Alberto Radius -

Alberto Radius (born June 1, 1942) is an Italian singer-songwriter who played in the bands Formula 3 and Il Volo during the first half of the 1970s. In 1972, he debuted as a solo artist with the album Radius on Numero Uno, followed in 1976 by the popular CBS release Che Cosa Sei. Between 1977 and 1982, he released four further albums on CGD.

Radius, the son of novelist and essayist Emilio Radius (1904–1988), first performed in the late ’50s ballroom band White Booster. During the early ’60s, he did a two-year stint in the Mario Perrone Orchestra. After a break from music for military service, he joined veteran pop-rockers I Campanino, which played some mid-’60s dates as an opening act for rising stars Equipe 84. Soon after, he backed the Milan-based English act Simon & Pennies.

In 1967, Radius replaced Franco Mussida in Quelli, a beat group that issued numerous singles on Ricordi. He cleared out for a returning Mussida in 1969 and the band morphed into Premiata Forneria Marconi.

In 1970, Radius teamed with drummer Tony Cicco and keyboardist Gabriele Lorenzi (ex-I Camaleonti) in the post-psych combo Formula 3, which released four albums on Numero Uno: Dies Irae, Formula 3, Sognando e Risognando, and La Grande Casa, the first two produced by Lucio Battisti, who wrote most of their material with lyricist Mogol.

During his time with Formula 3, Radius developed as a guitarist and writer; co-composing three of the Sognando e Risognando suites: “L’Ultima Foglia,” “L’Ultima Foglia,” and “Aeternum.”

Between the third and fourth Formula 3 albums, Radius debuted as a solo artist with the 1972 Numero Uno release Radius. It features six originals: two short cuts (“Radius,” “Prima e Dopo la Scatola”), three mediums (“Rock N. 1,” “To the Moon I’m Going,” “Il Mio Cane si Chiama Zenone'”), and the 10-minute “Area.” The last of those is one of two tracks with keyboardist Demetrio Stratos, who soon started jazz-rockers Area.

When Formula 3 folded in 1973, Radius and Lorenzi formed Il Volo with guitarist/singer Mario Lavezzi, bassist Roberto Callero (Osage Tribe), keyboardist Gianni Dall’Aglio (Dall’Aglio), and keyboardist/arranger Vince Tempera (The Psycheground Group). They released two 1974/75 albums on Numero Uno: Il Volo and Essere o Non Essere?

Discography: