Band Aid (Italian band)


Band Aid is an Italian band formed in Lecce in 1980.

History

Band Aid was formed in 1980 in Lecce by Toni Robertini, Giacomo Toriano, Francesco Nemola, Felice De Donno, Roberto Gagliardi and Paolo Cesano. It was previously named La Mela d'Oro, a group which in 1976 had already elaborated Mediterranean Jazz with elements of popular music of Salento.
The group was influenced by Canterbury scene, no wave, Frank Zappa and free jazz. They produced their own instrumental compositions except during the last period when the American singer Arthur Miles joined the band.
In 1980, Band Aid was the first Italian band to self-produce an LP following the English example. Recorded at home on a 4-track tape recorder, the LP was published by Italian Records Service. The group defined its musical style as "No-Jazz".
In 1981, they moved to Bologna and recorded their second LP, Due, published by Italian Records. They took part in the festival Electra 1 in Bologna, with Bauhaus, Peter Gordon, Lounge Lizards, DNA and Magazzini Criminali.
Band Aid's music, instrumental and not inclined to the usual rock styles, is a singular presence in the new wave scene. In 1983, they took part in five episodes of RAI-Radio3 "Un certo discorso", performing live. They toured Sardinia with Litfiba for a promotional tour of new Italian music.
Following the Italian Records' trend towards dance music and Italo disco, they recorded the EP A Tour in Italy, produced by Oderso Rubini. They introduced vocals for the first time, using pre-recorded conversations of English lessons and a nonsense rap in French. Side B is a remix by the American DJ, Tony Carrasco. The record obtained reasonable success. The last period is marked by an attempt to reach a larger audience. In 1985, the band dissolved.
In 1993 was published "Live Tree" a CD containing unpublished music recorded live.

Past members

Albums