It seemed over; LITFIBA had also announced their farewell, complete with a career-ending concert on 22 December 2022 (Read the review here). But then, as happens to many, the farewell turned into a goodbye and so the Florentine band returns to the live scene for a tour that will see them on Italian stages throughout the summer.
The occasion is to celebrate 40 years of “17 kings“, their second double studio album which appeared on the market in December 1986. The band of the time also reunited for the occasion: Piero Pelù (vocals and lyrics), Ghigo Renzulli (guitar), Antonio Aiazzi (keyboards) and Gianni Maroccolo (bass). Unfortunately Ringo De Palma was absent on drums and passed away in 1990 (Luca Martelli replaced him).
Upon release the album contained 16 tracks, one, the tittle track, was left out of the album. On the occasion of the celebration tour, Litfiba re-propose that song (out Friday 17 April) in a new version.
But the “heart” of the celebrations of the album's 40th anniversary lies in a tour that will start on June 27th from Perugia and end, after 20 dates, in Bellaria Igea Marina on August 15th 2026. To anticipate everything, participation in the Concertone on May 1st in Rome
Andrea Pieroni, manager of Mc2 Live – the agency that organizes the tour – tells how this idea was born and how it is not cloaked in nostalgia
The idea of celebrating one of the most important records in Italian rock – he explains – came from the tour: we started talking about it last September and immediately found everyone's enthusiasm. We didn't want to do a nostalgic or commercial operation. If that had been the objective, we could have drawn from many other repertoires. Instead we chose 17 Re because it is a fundamental album, almost the cornerstone of Italian rock of the 80s and 90s. It's amazing how relevant it still sounds today.”
Here is the interview with the entire band who talked about the past and present of the album and the tour starting from the new (powerful and updated) single coming out.
THE INTERVIEW
What does the new version of “17 Kings” add compared to the past?
Piero Pelù
It's a song that comes from a song never released at the time. We kept some melodies and harmonic parts, but everything changed: rhythm, groove, spirit. We had already tried it years ago without success. Today we finally found the right version. It's not nostalgia, it's an evolution. The song was then left off the album because no one liked it. This version, however, arrived at the right time.
Lyrically, what does “17 Kings” mean today?
Piero Pelù
It is part of our “trilogy of the victims of power”. The political and social theme has always been central for us. Today more than ever, with wars and abuses of power all over the world, these issues become relevant again. We feel the duty to take the side of the victims.
How was it to find you together again after so many years?
Ghigo:
We hadn't played in this lineup for 13 years. It was a beautiful déjà vu: we shared a lot, for better or for worse. Getting back to playing together is natural and very exciting.
How do you work on songs today compared to the past?
Antonio Aiazzi
We found a spontaneous balance in the roles. Everyone does what they do best: lyrics, melodies, arrangements. Without telling ourselves, we have returned to a working method that already worked in the best years.
What motivates you as a band today?
Gianni Maroccolo
The joy of playing together. First of all there is the human and musical pleasure of sharing music with people we love. Everything else comes later.Piero Pelù
But we're back to experiencing those useful clashes, which make the things that accompanied us for that album and for a good part of our career progress.
Why does rock struggle to speak to young people today?
Piero Pelù:
It's a complex issue. Today's young people experience much greater difficulties than in the 1980s. They have fewer opportunities and more uncertainties. It's not just social media's fault: in fact, the internet can also be a useful tool. We were luckier, we lived in a freer era full of possibilities.Ghigo
But we also had a much greater desire to rebel
What will happen after this tour?
Piero Pelù:
We don't know. We live day by day… or rather, by the hour! (laughs). We'll see what happens.
How would you define the album today 17 Kings with one word?
Piero Pelù
“Inexplicable.”
It's a complex record, difficult to play live at the time. Today the challenge is to bring it entirely to the stage. And it's surprising how relevant the lyrics are still.This time we will re-propose it in full, we are working hard to be able to do it, to rearrange it, but in the end we will make it. Few of those songs have entered the concert setlists in a stable manner over time.
Antonio Aiazzi
I bought back the keyboards I used at the time, which were fine for studio work but to take this album live I have to work on them a lot.
When it came out, the album wasn't understood and it wasn't a success, it became one over time. Is proposing it again and playing it again now also a revenge?
Piero Pelù:
Yes. At the time it was criticized and sold poorly. It also received a lot of criticism, the only one who spoke well of it was Federico Guglielmi in “Il Mucchio Selvaggio”. But over time it has become a cult album and for what it deals with it is a very timely album, especially in this latest period. This tour is also a way to give him the recognition he deserves.Gianni Maroccolo
That record was also released in France because we were really famous there…
Piero Pelù
In fact we were more Litfibà than Litfiba (Laughs)
Gianni Maroccolo
… this was thanks to an intuition of Piero who said that we had to go and play in Europe, he said it instinctively, without any planning, it was just a “vision”. But at the time we did 50 percent of the concerts in France, the rest in Italy and other European countries
Piero Pelù
“17 Kings” even premiered in Melbourne, Australia in December 1986 with an incredible showcase. Imagine how we were?!?!?
You will be at the May Day Concert: will you open or close?
Piero Pelù
We will be in the heart of May Day…. and real live, without signal repetition delays….
Interview by Luca Trambusti for musicadalpalco.com
THE TEXT OF THE SONG
Seventeen kings… closed in a painting
Where light…generates monsters
Seventeen kings…old theater
Of war and peace…their new video game…
Shah-mat…
A man is lost without his story
and I don't want to forget
Shah-mat…
A man is lost without his memory
and I don't want to forget…
oh no oh no…
that time is mine…mine…mine…mine…mine
Seventeen kings…total control
and drones and swords…and their armies of lackeys
Seventeen kings…want blood
to make us love…the pig king!
A man is lost without his story
and I don't want to forget…
Shah-mat…
Shahmat
A man is lost without his memory
and I don't want to forget…
oh no oh no
that time is mine..mine…mine…mine…mine
Shah-mat…
seventeen, seventeen
seventeen puppet kings…
Seventeen, seventeen
seventeen puppet kings…
a man is lost without his story
and I don't want to forget oh no oh no
seventeen puppet kings!
You hear the applause, so much applause
how many bows and cheers
everyone winning and involved
self-acquitted…freedom!
the orange man is the boss
and sodomizes… the truth…
Shah-mat…
THE DATES
June 27 | Perugia @ Umbria Che Spacca Festival
June 30 | Padua @ Sherwood Festival
02 July | Bari @ Fiera del Levante
04 July | Pescara @ Terrasound Festival, Tourist Port
07 July | Milan @ Kozel Carroponte
09 July | Villafranca (VR) @ Villafranca Festival 2026, Scaligero Castle
July 11 | Asti @ AstiMusica, Piazza Alfieri
July 14 | Genoa @ Altraonda Festival
July 16 | Rome @ Rock in Rome, Capannelle Hippodrome
July 18 | Servigliano (FM) @ NoSound Fest, Peace Park
July 21 | Bologna @ Sequoie Music Park
July 23 | Florence @ Prato delle Cornacchie
July 25 | Cosenza @ Rendano Arena, Piazza XV Marzo
July 28 | Naples @ Arena Flegrea
01 August | Alghero @ Alguer Summer Festival, Ivan Graziani Amphitheater
04 August | Catania @ Villa Bellini
07 August | Melpignano (LE) @ Six Festival, Piazza Avantaggiato
August 11 | Palmanova (UD) @ Summer of Stars, Piazza Grande
August 13 | Forte dei Marmi (LU) @ Villa Bertelli Live
August 15 | Bellaria Igea Marina (RN) @ Beky Bay
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