco Gatti and their friends. Angela Brambati was a member of the trio "I Preistorici". She knew Angelo and Franco, often came to listen to I Jets, and when that group broke up, she left I Preistorici to form a trio. Later, Angela introduced Franco and Angelo to Marina Occhiena, who also did vocals, and thus the trio turned into a polyphonic quartet called "Fama Medium", derived from the first letters of their names.

"Fama Medium" started out on the beaches playing popular songs from various bands of the time such as "Mamas & Papas", "Manattan Trasfert" and many others, accompanied by guitar playing. After an audition in Milan, their first producer was Franco Califano, who changed the band's name to " Ricchi and Poveri", and also suggested new look participants. Marina was turned blonde, Angelo's blond hair was further bleached, Angela's hair was cut short, while Franco became long. Califano explained the meaning of the new name by the fact that all four were rich in their talents, but financially poor.

The band's musical career began in Genoa in 1968, when they took part in the Cantagiro festival with the song "L" Ultimo Amore" ("Last Love"), an Italian cover version of the song "Ever lasting love".

In 1970, the group first took part in the Sanremo Festival with the song "La prima cosa bella" ("The First Beautiful Thing"), written by Nicola Di Bari, and takes 2nd place at this festival. In the same year they perform at the festival "Festivalbar" with the song "In questa citta" ("In this city") and release their debut full-length album - " Ricchi & Poveri» (1970)

In 1971, "Ricchi e Poveri" again came second at the Sanremo festival with the song "Che sara" ("What will be"), which the musicians performed together with José Feliciano. "Che sara" has become the anthem of young people leaving their homeland, as well as worldwide famous example classical Italian song. In the same year, the team participated in the musical comedy "Un trapezio per Lisistrata" on the RAI TV channel.

In 1972, Ricchi e Poveri again took part in the Sanremo festival with the song "Un diadema di ciliege" ("The Cherry Diadem"), after which they became the advertising face of the Fiesta Snack product, the Ferrero chocolate bar until end of 1977.

In 1973, they performed at the Sanremo Festival with the song "Dolce frutto" ("Sweet Fruit"), which was presented in the same year at the radio contest "Un disco per l" estate "along with another song of theirs "Piccolo amore mio" ("My little love"). A little later, they performed the song "Una musica" in a new way on the TV show "Rischiatutto", and in the fall of 1973 they took part in "Canzonissima" with the song "Ti penso sorrido e canto" (“Think of you, smile and sing”) In the same year, Ricchi e Poveri make a theater tour with Walter Chiari.

In 1974, they again sound on "Un disco per l" estate with a song "with the song "Povera bimba" ("Poor thing"). In the same year, they took part in the TV show "Di Nuovo Tante Scuse" with Raimondo Vianello and Sandra Mondaini, singing songs from their repertoire, witty jokes with the presenters and performing the final song "Non pensarci piu" ("I don't think about you anymore") The telecast was so successful that a replay started the following year ending with "Ricchi e Poveri" performed the new title song "Coriandoli su di noi" ("Our confetti").

In 1976, the band again took part in the Sanremo festival with the song "Due storie dei musicanti" ("Two stories of musicians") from their album "I Musicanti".

In 1978, Ricchi e Poveri represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with Dario Farina's "Questo amore" (That's Love), where they finished in 12th place.

In 1979, the band recorded the song "Mama", written by Marina, Angelo and Franco, which becomes the final song of the TV show "Jet Quiz". In 1980, for the last time, as a quartet, they released the album " La stagione dell'amore"and, a few months after the release of this disc, they begin a summer tour organized by Radio Monte Carlo, with performances in all the squares of Italy.

In 1981, the group arrived in San Remo in full force, performing at rehearsals (Italian television has kept a video of the rehearsals). However, before the first competitive performance on the first evening of the festival, there was a scandal - a member of the group, Marina Okkiena, said that she refused to perform and left the group for personal reasons and a desire to start solo career. Despite the controversy, "Ricchi e Poveri" as part of three people performed the song "Sara perche ti amo", rhythmic and easy to remember, thanks to which it stayed in first place in the Italian hit parade for 10 weeks, at the end of the year it took 6th place , ahead of all the songs of the festival. The song also became a super-hit in Europe, in France, according to the results of 1981, the song became 8th, in Switzerland it rose to 2nd, in Austria to 7th, in Germany - to 11th place. Subsequently, she entered the Italian music textbooks. The performance with this song in "Tommy Pop Show" on German television in 1983 was included in the New Year's edition of the program "Melodies and Rhythms of Foreign Variety Music", becoming the first appearance of "Ricchi e Poveri" on Soviet television.

The album "E penso a te", released in 1981, also included the song "Come vorrei" ("How I wish"), which rose to 3rd place in the Italian hit parade, which became the opening theme for the television show "Portobello ".

During this period, the group receives numerous prizes and awards: in 1981 "For the best group of the year", a gold disc for the song "Sara perche ti amo", which in 1982 won in the TV show "Premiatissima", as well as a gold RAI 5 plaque by winning two episodes in a row in a program on this channel.

In 1982, the single " Mamma Maria"(" Mama Maria "), which occupied high places in the European charts, including 19 weeks on the German charts, and the album of the same name, released in Italy, reached number 4 in the charts for 1983.

The following year, a very popular later album " Voulez vous dancer?"("Do you want to dance?"). In the same year, the group became the guest of honor at the "Vina del Mar" music festival in Chile.

In 1985, Ricchi e Poveri won the Sanremo festival with the song "Se m" innamoro "(" If I fall in love "), receiving 1506812 audience votes for it, rising to 6th place in the Italian hit parade and also conducts tours in Australia.To the victory at the festival is added the Medien Prize, awarded for a large number of discs sold in France.The first tour in the Soviet Union, which took place in the summer of 1986, includes 44 concerts, which gather 780 thousand spectators, on November 21, 1986, Central Television showed a television version concert.

In 1987, the band took 7th place at the Sanremo festival with the song "Canzone d" amore "(" Song of love ") by Toto Cutugno and released the last, in the sense of the novelty of the songs, album " Pubblicita ". After that only albums with remakes of old songs and a small number of new songs are released (" Baciamoci"("Let's kiss"), 1994, author - Umberto Napolitano; " Parla col cuore"("Speak from pure heart"), 1998).

In 1988, the musicians took 9th place in Sanremo with a rather complex and musically pale song "Nascera Gesu", dedicated to the problems of genetic engineering and accepted rather ambiguously by both the public and critics. However, the performance at the festival in 1989 with a song written by the former Eros Ramazzotti producer Piero Cassano "Chi voglio sei tu" ("The one I need is you"), arouses much more interest among the listeners, the song will take 8th place. The 1990 festival song "Buona giornata" becomes the opening theme of one of the Italian television programs.

In 1991, the band members signed a contract with the RAI TV channel and became the hosts of the popular television program Domenica in and released the album Una domenica con te. In 1992, Ricchi e Poveri performed Toto Cutugno's song "Cosi lontani" ("So far") at the Sanremo festival, and the following year they signed a contract with the Italian TV channel Mediaset. In the same year they recorded a tribute album " Allegro Italiano"- own versions of popular Italian songs: "Caruso" ("In memory of Caruso"), "L" italiano" ("Italian"), "Ti amo" ("I love you") and many others. In the same years, RIcchi e Poveri appeared in a TV show on Rete 4, starred in a parody of the famous TV series "La donna del mistero" ("The Mysterious Woman") called "La vera storia della donna del mistero" ("Another story mysterious woman") and were a great success. In subsequent years, they were regular guests in the TV show A casa nostra, hosted by Patricia Rosetti.

In 1998, the trio released the album " Parla col cuore", which included their best songs, as well as 6 unreleased songs ("Mai dire mai" ("Never Say Never"), "La stella che vuoi" ("The Star You Wish"), etc.), written by themselves in collaboration with the writer Fabrizio Berlincioni.

In 2004, Ricchi e Poveri took part in the reality show Music Farm, won the Loredan Berte challenge and finished third in the final. It was a relative success that was used very productively.

In 1994-2008, the group conducts numerous tours in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Moldova, Georgia, Lithuania, Australia, Albania, Slovenia, Hungary, Canada and the USA. In addition, the musicians take part in various television shows. To date, the group's records have sold over 20 million copies, not counting pirated versions released in all countries of the world. In 2012, the group released their first cover album after a 14-year break with several new songs called " Perdutamente Amore».

In 2008, the disc " Mamma Maria (The Hits Reloaded)", sustained in modern dance rhythms

In 2013, their performance at the Sanremo festival was canceled, Franco Gatti announced the death of his 23-year-old son Alessio, but still remains on stage.

On May 4, 2016, Franco Gatti announced that he was leaving the group, linking this with a desire to spend more time with his family. Angela and Angelo took his decision calmly and respectfully, informing fans that they would continue their creative way without Franco.

Currently, the group takes part in various Russian and foreign TV shows, continues to tour the world.

Based on materials
Wikipedia
Published:
October 27, 2017

Ricci & Poveri studio albums
This list includes 16 albums recorded and released in more than 40 years of their musical activity by the Italian collective " Ricci & Poveri". However, perhaps this discography is incomplete, because many "semi-compilations" remained "overboard", which are of interest precisely as numbered albums. Also, the section does not include remix albums, the exception is the album " Perdutamente Amore"(2012), which is a collection of the band's covers of their own hits.

Toto Cutugno, 74 years old

Few people know that the performer own songs Toto (Salvatore) Cutugno was the author of the most popular hits of Joe Dassin. It was he who wrote the famous "Salut", "L" Été indien "and 11 other songs that have become loved all over the world. He was ordered songs by Mireille Mathieu, Johnny Hallyday, Dalida, Adriano Celentano and many others. And in 1983, "Senor Song" (as Toto Cutugno was called in Italy), performed his most popular hit - "L" italiano, known to us as "Lashata mi cantare".

Now Toto is already 74 years old, and 47 of them he lived in marriage with his wife Carla. They married in 1971, when Salvatore was a simple guy, and Carla helped him with everything, paying his bills. The spouses did not succeed in having children, but they remained together all their lives, even despite the romance that Toto had in the 80s. Then the singer met the flight attendant Christina on the plane and met her for two years. The girl gave birth to a boy Niko, and after a while Toto told his wife about everything. She forgave him and adopted an illegitimate child.

After everything that happened, they only became closer friend friend. When the composer was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 2007, Toto, who did not like to go to doctors, underwent surgery, then a relapse occurred, and chemotherapy was prescribed. All this time, Carla remained close to her husband. Together they fought the disease and were able to defeat it. Now the family spends almost all the time in their villa on the seashore. Toto leads a healthy lifestyle, swims, walks a lot and still sometimes gives concerts in Europe.

Al Bano (75 years old) and Romina Power (66 years old)

He was the son of ordinary peasants, and Romina was the daughter of Hollywood actors. Of the entire inheritance, Al Bano had only talent and passion for music, and Romina was a successful actress and acted in films. After meeting her future husband, she abandoned acting career, and over time, the “nondescript bespectacled man” without money and position and the beautiful Romina became one of the brightest, most beloved and famous couples on stage.

In 1982 they came finest hour. The composition "Felicita" ("Happiness") was included in the top 3 at the competition in San Nemo.

Over the years life together the couple had 4 children. But in the mid-1990s, tragedy struck. Daughter Ilenia began to take drugs, and then disappeared altogether, calling her parents from New Orleans for the last time.

The crisis began in the family. Romina no longer recognized her husband. He stopped paying attention to children, and, turning into a show business shark, demanded from his wife a full account for the money spent. For six years, the couple hid their separation, and in 1999 they officially divorced.

Al Bano began a solo career, married a second time. The new wife gave birth to the musician a boy and a girl, but the marriage broke up after 5 years.

Now Al Bano owns his own recording studio, wineries and a hotel, and Romina bought a house and lives in Rome. She is not married, writes books and paintings, which are very successful.

In October 2015, after a 15-year break, Al Bano and Romina Power gave a joint concert in Moscow.

Pupo (62 years old)

In 1979, Pupo (as newborn babies are called in Italy) performed "Gelato al cioccolato", which was written especially for him by the very famous Italian songwriter Cristiano Malgioglio. In the same year, he released the self-titled album, after which he became a real idol of millions. For several years his songs enjoyed resounding popularity, and many were translated into other languages. By the end of the 1980s, fame began to fade, and his albums were sold out worse and worse.

Pupo tried his hand at business, opened a chain of restaurants, but an unsuccessful project brought only losses. Rumors began to circulate that the singer was carried away gambling and got into debt. In the early 2000s, Pupo got on Italian television, became the host of a program and a radio show.

Not so long ago, the press became aware that the 62-year-old singer has had two wives for more than 30 years, considers this absolutely normal and says that both wives love him equally.

The group "Rich and Poor" began its performances with 4 participants and was created as an Italian analogue of the popular ABBA quartet from Sweden. The group was divided into two couples: one performed in luxurious outfits, and the other in modest ones. The meaning of the images was that the performers could not have money, but be spiritually rich.

In 1981, before a performance in San Remo, the first conflict occurred in the team, and one of the members of the team, Marina, left the group. In the same year, now the trio "Ricky and Believe" was recognized as the best group of the year and was awarded the Golden Disc prize.

The three of them "Ricky and Believe" performed until 2016, releasing popular hits and gathering huge halls. And a couple of years ago, Franco left the group, whom he decided to put an end to musical career and spend more time with family.

Today, "Ricky and Believe" is a duet, which includes Angela Brambati and Angelo Sotju. It was said that once in their youth they were in love with each other. Their relationship began when the girl was 16 years old, but it never came to the wedding.

In 1963, two young Ligurian musicians, Angelo and Franco, formed a musical group that bore the symbolic name "The Jets" and sought to break away from the musical current of the time, creating less commercial and more soulful music. Once upon a musical evening the guys met Angela, who at that time was the lead singer of the "I Preistorici" group, and were really impressed with her strong voice and charisma.

A few years later, both groups broke up, and three musicians - Angela, Angelo, Franco, who later joined Marina (Angela's friend, with whom the girl studied at vocal school), formed the "Fama Medium" quartet, which became the first "mutation" of "Ricchi e Poveri", musical group, which fell in love with the whole world, and, especially, the inhabitants of the Soviet Union.

The quartet "Fama Medium" began its creative life on the stages of the bars and restaurants of the Genoa embankment and, considering unprecedented success, its members decided to devote themselves entirely to music. The first celebrity who believed in the group was the famous italian composer and the bard Fabrizio De André: it was he who organized the band's audition at a record company in Milan. Unfortunately, the abilities of the musicians at that time were not appreciated, but De André, extremely disappointed with the result, supported the group: “They don’t understand anything about music here, but one way or another, one day you will succeed,” the musician predicted.

By the end of 1967, the band returned to Milan again for another audition in the recording studio, whose artistic director was Franco Califano. Enthusiastic about the performance of four musicians, he immediately decided to become their producer and create a new one for the musicians. stage image. "You are full of ideas, but you don't have any means to implement them," the producer complained. According to legend, this is how the quartet "Fama Medium" turned into the group "Rich and Poor", "Ricchi e Poveri".

The history of "Ricchi e Poveri" - one of the most popular bands ever to perform on the European scene, having sold more than twenty million records worldwide over the course of many years - thus began in Genoa in 1967.

Find flights

The band's debut took place at the summer song festival "Cantagiro" a year later; the guys performed the song "L" ultimo amore, a cover version of the hit "Everlasting love". In the same year, the quartet's first disc was released, which includes other cover versions of famous American hits translated into Italian by producer Franco Califano.

In 1969, the group's new single "Si fa chiara la notte" was released, and in 1970 the quartet took part for the first time in the Sanremo Festival, where they immediately received success and a standing ovation and an honorable second place in the competition, performing the song "La prima cosa bella". In the same year, the group recorded two more hits - "Primo sole primo fiore" and "In questa città" (with this song the quartet again takes part in the Cantajiro competition).

In 1971, "Ricchi e Poveri" again participate in the San Remo Festival, where they again become second with the hit "Che sarà" known to the Soviet audience. A year later, the group again goes to San Remo, but the performance ends in failure: the song "Un diadema di ciliegie", written by Turin musician Roman Bertoglio, gets only 11th place.

1973 is a very intense year for "Ricky e Poveri": at the beginning of the year they go to the San Remo Festival for the 4th time with the song "Dolce frutto", which takes 4th place; their live album "Concerto live" is released in Bulgaria; the quartet participates in the program "Un disco per l "estate" with the song "Piccolo amore mio" and in the song contest "Canzonissima" with the song "Penso, sorrido e canto", which takes second place.

In 1974, having suspended participation in competitions, the musicians became participants in the theater project "Teatro Music Hall", organized by Pippo Baudo: for three months the group performed in a circus tent, traveling around Italy (mainly in the south). During the performance of "Ricky e Believe" performed not only with musical numbers but also as actors. Baudo's creative find brought the team a huge success, especially Angela with her interpretation of "Cabaret" by Liza Minnelli. It was during the tour that Angelo and Franco met the twins Nadia and Antonella Cocconcelli, singers and dancers chosen by Baudo to perform, who later became their wives.

In the same year, "Ricchi e Poveri" participate in the television version of the operetta "No no, Nanette", and also enter the film crew of the television program "Tante Scuse", recording the song "Non pensarci più", which became music screensaver transmission.

In 1976, for the first time, the musicians recorded a composition in English, " love will come", and again participate in San Remo with "Due storie dei musicanti" by Sergio Bardotti. Soloist Angela performs at the festival in the penultimate month of pregnancy: a few months later she has her first child, Luca. Despite motherhood, however, the singer continues her career.

In 1977, an album was released, which includes songs in the Ligurian dialect.

In 1978 "Ricchi e Poveri" represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in Paris with the song "Questo amore".

1980 saw the release of "Come eravamo", the last album of "Ricchi e Poveri" as a quartet, with songs written by Toto Cutugno and arranged by Mats Björklund.

In the same year, the band tours with Radio Montecarlo, having a huge success in Spain, where the Spanish version of the album is released under the title "La estación del amor". At the same time, an export edition of the 1978 collection, Ricchi & Poveri, called "Una musica" was released in Latin American countries.

In 1981, a crisis is brewing in the group: Marina Okkiena leaves the group due to serious disputes with Angela and is tempted by a career as a soloist. Despite the fact that the team was predicted to disintegrate due to the release of the soloist, "Ricchi e Poveri" retain their cohesion and continue to reap the glory, moreover, the group becomes even more successful than before.

In the same 1981, the band again goes to the Sanremo Festival with the famous hit "Sarà perché ti amo". Despite the fifth place, the song becomes one of the most successful singles of the year, remaining at the top of the weekly chart for ten weeks, and wins the title of the Italian best-selling single of 1981.

During the same period, the trio recorded most popular compositions"Come vorrei" and "Piccolo amore".

"Come vorrei", "Sarà perché ti amo", "Bello l" amore" and many other well-known tracks from the ensemble's repertoire as a trio made up the first album recorded without the participation of Marina Occhiena, called "E penso a te".

Further, the group recorded numerous successful songs and albums, such as "Mamma Maria" 1982, "Voulez vous danser" 1983, "Dimmi Quando" 1985, "Publicità" 1987, completed almost exclusively with hits.

In 1985 "Ricchi e Poveri" won in Sanremo with the song "Se m" innamoro".

The 90s become a period of great success for the team on national television, as well as major international commercial success - the group also went on tour in Russia, giving 44 concerts and gathering full houses everywhere. The recording of albums, singles and compilations continues (the latter follow each other at an accelerated pace).

In 1999, the album "Parla col cuore" was released, containing several well-known hits and 6 new songs. At the moment, this is the last disc with new songs of the group.

In 2004, the team participated in the first season of the Music Farm reality show, unexpectedly defeating Loredana Berte and taking third place in the final.

In 2015, the team celebrated its 45th anniversary creative activity and received the honorary prize of the Premio Atlantic 2015 in Rimini.

Since 2016, the group has become a duo of Angela Brambati and Angelo Sotju: Franco Gatti left his career. In 2013, the musician lost his 23-year-old son Alessio and never recovered from the loss.

Photo repubblica.it, wikitesti.com