Matia Bazar () is an Italian pop band formed in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in 1975. The original members of the group were

Piero Cassano Piero Cassano (born 13 September 1948) is an Italian keyboardist, singer and composer, a founding member of the Genoan band Matia Bazar. Early career and Jet Cassano started playing the piano at a young age. In 1971 he founded the progressive ...

(keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Carlo Marrale (guitar, vocals), Giancarlo Golzi (drums) and

Antonella Ruggiero Antonella Ruggiero (born 15 November 1952) is an Italian singer. Biography Antonella Ruggiero was born in Genoa, Liguria and made her first recording, ''Io Matia'' ("I Matia" in English), in 1974. Matia is the stage name under which Antonella Rug ...

(vocals). They represented

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the

1979 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by th ...

with a song called "

Raggio di luna Raggio is an Italian surname. It is derived from the Latin word ( en, fame, glory). Notable people with the surname include: * Tommaso Raggio (1531—1599), a 16th-century Jesuit missionary * Giuseppe Raggio (1823-1916), Italian painter * Lou ...

". They are known for the quality of their female vocalists: after Antonella Ruggiero, Laura Valente, Silvia Mezzanotte, Roberta Faccani and currently Luna Dragonieri. Their major hits were ''Solo tu'' (1978), '' Vacanze Romane'' (1982), Souvenir (1985) and '' Ti Sento'' (1985), which peaked on the charts in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

. Ruggiero and Marrale, the two main vocalists of the original line-up, left respectively in 1989 and 1994 to pursue solo careers. Main lyricist and bassist Stellita died in 1998 and drummer/writer and founding member Golzi in 2015. Cassano, the last original member, left in May 2017. The band is currently led by Fabio Perversi, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist since 1998, who has been indicated by Cassano and Golzi as the right person to carry on the new era of the band, which in their idea "should survive to their original members".

Personnel

Current members * Fabio Perversi – vocals, keyboards, violin (1998–present) * Silvia Dragonieri – vocals (2017–present) * Silvio Melloni – bass (2021–present) * Gino Zandonà – guitars (2021–present) * Piercarlo Tanzi – drums (2021–present) Former members *

– vocals, guitars, keyboards (1975–1981, 1999–2017) *

– vocals (1975–1989) * Carlo Marrale – guitars, vocals (1975–1994) * Aldo Stellita – bass (1975–1998; died 1998) * Giancarlo Golzi – drums (1975–2015; died 2015) * Mauro Sabbione – keyboards (1981–1984; died 2022) * Sergio Cossu – keyboards (1984–1998) * Laura Valente – vocals (1990–1998) *

Silvia Mezzanotte Silvia Mezzanotte (born 22 April 1967 in Bologna), is an Italian singer. Early solo career Mezzanotte debuted at the Sanremo Music Festival in 1990 with her song ''Sarai grande'', reaching the 4th place in the Newcomers section. She went on ...

– vocals (1999–2004, 2010–2016) *

Roberta Faccani Roberta Faccani (born 1 July 1968 in Ancona), is an Italian singer and actress. Early career After placing second at the Castrocaro Music Festival in 1990, Faccani studied at the ''Centro Europeo di Toscolano'' (C.E.T.) led by famed lyricist ...

– vocals (2005–2010) * Piero Marras – guitars (2017–2021) * Paola Zadra – bass (2017–2021) * Fiamma Cardani – drums (2017–2021)

Discography

* ''Matia Bazar 1'' (1976) * ''Granbazar'' (1977) * ''Semplicità'' (1978) * ''Tournée'' (1979) * ''Il tempo del sole'' (1980) * ''Berlino, Parigi, Londra'' (1982) * ''Tango'' (1983) * ''Aristocratica'' (1984) * '' Melanchólia'' (1985) * ''Melò'' (1987) * ''Red Corner'' (1989) * ''Anime pigre'' (1991) * ''Dove le canzoni si avverano'' (1993) * ''Radiomatia'' (1995) * ''Benvenuti a Sausalito'' (1997) * ''Brivido caldo'' (2000) * ''Dolce canto'' (2001) * ''Profili svelati'' (2005) * ''One1 Two2 Three3 Four4'' (2007) * ''One1 Two2 Three3 Four4 - Volume due'' (2008) * ''Conseguenza logica'' (2011)

Citations

External links

* * * {{Authority control Italian pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1979 Sanremo Music Festival winners Musical groups from Liguria ZYX Music artists