Equipe 84 () were an
Italian beat
Italian beat () is the Italian form of beat music (), circa 1963 to 1968, inspired mainly by British popular music of the 1960s.
Rock in Italy
Italy is iconic worldwide for his mainstream "neapolitan" melodic singing style, and historically, v ...
band formed in 1964 in
Modena
Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025.
A town, and seat of an archbis ...
. The name was originally suggested by a friend of the band, Pier Farri. ''Equipe'' was thought to be a word that would resonate more easily outside of their home country, and though the origin of ''84'' is unclear, it is presumed to have been the total age of the members of the band at the moment of its inception.
Originally formed by (vocals, guitar), (bass), (drums) and (guitar), Equipe 84 recorded their debut album in 1965 with the label Vedette, before signing a more lucrative agreement with
Dischi Ricordi
Dischi Ricordi was an Italian record company founded on by and Franco Crepax (brother of Guido Crepax), active from 1958 to 1994.
History
Dischi Ricordi had its seat in Milan (Via Giovanni Berchet, 2). In 1994, the company was bought by B ...
. From 1966 Equipe 84 scored a number of hit singles in the Italian charts, including "
29 settembre" and "Io ho in mente te" (an Italian rendition of the folk duo
Ian & Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.
History Early ...
's "
You Were on My Mind"). In 1967, the band was featured in
Mariano Laurenti's film ''I ragazzi di bandiera gialla''.
In 1970, Ceccarelli left the band to pursue a solo career. In the same year Cantarella was charged with possession of illegal drugs – a predicament that would keep him away from the band for two years. After hiring temporary replacements in the form of keyboardist
Dario Baldan Bembo and
PFM drummer Franz Di Cioccio, Vandelli and Sogliani embarked on an ambitious project, recording the strongly influenced prog-rock album ''ID'' and briefly changing the name of the band to ''Nuova Equipe 84''. In 1973, with the return of Cantarella, the band left Dischi Ricordi and signed for Alfredo Rossi's label
Ariston Records, returning to a more conventional sound with the album ''Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde''. The band, however, stirred further controversy with the single "Clinica Fior di Loto", a blatant invitation to vote for the
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...
at the upcoming general elections.
Following a decline in popularity, Equipe 84 officially disbanded in 1977. In the mid-1980s, Sogliani and Ceccarelli attempted a short-lived reunion of the original members, which resulted in the band's final album, ''Un amore vale l'altro'' (1989).
Personnel
* Maurizio Vandelli (1963–1977): lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
* Victor Sogliani (1963–1977 and 1984–1995): vocals, bass
* Alfio Cantarella (1963–1970 and 1973–1977): drums
* Franco Ceccarelli (1963–1970 and 1984–2012): vocals, guitar
* Mike Shepstone (1970): drums
* Franz Di Cioccio (1970–1971): drums
* Ruggero Stefani (1972): drums
* Paolo Siani (1976–1977): drums
*
Dario Baldan Bembo (1970–1972): keyboards
* Gagliardone Thomas (1972–1977): keyboards
* Roberto Poltronieri (1995–2006): bass
Discography
Albums
* 1965 - ''Equipe 84'' (Vedette, VPA 8051)
* 1966 - ''Io ho in mente te'' (Dischi Ricordi, MRL 6053)
* 1968 - ''Stereoequipe'' (Dischi Ricordi, SMRL 6060)
* 1970 - ''ID'' (Dischi Ricordi, SMRL 6072)
* 1971 - ''Casa mia'' (Dischi Ricordi, SMRL 6086)
* 1973 - ''Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde'' (Ariston Records, Ar 12107)
* 1974 - ''Sacrificio'' (Ariston Records, Ar 12134)
* 1989 - ''Un amore vale l'altro'' (Rose Red, Rose 5031)
Singles
* 1964 - "Liberi d'amare" / "Canarino va"
* 1964 - "Papà e mammà" / "Quel che ti ho dato"
* 1965 - "Ora puoi tornare" / "Prima di cominciare"
* 1965 - "Notte senza fine" / "Se credi a quello che..."
* 1965 - "La fine del libro" / "Cominciamo a suonare le chitarre"
* 1965 - "Sei già di un altro" / "La den da da"
* 1965 - "Liberi d'amare" / "Non guardarmi così"
* 1966 - "Un giorno tu mi cercherai" / "L'antisociale"
* 1966 - "Mi fai bene" / "Goodbye My Love"
* 1966 - "Io ho in mente te" / Resta"
* 1966 - "
Bang Bang" / "Auschwitz"
* 1967 - "
29 September" / "E' dall'amore che nasce l'uomo"
* 1967 - "Nel cuore, nell'anima" / "Ladro"
* 1968 - "Un anno" / "Nel ristorante di Alice"
* 1968 - "Un angelo blu" / "Nella terra dei sogni"
* 1969 - "
Tutta mia la città" / "Cominciava così"
* 1969 - "Pomeriggio: ore 6" / "E poi..."
* 1970 - "Il sapone, la pistola, la chitarra e altre meraviglie" / "Devo andare"
* 1971 - "
4 Marzo 1943" / "Padre e figlio"
* 1971 - "Casa mia" / "Buffa"
* 1971 - "Una giornata al mare" / "Quel giorno"
* 1971 - "Pullman" / "Non si può"
* 1973 - "Diario" / "Senza senso"
* 1973 - "Clinica Fior di Loto" / "Meglio"
* 1974 - "Mercante senza fiori" / "Sigaretta e via"
* 1974 - "Risvegliarsi un mattino" / "Se c'è"
* 1975 - "sogni senza fine" / "Mediazione"
* 1975 - "Vai, amore vai" / "Mr. Playboy"
* 1977 - "Opera d'amore" / "Anguilla Rock"
* 1989 - "La lunga linea retta" / "Rosa"
Bibliography
* Franco Ceccarelli, ''Io ho in mente te: Storia dell'Equipe 84'', Zelig,
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, 1996
References
External links
Maurizio Vandelli's Official Site*
*
{{Authority control
Italian rock music groups
Italian pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1964
Musical groups disestablished in 1989
1964 establishments in Italy
1989 disestablishments in Italy
Beat groups