1992 - 2001: Formation and the first years

The story begins in 1992, when Erriquez had left Vidia and Finaz was studying at the University of Pisa and was a musician. The two shared some collaborations with Litfiba and from there they met, even if they were not yet friends at the time.

One day Gianni Maroccolo had called them both to work on Andrea Chimenti's album and summer tour, Erriquez would have played the acoustic guitar and would have been the backing vocalist while Finaz would have played the electric guitar.

The two got on so well that Erriquez suggests that they form a group in the Mano Negra style but with the acoustic part amplified, without renouncing the rock style. At first Finaz was uncertain but after attending a Les VRP concert he decides to accept Erriquez's offer. Soon Don Bachi on bass, Nuto on drums, Orla on second guitar and Paolino on percussion join the band.

Bandabardò was born on March 8, 1993, in a rehearsal room in Sesto Fiorentino, the name is a tribute to Brigitte Bardot.

The newborn band begins a tour in Italy and France playing in clubs and also on the street.

The first concert was at the Ark of Follonica, on stilts, with super guests Litfiba for the aftershow, the following evening they would play in Prato, the problem is that before calling themselves bandabardò the group had already set the date before that of Follonica, so for that evening they perform as W Fernandez.

In 1994 the band created its first EP entitled La BandaBardò, a CD of 4 songs that we will find in the second album of the group (with the exception of Ho la testa), created for purely promotional purposes, for this choice the manager of the time, Natalie Chaineux decides to abandon the project as he did not approve of the idea of self-production.

The first album, Il circo mangione, was released on June 4, 1996, with the independent label Cockney Music, achieved great success, also winning the Ciampi Award for best debut album, even if the critics often ignored them. The album sees the participation of Piero Pelù who does the backing vocals in the song W Fernandez.

Between 1996 and 1997 the band began to collaborate with the booking agency OTR (On the road) and to have Francesco Barbaro as their manager, in August of the same year the band should have gone to Rimini to participate in the Match festival Music (filmed on satellite channel), but due to a car accident the band lost the date, there was no damage but the fake news of the bass player's death began to spread.

Success is confirmed with the second album, Iniziali Bì-Bì, released on March 31, 1998, with the BMG Ricordi label, and with its single Beppeanna with which the band manages to gain fame, the video clip was broadcast on Videomusic

This second album, according to the band itself, best represents their live sounds with an acoustic and songwriting sound and with guests such as Cisco and Stefano Bollani.

In 1999 a limited edition live album, Barbaro tour, was released, much appreciated by critics, who at the time did not look favorably on live albums.

However, things were not going very well, the band continued to be constantly ignored by the Italian musical environment and therefore they decided to leave OTR and go to Mescal.

On January 28, 2000, the third album, Mojito Football Club, was released on the BMG Ricordi label, appreciated both by critics, thanks to its acoustic sounds but with a small tendency towards electronics and rock, and by last-minute fans , but not by those who followed them from the beginning for their change of style.

The official video clip of Vento in faccia was broadcast on TMC 2, but unfortunately BMG Ricordi decides to fire the band just two months after the release of the album and leaving the band members disheartened by Mescal.

At that point the band split into three parts, on one side there was Erriquez who wanted to stay in Mescal while on the other there were Finaz, Nuto and Paolino who wanted to go back to OTR instead, and finally Don Bachi and Orla didn't they had a precise position, thus creating a strong commotion and furious quarrels among the band members, even Finaz thought of abandoning the group.

Eventually though, after nearly three months of arguing the band members decide to stop arguing and Erriquez chooses to take a step back and accept the idea of returning to OTR.

It is therefore decided to restart, the concerts of the autumn period of the Mojito F.C. Tour are recorded. Tour, moreover a new unpublished, Manifesto is written, the problem is that by now the band lacked a record label again, and nobody was willing to take them after the dismissal from Ricordi, so the manager Francesco Barbaro made sure that the OTR would be also become a label, as well as a booking agency, relying on Venus Distribuzioni.

In 2001 the second live album Se mi rilasso... collasso was released, considered by the critics one of the few live albums worth listening to, since the band has made its concerts its battlefield, is in absolute best selling album of the band.

In the same year the band was invited to the Enzimi Festival in Rome to pay homage to Rino Gaetano together with Raiz, Max Gazzè, Paola Turci, Roberto Angelini, Sergio Cammariere and many others, the festival registered around 40,000 people.

2002-2003: Bondo! Bondo!

On September 6, 2002, the band released Bondo! Bondo! produced by Gianluca Vaccaro, his single Sette sono i re is broadcast on RaiStereoDue, obtains international success with a European tour in Spain, France and Switzerland.

It has a different style from the previous ones, a genre tending towards light rock and sees the collaboration with Max Gazzè; is highly praised by both fans and critics as it is considered the most elaborate and complex album of their career. It contains a strong political criticism of Silvio Berlusconi.

Seventh place among the best-selling records in Italy in the FIMI ranking.

In the same year the band plays at the Concerto del Primo Maggio for the first time in their career, with guest Paola Turci.

After Paolino's exit from the group, who will accompany Piero Pelù, on the summer tour Bondo! Bondo! Tour of 2002 Ugo Nativi of Malfunk takes turns on percussion, performing on MTV's Brand New Tour.

From 2003 he joined the Ramón line-up, on wind instruments and percussion.

Also in the same year the band performed at MTV Day 2003.

2004-2005: Tre passi avanti

The next album, Tre passi avanti, was released on April 25, 2004, produced by Carlo Rossi, a meaner album than the previous ones according to Erriquez himself, in the album we can hear Spanish and Cuban sounds thanks to Ramon's influence.

The photographic set for the cover was set up in the Pettini’s park in Florence, however Ramon is missing from the cover as he is in Rome.

In the same year the autobiography of the Banda was published, written with Massimo Cotto and entitled Vento in faccia, from the song of the same name (published by Arcana). Wind in the face is also the title of the DVD which contains the opening concert of the Three Steps Forward Tour, in Florence, as well as backstage shots and messages from the fans.

In the same year the band plays at the May Day Concert always having Paola Turci as a guest.

2006-2010: The golden years

In 2006 the band played at the Concerto del Primo Maggio, presented by Claudio Bisio.

September 1st 2006 marks the recording comeback of the Florentine band with the collection Fuori Orario which, surprisingly, receives excellent feedback: first in the charts of independent outlets and seventh in the large chains, after listening to a concert by the Band during one of his trips European, Mutsumi Kuboutchi, artistic director of Vivid Sound, one of the major Japanese independent labels, becomes a fan of the bandabardò and decides to publish their records and the collection Fuori Orario in Japan as well (the publication of the other albums will soon follow), but they will also be released in Canada.

In the same year the band performed on Rock TV live from the Rolling Stone in Milan.

In 2007 the band performs once again at the May Day Concert together with the Bandão.

Ottavio was released on September 5, 2008, for On the road, after the Tour in Canada.

A concept album that narrates Ottavio's love story in a tragicomic style, recalling new sounds and a more theatrical style and Combat folk, with influences from Tarantelle, country music, ballads and rock.

The album includes a CD of 14 tracks and a DVD, in which Bandabardò tells the story of the birth of the project, backstage, special guests, writing and finishing the lyrics and music to then get to the realization of the disc.

Appreciated by fans and critics both for its sound and for its complexity, but also for the collaborations with Tonino Carotone and Stefano Bollani, the album enters the top ten sales at the time of release and wins the Pimi Prize, and the Siae award for best independent album of the year.

In 2008 the Ottavio in Tour starts, thanks to a theatrical concept album the band will be able to perform in theaters in Rome, Naples, Florence and Bologna, with them there will be Clemente Ferrari on keyboards and accordion.

In 2009 the band plays again at the Concerto del Primo Maggio, this time with Tonino Carotone as a guest for his feat. in the single Child.

On April 29, 2010, Allegro ma non troppo was released, a special album for the magazine La Repubblica XL with a couple of unreleased songs, reinterpretations (made with Goran Bregović) and live.

In the same year Sette x uno was released, an album for the Save the Children campaign in collaboration with Dario Fo, David Riondino, Giobbe Covatta, Ascanio Celestini, Davide Enia and Enzo Iacchetti.

2011-2012: Scaccianuvole

On May 3, 2011, after 3 years, a new album of unreleased songs, Scaccianuvole, is released, an album that according to Erriquez himself is very reminiscent of the style of a vintage record, in fact the idea was precisely to give the feeling of being listening a vinyl from another time.

The novelty is that unlike other years and the independent spirit of the band, this time the record had been licensed to Universal Music Group, despite this it was the least promoted and least sold album in the entire history of the band, according to the itself this was a hurried album, a real misstep, both due to the absence of Ramon (who played with Daniele Silvestri at that time) and due to the not exactly happy historical period at the musical level (at the arrival of the streaming and piracy) and political.

Compared to the other albums, this is considered by the critics a more melancholy album but with sounds now familiar to the band, less enthusiasm from the fans than usual.

That same year the band was invited to play the Francofolies Festival in France and the Luminato Festival in Toronto.

From there the Scaccianuvole Tour starts, concluded in 2012, in the summer period the bandabardò does not have Ramon with it, but two temporary components are added on stage, Alberto Becucci on the accordion and Rocco Brunori on trumpet and percussion, who will give the band a more francophone.

To kick off the summer tour, the band plays at the May Day Concert, with guest Peppe Voltarelli, where they will also play the song Come i Beatles to present the album.

The winter period, on the other hand, is marked by the return of Ramon and the desire to add a keyboardist to the group, Federico Pacini, pianist from Quarrata, who had already played in the past with Orla and Nuto, so he is contacted by Finaz and becomes an official member of the band , known by the stage name of Pacio.

At the end of the tour the band decides to take a few years off from new songs.

On April 25 the show Itis Galileo was broadcast on LA7, Erriquez and Finaz had composed the final theme song.

2013-2016: L’improbabile

2013 was for the band the year of break from concerts and tours, the only public performance of that year was at the Giffoni Film Festival.

During this time Erriquez dedicated himself to producing and collaborating with other bands and singers including I Matti delle Giuncaie, Fabrizio Pocci and l'Orage, while Finaz dedicated himself to his solo career releasing his first album Guitar Solo, as well as also dedicating himself to the production of groups such as Folkabbestia, the Ratti della Sabina and Peppe Voltarelli.

Don Bachi instead enters the Mozait with which they create their first album Pure Water, Orla instead writes the book The Rolling Stones (Futura editor, 2013) together with his friend Luca Remagi.

After a year the band reunites and Erriquez and Finaz go alone to the Free University of Alcatraz to start writing their new album.

On May 27, 2014, The improbable was released, the first in their history made for a major label, Warner Music Group, which sparked a lot of controversy among fans since the group has always decided to remain independent.

Erriquez himself (together with Orla) has explained several times that the album was completed before the collaboration between them and the major and that the choice was above all to facilitate the possibility of buying the album on the market, compared to previous albums which were now out of production and difficult to find.

Unlike the previous albums, this one deviates from the typical sound of the band, thus going to look for new styles, texts with phrases said in everyday life, on the street, among books, in the midst of interviews, according to the singer and guitarist year off was like opening the window in a room that smelled stale.

The first single is E allora il cuore, in which the guest-star Alessandra Contini, singer-bassist of Il Genio participates, in addition to this there is the collaboration with the rapper G-Max in the first song of the album, and the text of La selezione naturale written with Francesco Gazzè.

In 2016 the band created the soundtrack for the film L'Universale, by Federico Micali, which comes out in theaters in April.

On April 27, 2016, a reinterpretation of the song Lo sciopero del sole was released, in collaboration with the Gaudats Junk Band, this time the bandabardò decided to promote the recycling initiative, since the Gaudats Junk Band built its own instruments with waste taken from a landfill (old pipes, wine boxes, flip flops etc).

The band also performs at the May Day Concert, with the Gaudats Junk Band as a guest, where they will play their new single, and with an invitation from Erriquez to the whole audience: "Let's throw away a little less, recycle, reuse, we reuse".

In the same year the bandabardò made another European tour, called Lo sciopero del sole Tour, with stops in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels and Esch-sur-Alzette (as well as many other dates throughout Italy).

2017-2018: 25th Tour

After the BB Tour 2017, on December 27 the bandabardò is a guest on the 33 Giri program of Sky Arte, for the episode dedicated to Rino Gaetano.

In 2018 the bandabardò celebrates 25 years of activity, and it does so with the 25th Tour which started on 9 June 2018 in Bruno (Bs), among the wishes of many artists and concerts in places such as the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.

In the same year she won the De Andrè Prize for the best reinterpretation of the song Un judge.

During the 25th Tour the band strongly and publicly criticized the work of the then interior minister Matteo Salvini.

On 29 June 2018 a new version of Beppeanna was released, entitled Se mi rilasso collasso, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the birth of the band, the song sees the participation of Stefano Bollani, Caparezza, Carmen Consoli, Daniele Silvestri and Max Gazzè.

On 7 December 2018 at the Nelson Mandela Forum, the band celebrates its twenty-five years with a great concert full of guests: Max Gazzè, Carmen Consoli, Tonino Carotone, Modena City Ramblers with Cisco and Piero Pelù.

The event registered around 7,000 people, nearly sold out.

2019-2021: The last tour with Erriquez

On March 7, 2019, the single Zobi la mouche was released, the cover of a song by Les Négresses Vertes and sung right during the party on December 7 at the Nelson Mandela Forum, together with the single a video clip was released which takes up precisely the evening of that concert.

Bandabardò's last tour with Erriquez was the BB Tour 2019 which started on April 27 in Posada and finished on October 11 in Schilpario, in this same year the band announces that with the money from the concert in Chiasso (December 2018) it was built and opened a well in Vietnam that was named after them.

On 23 August 2019 in Verbicaro (Cosenza) they received the Riccio d'Argento of Fatti di Musica in the Best Italian Band section, the thirty-third edition of the festival of the best author's live directed by Ruggero Pegna.

During the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 the bandabardò played in Giulianova, in Scandicci for the New Year's Eve and at the Ice Music Festival, where the band played ice instruments, on January 19, 2020, the bandabardò plays in Bologna for the sardine show.

Due to Covid, the charity concert at the Puccini Theater in Florence was canceled, from there the bandabardò entered a concert break performing live during the Casa Seat show (Barcelona).

In the meantime, the bandabardò publishes reinterpretations of two historical songs played live, namely Manifesto and Passerà la notte, publishing the videos on their social networks on April 25 and May 1st.

Towards the summer of 2020 Erriquez and Finaz form the Duo Fernandez, to be able to give intimate and safe concerts around Italy with the Duo Fernandez Tour.

Their last public performance was at Controradio (Florence), at the Rock contest, where they played Balla ancora and Lo sciopero del sole, this was Erriquez's last public appearance.

2021-2022: Erriquez's death

On February 14, 2021, Erriquez, the voice of the group, died of an incurable disease, his manager Francesco Barbaro communicated it.

On social media, the band releases the news with the singer's farewell letter.

The news comes unexpectedly as the singer decides not to reveal his illness to anyone except his closest friends and family members, many singers and artists greet and thank Erriquez for his legacy and friendship, including Jovanotti, Piero Pelù, Carmen Consoli, Caparezza, Negrita and Paola Turci.

At the 2021 Sanremo Festival Roy Paci made a great dedication to Erriquez, putting on a t-shirt depicting his face and symbolically taking the stage with him, subsequently further t-shirts with Erriquez's face were put on sale to make scholarships for a Music Camp dedicated to him held in Sicily.

The bandabardò Fan Club raised €21,207.00 an amount that was donated to the Tuscany cancer association, by selling a white T-shirt depicting Erriquez.

During the concert on May 1, 2021, Finaz, Max Gazzè, Piero Pelù and Daniele Silvestri make a dedication to Erriquez singing Beppeanna.

In his new album The mathematics of the branches, Max Gazzè makes a dedication to Erriquez, the same thing Cisco does with his album Songs from the attic.

Carmen Consoli and Piero Pelù have several times during their concerts invited the bandabardò to play with them or in any case have made dedications to the singer.

The Modena City Ramblers for their tour sang the song Beppeanna several times in memory of the artist.

The Tuscany region with the European Social Fund announces the Enrigo Greppi "Erriquez" prize at the Controradio Rock Contest, the prize will be given to the text that stands out for its positive values and social commitment, in continuity with the artistic production and human charge transmitted by Erriquez throughout his life.

Propaganda Live with his orchestra (of which Ramon himself is a member as percussionist) makes a dedication to the band and to Erriquez singing and playing Manifesto.

Shortly after Erriquez's death, Finaz was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine where he told the story of the bandabardo and his experience with the poet, also confirming that the band has no intention of breaking up.

Rolling Stone itself has dedicated an article to the band and to Erriquez, where it is told why they have been so appreciated (and defining them with the potential of hand grenades for live performances).

2022-2023: Non fa paura (bandabardò & Cisco)

A year after Erriquez's death, the band communicates its intention to continue its activity by announcing a collaboration with Cisco (former singer of the Modena City Ramblers) on its social networks. On 10 April 2022 Il Fatto Quotidiano aroused various controversies due to its newspaper headline "La Bandabardò has a new leader, Cisco (from Modena)" and the gang members and the singer-songwriter defined this gesture as inopportune and totally inadequate, explaining that Cisco is not the leader of the gang and that it is an equal and friend collaboration for the 2022 tour, apologizing to readers for any misunderstandings.

On May 20, 2022, Non fa paura was released, the new album in collaboration with Cisco. The album is presented with a small preview at the Concert on May 1, 2022, and then officially released with concerts at the Feltrinelli bookshops in Rome and Florence. Together with the album, the Non fa scara Tour was born, which started from the beginning of May and ended in September.

Guitarist Finaz has repeatedly stressed in various interviews that this is not a replacement but a temporary collaboration. Cisco himself reiterated that after the Non fa paura Tour their paths will split and that he will not replace Erriquez in the interview done in Corriere della Sera.

The band and Cisco performed throughout Italy inviting various guests such as Gerardo Carmine Gargiulo, Daniele Silvestri and Enzo Iacchetti, also performing in Milan at the Radio Popolare event, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, making a large gathering of the Fan Club at Taneto's Fuori Orario, invited to Rai Radio 2 Social Club for an episode and an interview. The last concerts of the tour were in Sardinia, at the Parco della Musica (Cagliari) and in Alghero.

After the tour the band and Cisco received the "Pierangelo Bertoli" award together with Francesco Gabbani, Irene Grandi and Roberto Vecchioni in Modena.

On December 14, 2022, Bandabardò and Cisco announced the continuation of the Non fa paura Tour, which starts again in 2023.

The tour, full of Sold Outs, begins at The Cage in Livorno and then stops in Taranto, Bologna, Rome, etc., and then ends at the Tuscany Hall in Florence on April 19 with a big party/concert, where the band and Cisco leave a space for the workers of the GKN (company) of Florence to talk about their working situation.

Despite this, the last effective date of the tour is April 25 with a double concert, one Gattatico, more precisely at Casa Cervi, with Vinicio Capossela, Lo Stato Sociale and Mara Redeghieri (where this year there were over 15,000 people) and one in Genoa, with the promise of a goodbye.

The concert for Erriquez

The municipality of Florence has decided to name the Florentine summer 2022 after Erriquez and, at the same time, to organize a special free event dedicated to him, entitled Three steps forward and held on May 27 at the Cascine Amphitheater (the Ultravox of Florence) , with various guests: Cisco, Giobbe Covatta, Carmen Consoli, Ginevra Di Marco, Jacopo Fo, Folcast, Enzo Iacchetti, Max Gazzè, Gabriella Martinelli, Mirkoeilcane, Erica Mou, Negrita, Saverio Tommasi, Paola Turci, Piero Pelù, plus the special intervention by Rocco Greppi and Jacopo Finazzo (the sons of Erriquez and Finaz).

The event sold out in less than a day.

Furthermore, the Tuscany Hall in Florence decides to create a plaque dedicated to Erriquez and the bandabardò, organizing an inauguration event.

2023-Present: The new book

March 8, 2023, marks the 30-year career of the bandabardò, to celebrate the event a new book entitled se mi rilasso collasso edited by Baldini+Castoldi is published, the book was presented at the LaFeltrinelli bookstores in Florence, Rome and Milan.

After the definitive end of the Non fa scared Tour, the band presents two new projects for the summer of 2023, one is called Book played, it is the presentation of the book through a series of concerts around Italy (the band itself has defined this not like a tour) in reduced formation: Finaz, Orla, Don Bachi and Nuto, to be able to relive and tell the story from 1993.

The second project is called Migrazioni sonore and is an artistic project in collaboration with Cisco, Giobbe Covatta, Radio Lausberg and Marco Calliari.

It consists of a tour between France and Canada for the presentation of the band's book and to tell their 30-year history, to then finish on June 23 at the Cittadella Nuova (in Pisa) for a great event.