Riccardo Formosa (born 1 September 1954) is an Italian-born Australian musician and composer. He was the lead guitarist of the pop band Little River Band from 1975 to 1976 and recorded their first two albums, '' Little River Band'' and '' After Hours''.

Early life

Formosa was born in Rome, Italy, but grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He migrated to Australia in 1974 and worked as a music arranger and studio musician. He joined the Little River Band shortly after arriving in Australia.

Little River Band

The original Little River Band (LRB) lead guitarist,

Graham Davidge Graham Davidge is an Australian musician. He has played with Little River Band (1975), Tidewater (1976), Goanna (1982–83) and numerous other Australian bands. Davidge was chosen as the original lead guitarist for Little River Band. He play ...

, played only on LRB's first recording session, a cover of The Everly Brothers' song '' When Will I Be Loved''. Formosa replaced Davidge shortly after. Formosa played on the first two LRB albums, '' Little River Band'' and '' After Hours'', including the long guitar solo on ''

It's a Long Way There "It's a Long Way There" is a song by Australian band Little River Band, released in August 1976 as the band's debut international single and in October 1976 as the third single from the group's self-titled studio album. The song peaked at number ...

'' on the former. For the latter, he wrote the song "Bourbon Street" and co-wrote "Another Runaway" with fellow member Beeb Birtles. Formosa toured Australia with LRB, playing 311 shows in 1975–1976. He was replaced by David Briggs in August 1976. On 19 August 1980, Formosa joined an ensemble of pop artists in a memorial concert for Andrew Durant, the former Stars' guitarist-songwriter who had died earlier that year. Formosa played

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, guitar and piano. A live double- LP, ''The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert'', was released on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

in 1980.

Composer

Formosa was awarded an Australia Council fellowship in 1983 and studied with Franco Donatoni at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. He also attended masterclasses in conducting with Franco Ferrara. On returning to Australia, Formosa worked for Victorian College of the Arts, the Victorian Arts Studio and

Musica Viva Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble perf ...

. Formosa works as an arranger, conductor and studio musician for recordings, radio and television. He also has an extensive catalogue of compositions.

Awards

Formosa has won awards and commendations during his career, including:

Family

Formosa's daughter Antonella is a successful singer who performs and records as

A-Love A-Love is a female Australian-based MC from Melbourne. Her debut album, ''Ace of Hearts'' was nominated 'Best Urban Release' in the ARIA Music Awards of 2008. Biography A-Love was born Antonella Formosa in Rome, Italy on 21 March 1983. Formosa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Formosa, Ric 1954 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Male film score composers Little River Band members Musicians from Rome Australian music arrangers Italian emigrants to Australia Australian record producers Australian rock guitarists Italian emigrants to Canada Lead guitarists Australian conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) Australian male guitarists