Veteran Italian band Pooh was formed in Bologna in 1966. Shortly after forming, Pooh released their debut studio album, “Per quelli come noi,” in 1966. Throughout the late 1960s, the band rose to fame in the Italian pop scene, and after they established their fame in Italy, they quickly spread their music all around the world. During the late ’60s, the group featured Roby Facchinetti, Valerio Negrini, Dodi Battaglia, and Riccardo Fogli, but after Negrini left in 1971, the band recruited guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Red Canzian, plus drummer Stefano D’Orazio to replace Negrini. They began a long run as one of the best and most popular Italian rock bands of their time, selling over 100 million records during the course of their career with progressive rock hits “Parsifal”, “Dove comincia il sole”, and “Odissey”.
Throughout the years the band earned numerous charting and social achievements, including several gold singles and winning the 1990 Festival of Sanremo with the hit Uomini soli. They celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2006 on stage with another collection of her successful songs and a new tour across Italy, but just a few years later in 2009 Stefano D’Orazio announced that he would leave the band after 38 years.
Pooh’s 50th anniversary year, 2016, began with the band performing on the stage of the Sanremo Festival for the first time in a decade, and a prime-time TV special dedicated to the history of group. A series of extraordinary successes would follow; 7 sold out stadium shows lead up to a long successful tour in the sports halls of the main Italian cities.The historic band faced the last concerts in December of that year, a last long embrace that crossed all of Italy and which officially ended with a last concert in Bologna, before their farewell to the stage.
On 6 November, 2020 Stefano D’Orazio, the band’s historic drummer, passed away from Covid-19 complications. Band mates Red and Riccardo shared their thoughts “We have lost a brother, a life partner, the witness of many important moments, but above all, all of us, we have lost a good person, honest first of all with ourselves. Let’s pray for him. Hi Stefano, our friend forever … “.
