Raffaele Riefoli (born September 29, 1959 in
Margherita di Savoia, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter who is better known as simply Raf.
Biography
Riefoli lived the few first years of the 1980s in London, England, before starting out his musical career in 1984, landing mostly in the
new wave scene with his English language debut album, ''Raf''. His first single, "
Self Control
Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. As an executive function, it is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's b ...
", which he co-wrote with
Giancarlo Bigazzi
Giancarlo Bigazzi (5 September 1940 – 19 January 2012) was an Italian music producer and composer. He was a former member of comedy music group Squallor.
Life and career
Born in Florence, he was one of the best known Italian songwriters and l ...
and Steve Piccolo, was a huge hit not only in his native Italy but also in Austria (No. 7), Switzerland (No. 1)
and Germany, where the single climbed as high as No. 2 in the
Media Control
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
single chart and spent a total of seven weeks within the Top 10.
[ ] Raf's version of the song also managed to enter the Top-40 in France.
"Self Control" was recorded and released contemporaneously by American pop star
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...
, previously best known for the hit singles "
Gloria
Gloria may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music
* Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise
* Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise
** Gloria (Handel)
** Gloria (Jenkins) ...
" (another cover version originally released by Italian singer
Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Antonio Tozzi (; born 4 March 1952) is an Italian pop and rock singer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 70 million records in different languages internationally, and his biggest international hits are:
"Stel ...
) and "
How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The ballad has been recorded by many artists around the world, in several languages, most notably Bolton himself, becoming something of a modern p ...
". Branigan's version was released as the first single off her 1984 album, also titled ''
Self Control
Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. As an executive function, it is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's b ...
'', and became a worldwide dance and pop success, hitting No. 4 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the U.S. Branigan's version hit the No. 1 spot in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa and Canada, and was a major hit in Ireland, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Raf's version, which was charting high in numerous markets in 1984/85, was highly expected to become the most popular song in the history of the Italian music industry.
Other English-language singles from Raf, "Change Your Mind", "London Town" and "Hard", were not as successful, and after an unsuccessful 1987 re-release of his first album with two of these songs as bonus tracks, Riefoli began to transition from the new wave/dance-pop genre into a softer pop style featuring vocals in his native language. Raf has released 11 studio albums throughout the years, including the 1993 ''Cannibali'', which has been certified six times platinum in Italy. That album contains many successful tracks including "Il battito animale", "Due" and "Stai con me".
Riefoli has also written songs for other Italian artists; the track "Si può dare di più", written for the trio Morandi-Ruggeri-Tozzi, won the first prize at the
San Remo Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
. Riefoli co-wrote the song "
Gente di mare" with
Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Antonio Tozzi (; born 4 March 1952) is an Italian pop and rock singer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 70 million records in different languages internationally, and his biggest international hits are:
"Stel ...
and
Giancarlo Bigazzi
Giancarlo Bigazzi (5 September 1940 – 19 January 2012) was an Italian music producer and composer. He was a former member of comedy music group Squallor.
Life and career
Born in Florence, he was one of the best known Italian songwriters and l ...
, and his duet with Tozzi became Italy's entry in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Brussels, Belgium, following the country's victory at the with the song "J'aime la vie" by Sandra Kim. Organised by the European Broadc ...
, placing third. The recording was a top ten hit in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden.
In the German-speaking territories, where the German
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970.
The ...
, a terrorist cell, was popularly known by the acronym RAF, Riefoli was marketed as Raff, with a second "f".
In the intervening years, a number of other artists including German and Italian artists unaffiliated with Riefoli have made recordings under the names Raf, RAF or R.A.F.
Raf continues to have a successful recording career in Italy with his latest studio albums, ''Metamorfosi'' (2008), ''Numeri'' (2011), ''Le ragioni del cuore'' (2012) reaching No. 4, No.6, No. 13 respectively in the Italian album charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Live albums
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Footnotes
References
External links
Official Site
{{Authority control
1959 births
Living people
Italian Italo disco musicians
Italian male singers
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1987
Italian-language singers
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy
People from the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani
English-language singers from Italy
Carrere Records artists
East West Records artists
Columbia Records artists