Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Italy took its well deserved third victory - finally! - at the Eurovision song contest 2021. Over the years several other Italian entries would have been worthy winners. In this series I will go through all of them from the worst ranking to the win ners. Ricchi e Poveri and Questo amore were chosen by Rai for Eurovision because... why not? They were popular and their record label was linked to Rai by ownership. Sadly their entry, that placed only 12th out of 20, is almost a forgotten one among their countless hits but for this blogger, 11 years old at the time,  it is the start of love Italian language and all things Italian and I still just love Ricchi e Poveri. The quartet of Angela, Angelo, Marina and Franco was founded in 1967, has sold over 20 million records globally and is still going strong. Marina left, or was forced to leave depending sources, in 1981 - apparently for flirting a bit too much with Angela's man -  just before the group had their biggest hit Sa...

  What can I say? Ricchi e Poveri and I go a long way. I remember liking their Eurovision entry back in 1978 when they were still a quartet. The real fandom started however in 1981 with Sará perche ti amo . And those three (Marina had left/kicked out) are responsable for me starting Italian studies and the fact I learned it with music and vocabularity rather than real studies. I listened, read the lyrics at the same time from the album's sleeves and checked the words I didn't understand and along the way learned to pronounce well as well.  After 52 years in business they are still touring and singing, but as a duo because Franco left Angela and Angelo in 2016 to dedicate to his family after his son died.  2019:

Ricchi e Poveri will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in business next year but since few months the trio has become a duo, when Franco Gatti (74) decided to leave the group he was part for over 48 years.   "I don't have the age anymore to travel all over the world. And since the death of my son it just hasn't been the same"   The other member Angela and Angelo fully understand and go on as duo. Franco's son, only 22.year-old, was found dead the night before Sanremo 2013 where the group was due to perform and accept an award for their musical career. In the funeral the trio became quartet once more, as also Marina was present.  Ricchi e Poveri was founded as singing group back in 1967 in Genoa, north-west of Italy. Originally a quartet including Franco Gatti, Angela Brambati, Angelo Sorgiu and Marina Occhiena came to spotlight in 1968 and several Sanremo appearences in the early 1970's (with classics like Che sarà ) made them household name in ...