Ricchi e Poveri is a pop group that formed in Genoa (Italy) at the end of the 60s. It is enough to listen to the tracks of Che sarà, Sarà perché ti amo and Mamma Maria to feel the mood of the band.
The band's popularity peaked in the 80s. For a long time, the musicians managed to maintain a leading position in many charts in Europe. Special attention deserves the concert performances of the team, which have always been as bright and incendiary as possible.
Over time, the ratings of Ricchi e Poveri began to decline. Despite this, the group continues to stay afloat, the musicians perform and often appear at thematic festivals.
The composition and history of the creation of the group
The group was formed in the 67th year of the last century, in a town in the north of colorful Italy. The first to join were the talented Angelo Sotju and Franco Gatti, who already had experience on stage.
When the group broke up, the musicians united and created the Rikii e Poveri group. A little later, the team expanded. Angela Brambati joined the line-up. Before that, the singer worked in the I Preistorici team. Angela invited another member to the newly formed group - Marina Okkiena. Thus, the team turned into a full-fledged quartet.
At first, the musicians performed under the banner of Fama Medium, the original name was coined later. For the appearance of the name, the members of the group must thank their first producer.
In the early 80s, there were some lineup changes. Marina Okkiena often clashed with the rest of the team. As a result, she left the group and decided to realize herself as a solo singer.
Another change came in 2016. This year, Gatti announced that he had finally decided to quit the scene. The musician was tired of constant touring, moving from one country to another, bunkhouses in hotels. In an interview, Gatti said that he decided to devote more time to family and friends.
The rest of the band respected the decision of the musician. Thus, the team grew from a quartet into a duet, but in 2020 the artists got together again. The "golden line-up" was completely reunited.
The creative path of the Ricchi e Poveri team
The performances of the newly minted team at the beginning of their career took place in the open air. They performed on the sunny beach of their town. Interestingly, the musicians did not yet have their own tracks, so they were happy to sing the top compositions of other artists.
Franco Califano is the first producer who believed in the possibilities of the group. He invited the guys to audition in Milan and there he finally agreed to pump the team. First of all, he worked on the image of the team members. For example, he advised Franco to let his hair go, Angela to change her hairstyle - cut her hair and lighten it, and completely turned Marina into a sexy blonde.
Having worked through the images, he took up the organization of concerts and the participation of the team in prestigious festivals.
For eight years, the team performed at the Sanremo festival and the Festivalbar, the guys participated in the Un disco per l'estate competition, and also appeared on the air of Rischiatutto programs. A carefully planned plan helped the musicians become more recognizable.
The group did not forget about the release of LPs. The presentation of the self-titled debut album Ricchi e Poveri took place in the early 70s of the last century. The fact that music lovers warmly accepted the novelty inspired the guys to record the second full-length LP. The collection was called Amici Miei. The record is followed by L'Altra Faccia Dei Ricchi e Poveri.
Participation in a song contest
At the end of the 70s, the musicians had the honor of representing the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. On the stage, the artists brilliantly performed the piece of music Questo amore. Alas, they did not manage to leave the competition as winners. The group took only 12th place.
At the beginning of the 80th year, the presentation of the LP La stagione dell'amore took place. A year later, one member leaves the team, and the quartet turns into a trio. In this composition, the musicians will work until 2016.
For the next 20 years, the musicians pleased with the release of more than 10 studio albums, recording singles, filming videos and touring. In the mid-80s, the team visited the Soviet Union. As part of the tour, the musicians visited over 40 countries of the cities of the USSR.
The Soviet public met the Western pop stars incredibly warmly. The musicians were so impressed by the rosy reception that from now on they will often visit the former countries of the Soviet Union.
In 2016, the team, along with other popular artists, took part in the filming of the video.
The musicians sent the proceeds to Ambulanza Verde. A couple of years later, the musicians took the judges' chairs to assess the level of young talents, and also celebrated a round date since the founding of the band.
Interesting facts about the group
- A. Brambatti and A. Sotju had an office romance. The couple even planned to get married, but this never happened. Today they maintain friendly relations.
- While touring around the Russian Federation, the artists asked what a respectful appeal to a woman is in the country, they were answered - grandmother. Right from the stage, they started shouting: “Hi, grandmothers!”.
- The name of the group in Russian is translated as "rich and poor."
- The group loves the work of the Mamas and Papas, Chicago, and the Beach Boys.
Ricchi e Poveri at present
Since 2016, the group has been listed as a duet. Musicians continue to perform on stage. They often become guests of rating television shows.
In 2019, in the TV show Ora o mai piu, the artists appeared in the second episode. They took up the pumping of the participant of the show - Mikel Pecora. The latest news from the life of the group members can be viewed on the official pages of social networks.
The reunion of the original composition of the team
At the beginning of 2020, it turned out that Danilo Mancuso, the manager of the team, brought together Angela Brambati, Franco Gatti, Marina Occhiena and Angelo Sotja. Danilo's idea was to reunite the original line-up. The musicians performed at the fest in San Remo.
Then it became known that the musicians were planning to release a new LP. The release of ReuniON was scheduled for the end of March 2020. However, due to the active spread of coronavirus infection in Italy, the presentation of the collection was postponed indefinitely.
The musicians broke their silence in 2021. On February 26, 2021, the presentation of the double LP ReuniON took place. The collection consists of 21 tracks and includes the great hits of the 1960-90s, first performed by the musicians in the original line-up.
