Nomadi (or I Nomadi, meaning "

Nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s") is an Italian band formed in 1963 and still present on the music scene. Nomadi 1972

Career

Origins

In 1961, Beppe Carletti and Leonardo Manfredini formed the group I Monelli (‘Urchins’). In 1962, Carletti met Franco Midilli, guitarist of the group

Novellara Novellara ( Reggiano: or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy and has a population of 13,670. It is north of Reggio Emilia and has a railway station for the local train going from Reggio to Guastall ...

, who joined them in Monelli. In 1963, Franco Midilli introduced Augusto Daolio to Beppe Carletti and he too joined the group. In that year the band’s name was changed to ''Nomadi''.

I Nomadi of Augusto Daolio

I Nomadi sprang from one of the most fervent periods of the Italian music scene: the 1960s. In those years an economic boom revealed an Italy economically enriched but already socially impoverished. Tens, if not hundreds, of groups appeared and disappeared attempting to express the voice of a youth who felt repressed by a society still permeated with antiquated conventions. The original 1963 formation of six was founded in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

Augusto Daolio Augusto Daolio (18 February 1947 – 7 October 1992) was an Italian singer, poet, and painter. He is the founding member and frontman of the I Nomadi band. Daolio was born in Novellara, Emilia-Romagna. He founded Nomadi in 1963, together with ...

(

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Beppe Carletti Giuseppe "Beppe" Carletti (born August 12, 1946) is an Italian musician, founder and keyboardist of the band I Nomadi. Career Carletti was born in Novi di Modena, Emilia-Romagna. He founded the Nomadi at the age of sixteen, together with ...

( keyboards), Franco Midili (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

), Leonardo Manfredini (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s), Gualtiero Gelmini ( sax), Antonio Campari (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

). In the same year, Nomadi were signed by Frankfurt Bar in

Riccione Riccione (; ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Riccione is centred on the Rio Melo, a minor river that flows into the Adriatic Sea. In the decades following the construction of the Bologna–Ancona r ...

. Franco Midilli had to leave the group that summer for compulsory military service. As often happens, the lineup changed frequently: in 1964 Madfredini left after the death of his parents; so did Campari and Gelmini, who were replaced by Gabriele ‘Bila’ Copellini on drums and Gianni Coron on bass. In 1965 they released their first 45", featuring the song "Donna, la Prima Donna" ("Woman, the First Woman") and "Giorni Tristi" ("Sad Days") with the collaboration of De Ponti and of Odoardo Veroli (known as ''Dodo'') as writer and composer. Their first hit was 1966's "Come potete giudicar" (''How Can You Judge'', which was actually the cover of

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono ( ; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Pa ...

's "The Revolution Kind"), anthem of the Italian

beat generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

, which exemplifies the clash between hippies and conservatives. In the wake of this success, I Nomadi came into contact with a young and then unknown writer,

Francesco Guccini Francesco Guccini (; born 14 June 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and writer. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published ...

, who would go on to give them other successes: "Noi non ci saremo" ("We Won't Be There"), " Dio è morto" ("God is Dead"), "Canzone per un'amica" ("Song for a Friend"). Their great success continued in the following years. Hits included " Io Vagabondo" ("I, Vagabond"), "Un pugno di sabbia" ("A Fistful of Sand"), "Un giorno insieme" ("One Day Together"), "Tutto a posto" ("Everything Settled"), "Voglio ridere" ("I Want to Laugh"). I Nomadi's political commitment is particularly evident in some songs such as "Primavera di Praga" ("

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

"), written by Guccini and dedicated to Czech student

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

The "new" Nomadi

In 1990 Cico Falzone and

Daniele Campani Daniele is an Italian male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel. Danièle is also a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle. The name "Daniel" originates from the Hebrew Bible and is associated with the prophet ...

joined the group, on guitar and drums respectively. In 1992 bass player

Dante Pergreffi Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian ...

was killed in a car crash on 14 May and then, on 7 October,

, the band's frontman and icon, died of an aggressive form of lung cancer. Despite the shock and despair of their many fans, the group decided to continue with

Danilo Sacco Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 198 ...

doing vocals,

Francesco Gualerzi Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is one of the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation) ...

on wind and vocals and

Elisa Minari The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence o ...

on bass. Gualerzi and Minari left the group at the end of 1997 and were replaced by

Massimo Vecchi Massimo () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss-based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist * Massimo Agostini (born 1964), Italian football man ...

and Andrea Pozzoli, who took part in the summer tour of that year and was then replaced by

Sergio Reggioli Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * Sergio, the mascot for the Old Orchard Beach Surge baseball team * ''Sergio'', a 2009 documentary film about ...

, enchanting on violin. The new lineup convinced the fans and Nomadi continue even now to release new albums.

40th anniversary

In 2003 Nomadi celebrated their 40th year as a band with a three-day show at

followed by three more concerts and other events related to the past and the future of the group.

The music and the message

The message that Nomadi has promoted from its beginning is of denunciation and social commitment, clean and never too political. They carry it throughout Italy, even in the smallest towns. Their sound is instantly recognisable for its cleanness and simplicity, even if some arrangements on the old albums tended to be a bit overblown as was typical of the 1960s in general. In 2003 they released ''Quaranta'' (''Forty''), a double CD with 34 tracks. In 2004 the new album ''Corpo Estraneo'' (''Foreign Body'') came out and went platinum just on advance sales. The single ''Oriente'' (''East'') was successful on many radio stations and the tour sold out every show. They came first in the Groups category of the

Sanremo Music Festival 2006 The Sanremo Music Festival 2006 (), officially the 56th Italian Song Festival (), was the 56th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo between 27 February and 3 March 2006 and broadcast by (RAI). The show was presente ...

with the track ''Dove si Va'' (''Where Does One Go''). The new album ''Con Me o Contro di Me'' (''With Me or Against Me'') came out at the beginning of March 2006 and sold 90,000 copies in the first four days, going platinum, and in 2007 they released ''Orchestra'', an album-live. In 2011, the singer Danilo Sacco left the band, and was replaced by Christian Turato. Part of a new experience for the group, which is approaching 50 years of activity.

Members

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

: **

(1963–1992) **

(1993–1998) **

(1993–2011) **

(1998–) **

Cristiano Turato Cristiano may refer to: * Cristiano (given name), Italian and Portuguese male given name * Cristiano (surname) * Cristiano Ronaldo (born 1985), Portuguese football forward * Cristiano (footballer, born 1976), Brazilian football defender * Cristian ...

(2012–2017) **

Yuri Cilloni Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

(2017–) * Keyboards: **

(1963–) *

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

: ** Franco Midili (1963–1972 and 1973–1974) ** Amos Amaranti (1972–1973) **

Chris Dennis Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian author ...

(1974–1990) ** Cico Falzone (1990–) *

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

: ** Gianni Coron (1963–1970) ** Umberto Maggi (1970–1984) **

(1984–1992) **

(1992–1998) **

(1998–) *

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s: ** Bila Copellini (1963–1969) ** Paolo Lancelotti (1969–1990) **

(1990–2023) ** Domenico Inguaggiato (2024- *

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

and

Violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

: **

(1998–) *

and

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

: **

Andrea Pozzoli Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

(1998)

Discography

* ''Per quando noi non ci saremo'' (1967, official album) * ''I Nomadi'' (1968, official album) *'' Mille e una sera ''(1971, collection) * ''So che mi perdonerai ''(1971, collection) * ''Io vagabondo ''(1972, collection) * ''Un giorno insieme'' (1973, official album) *'' I Nomadi cantano Guccini'' (1973, collection) *'' I Nomadi interpretano Guccini ''(1974, official album) * ''Canzoni d'oltremanica e d'oltreoceano'' (1974, collection) * ''Tutto a posto'' (1974, collection) * ''Gordon ''(1975, official album) * ''Collezione'' (1976, collection) * ''Noi ci saremo ''(1977, official album) *'' Naracauli e altre storie ''(1978, official album) *'' Album concerto'' (1979, official album) *''I Nomadi'' (1980, collection) *''I Nomadi 1'' (1981, collection) *''Sempre Nomadi ''(1981, official album) *''Ancora una volta con sentimento ''(1982, official album) *''I Nomadi 2'' (1983, collection) *''Ci penserà poi il computer ''(1985, official album) *''Quando viene sera ''(1986, official album) *''Nomadi in concerto ''(1987, double live, official album) *''I Nomadi 3 ''(1987, collection) *''

Ancora Nomadi ''Ancora'' is the third studio album released by classical crossover vocal group Il Divo. The album was released in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe on 7 November 2005, excluding the United States and Latin America. The album was l ...

'' (1988, official album) *''

Solo Nomadi Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, from t ...

'' (1990, official album) *'' Gente come noi'' (1991, official album) *'' Ma noi no!'' (1992, official album) *''

Ma che film la vita Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia * Master of Arts, a degree award * Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California * Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California * Minnehaha Academy, a private high schoo ...

'' (1992, official album) *'' Contro'' (1993, official album) *''EMI Music Collection – I Nomadi ''(1993, collection) *''Chiedi chi erano i Nomadi ''(1994, collection) *''

La settima onda LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (1994, official album) *''Tributo ad Augusto ''(1995, tribute) *''La musica dei '70 – La rabbia, l'amore, la poesia'' (1995, collection) *''

Lungo le vie del vento Lungo (), known in full in Italian as ''caffè lungo'', is coffee made by using an espresso machine to make an Italian-style coffee—short black (a single espresso shot) with more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a larger coffee, a ...

'' (1995, official album) *''Quando ci sarai'' (1996, official album) *''D'amore e altre storie'' (1997, collection) *''Le strade, gli amici, il concerto'' (1997, double live, official album) *''Una storia da raccontare'' (1998, official album) *''In Italia erano i Nomadi'' (1998, collection) *''SOS con rabbia e con amore'' (1999, official album) *''Liberi di volare'' (2000, official album) *''Amore che prendi amore che dai'' (2002, official album) *''

Nomadi 40 ''Nomadi 40'' is a double album by Nomadi. Their twenty-eighth album, it celebrates the fortieth year of their musical career. ''Nomadi 40'' contains a mix of old and new songs. It was certified gold from presales, and was at the top of the charts ...

'' (2003, official album) *'' The platinum collection'' (2003, collection) *''

Corpo Estraneo Corpo Estraneo (Foreign Body) is the twenty-ninth album by the band Nomadi. There were three singles released from the album: ''Oriente'', which a video was filmed for, ''Corpo Estraneo'', and ''In Piedi''. The album was certified platinum just fr ...

'' (2004, official album) *'' Con Me o Contro di Me'' (2006, official album) *'' The platinum collection 2'' (2006, collection) *'' Nomadi & Omnia Symphony Orchestra live 2007'' (2007, double live, official album) *''

Allo specchio Allo may refer to: *''allo-'', a prefix used in linguistics to form terms for variant forms *'Allo, a form of Hello *Allo, a shortening of allosexual *Allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid sometimes abbreviated as "ALLO" *Allo 'Allo!'', a British te ...

'' (2009, official album) *''Raccontiraccolti'' (2010, official album) *''I Nomadi ed altre storie – Best & Rarities'' (2010, collection) *''In Viaggio'' (2010, 8 CD+2 DVD, collection) *''Canzoni nel vento (live 1987–1989)'' (2011, official album) *''Cuore vivo'' (2011, official album) *''E' stato bellissimo'' (2012, official album) *''Terzo tempo'' (2012, official album) *''I Nomadi 1965/1979'' (2016, collection) *''Nomadi 55 – Per tutta la vita '' (2018, collection)

External links

*In Italian
Official Site
{{Authority control Italian musical groups Musical groups from Emilia-Romagna