Matia Bazar () is an Italian
pop band formed in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
in 1975. The original members of the group were
Piero Cassano (keyboards),
Aldo Stellita (bass),
Carlo Marrale (guitar, vocals),
Giancarlo Golzi (drums), and
Antonella Ruggiero (vocals). They represented Italy in the
1979 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called "
Raggio di luna". They are known for the quality of their female vocalists; after Ruggiero, vocalists included Laura Valente, Silvia Mezzanotte, Roberta Faccani, and Luna Dragonieri. Their major hits were "
Solo tu" (1977), "
Vacanze romane" (1982), and "
Ti sento
is a song by the Italian pop band Matia Bazar from their 1985 album '' Melanchólia''. It reached number one in Belgian music charts and number two in the Dutch charts. It has been covered multiple times, including by Swedish singer Lena Phili ...
" (1985), which peaked on the charts in Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy. The group achieved several major successes, amongst which the win of two
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...
s in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
and in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
.
Ruggiero and Marrale, the two main vocalists of the original line-up, left respectively in 1989 and 1994 to pursue solo careers. Main lyricist and bassist Stellita died in 1998 and drummer/writer Golzi in 2015. Cassano, the last original founding member, left in May 2017. As of 2024, none of the band’s original surviving members is part of the current lineup. The band is now led by keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Fabio Perversi, who had joined in 1998 and has been endorsed by Cassano and Golzi to continue. According to Cassano, Matia Bazar "should survive to their original members".
Personnel
Current members
* Fabio Perversi – vocals, keyboards, violin
(1998–)
* Silvia Dragonieri – vocals
(2017–)
* Silvio Melloni – bass
(2021–)
* Gino Zandonà – guitars
(2021–)
* Piercarlo Tanzi – drums
(2021–)
Past members
*
Piero Cassano – vocals, guitars, keyboards
(founder, 1975–1981, 1999–2017)
*
Giancarlo Golzi – drums
(founder, 1975–2015)
*
Carlo Marrale – guitars, vocals
(founder, 1975–1994)
*
Antonella Ruggiero – vocals
(founder, 1975–1989)
*
Aldo Stellita – bass
(founder, 1975–1998)
* – keyboards
(1981–1984)
* – keyboards
(1984–1998)
*
Laura Valente – vocals
(1990–1998)
*
Silvia Mezzanotte
Silvia Mezzanotte (born 22 April 1967 in Bologna), is an Italian singer and song-writer.
Early solo career
Mezzanotte debuted at the Sanremo Music Festival in Sanremo Music Festival 1990, 1990 with her song ''Sarai grande'', reaching the 4th ...
– vocals
(1999–2004, 2010–2016)
*
Roberta Faccani
Roberta Faccani (born 1 July 1968 in Ancona), is an Italian singer and actress.
Early career
After placing second at the Castrocaro Music Festival in 1990, Faccani studied at the ''Centro Europeo di Toscolano'' (C.E.T.) led by famed lyricist ...
– vocals
(2005–2010)
* Piero Marras – guitars
(2017–2021)
* Paola Zadra – bass
(2017–2021)
* Fiamma Cardani – drums
(2017–2021)
Discography
* ''Matia Bazar 1'' (1976)
* ''Granbazar'' (1977)
* ''Semplicità'' (1978)
* ''Tournée'' (1979)
* ''Il tempo del sole'' (1980)
* ''Berlino, Parigi, Londra'' (1982)
* ''Tango'' (1983)
* ''Aristocratica'' (1984)
* ''
Melanchólia'' (1985)
* ''Melò'' (1987)
* ''Red Corner'' (1989)
* ''Anime pigre'' (1991)
* ''Dove le canzoni si avverano'' (1993)
* ''Radiomatia'' (1995)
* ''Benvenuti a Sausalito'' (1997)
* ''Brivido caldo'' (2000)
* ''Dolce canto'' (2001)
* ''Profili svelati'' (2005)
* ''One1 Two2 Three3 Four4'' (2007)
* ''One1 Two2 Three3 Four4 - Volume due'' (2008)
* ''Conseguenza logica'' (2011)
Citations
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1975
1975 establishments in Italy
Italian pop music groups
Sanremo Music Festival winners
Musical groups from Liguria
ZYX Music artists
Spanish-language singers of Italy
Eurovision Song Contest entrants