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Raf (singer)
Italian singer-songwriter (born 1959)
Italian singer-songwriter (born 1959)
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| name | Raf | |
| image | Raffaele Riefoli.jpg | |
| caption | Raf in concert in 2006 | |
| background | solo_singer | |
| birth_name | Raffaele Riefoli | |
| alias | Raff | |
| birth_date | ||
| origin | Margherita di Savoia, Apulia, Italy | |
| instrument | {{flatlist | |
| genre | {{flatlist | |
| occupation | Singer-songwriter | |
| years_active | 1983–present | |
| label | {{flatlist | |
| website |
- Vocals
- guitar
- Pop rock
- soft rock
- new wave
- Italo disco (early work)
- jazz fusion
- Carrere
- East West
- Columbia
Raffaele Riefoli (born 29 September 1959), known as simply Raf, is an Italian singer-songwriter. He first became known in the early 1980s as a singer of Italo disco and as original singer and co-author of the hit "Self Control". He has turned to Italian-language music since the late 1980s and had further hits in his home country.
Biography
Riefoli lived the few first years of the 1980s in London, before starting out his musical career in 1984, landing mostly in the new wave scene with his English language debut album, Raf. His first single, "Self Control", which he co-wrote with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo, was a huge hit not only in his native Italy but also in Austria (No. 7), Switzerland (No. 1) and Germany, where the single climbed as high as No. 2 in the Media Control single chart and spent a total of seven weeks within the Top 10. Raf's version of the song also managed to enter the Top-40 in France.
"Self Control" was recorded and released contemporaneously by American pop star Laura Branigan, previously best known for the hit singles "Gloria" (another cover version originally released by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi) and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". Branigan's version was released as the first single off her 1984 album, also titled Self Control, and became a worldwide dance and pop success, hitting No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. Branigan's version hit the No. 1 spot in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa and Canada, and was a major hit in Ireland, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Raf's version, which was charting high in numerous markets in 1984/85, was highly expected to become the most popular song in the history of the Italian music industry.
Other English-language singles from Raf, "Change Your Mind", "London Town" and "Hard", were not as successful, and after an unsuccessful 1987 re-release of his first album with two of these songs as bonus tracks, Riefoli began to transition from the new wave/dance-pop genre into a softer pop style featuring vocals in his native language. Raf has released 11 studio albums throughout the years, including the 1993 Cannibali, which has been certified six times platinum in Italy. That album contains many successful tracks including "Il battito animale", "Due" and "Stai con me".
Riefoli has also written songs for other Italian artists; the track "Si può dare di più", written for the trio Morandi–Ruggeri–Tozzi, won the first prize at the Sanremo Music Festival 1984. Riefoli co-wrote the song "Gente di mare" with Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and his duet with Tozzi became Italy's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, placing third. The recording was a top ten hit in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden.
In the German-speaking territories, where the West German Red Army Faction, listed as a terrorist cell, was popularly known by the acronym RAF, Riefoli was marketed as Raff, with a second "f". In the intervening years, a number of other artists including German and Italian artists unaffiliated with Riefoli have made recordings under the names Raf, RAF or R.A.F.
Raf continues to have a successful recording career in Italy with his latest studio albums, Metamorfosi (2008), Numeri (2011) and Le ragioni del cuore (2012), reaching No. 4, No. 6 and No. 13 respectively in the Italian album charts.
On 30 November 2025, he was announced among the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2026. He will compete with the song "Ora e per sempre".
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ITA | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak positions for Italy's studio albums: | SUI | |||||||||||||||||
| Raf | Self Control | Svegliarsi un anno fa | Cosa resterà... | Sogni ...è tutto quello che c'è | Cannibali | Manifesto | La prova | Iperbole | Ouch | Passeggeri distratti | Metamorfosi | Numeri | Sono io | |||||
| — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 17 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. |
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ITA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak positions for Italy's compilation albums: | Collezione temporanea | Le ragioni del cuore | Raf Tozzi | ||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 24 |
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ITA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundview | Due, la nostra storia | ||||
| 29 | |||||
| 47 |
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ITA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For peaks positions in Italy: | AUT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FRA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GER | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SUI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Self Control" | "I Don't Want to Lose You" | "Change Your Mind" | "Hard" | "London Town" | "Inevitabile follia" | "Svegliarsi un anno fa" | "La Battaglia del sesso" | "Cosa resterà degli anni '80" | "Ti pretendo" | "E' meglio così " | "Interminatamente" | "Oggi un dio non-ho" | "Senza respiro" | "Siamo soli nell'immenso vuoto che c'è" | "Anche tu"(Raf featuring Eros Ramazzotti) | "Il Battito animale" | "Cannibali" | "Il Canto" | "Due" | "Stai con me" | "Dentro ai tuoi occhi" | "Il Suono c'è" | "Un Grande salto" | "Lava" | "La Danza della pioggia" | "Infinito" | "Via" | "In tutti i miei giorni" | "Superstiti" | "Dimentica" | "Passeggeri distratti" | "Ossigeno" | "Non è mai un errore" | "Ballo" | "Per tutto il tempo" | "Un'emozione inaspettata" | "Le ragioni del cuore" | "Show Me the Way to Heaven" | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Raf vs. F-Clef) | "Come una favola" | "Rimani tu" | "Eclissi totale" | "Arcobaleni" | "Come una danza" feat Umberto Tozzi | "Samurai" con D'art | "Liberi" con Danti e Fabio Rovazzi | "Cherie" | "80 voglia di te" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 2 | 1 | Raf | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | 36 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | — | — | 19 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | 32 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | 10 | — | — | — | — | Svegliarsi un anno fa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | — | — | — | — | — | Cosa resterà... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | Sogni ...è tutto quello che c'è | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | 4 | — | — | — | — | Cannibali | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | 20 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | — | — | — | — | — | Manifesto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | — | — | — | — | — | Collezione temporanea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | La prova | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 1 | — | — | — | 89 | Iperbole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | 7 | — | — | — | — | Ouch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 4 | — | — | — | — | Passeggeri distratti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 12 | — | — | — | — | Metamorfosi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 47 | — | — | — | — | Soundview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | 28 | — | — | — | — | Numeri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 49 | — | — | — | — | Le ragioni del cuore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 35 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 42 | — | — | — | — | Sono io | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | - | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | - | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | - | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | - | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | - | — | — | — | — | - |
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ITA | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | |||||||||||
| SUI | |||||||||||
| "Gente di mare" | |||||||||||
| (Umberto Tozzi e Raf) | "Tu vivrai" | ||||||||||
| (Pooh, Eros Ramazzotti, Enrico Ruggeri, Raf, Umberto Tozzi) | "Per la gloria" | ||||||||||
| (Mario Lavezzi, Gianni Bella, Riccardo Cocciante, G. Combo, Mango, Raf) | "Mi rubi l'anima" | ||||||||||
| (Laura Pausini featuring Raf) | "Come una danza" | ||||||||||
| (Raf featuring Umberto Tozzi) | |||||||||||
| 1987 | — | — | — | Non-album track | |||||||
| 1990 | — | — | — | Non-album track | |||||||
| 1991 | — | — | — | Non-album track | |||||||
| 1993 | — | — | — | Laura Pausini | |||||||
| 2018 | — | — | — |
Footnotes
--
References
References
- "Raf: Self Control". Hung Medien.
- (October 2010). "CHARTSDEUTSCHLAND: Single Top 100 (25 June 1984)". charts.de.
- "One Hit Wonder: Raff -Self Control". [[Bayerischer Rundfunk]] Online.
- "Raf: Album positions on Italiancharts.com". Hung Meiden.
- (30 November 2025). "Sanremo 2026. Da Tommaso Paradiso a Patty Pravo, Carlo Conti annuncia i nomi dei 30 Big in gara". [[RAI]].
- Dammacco, Beppe. (15 December 2025). "Sanremo 2026: i titoli dei brani in gara. Definite le quattro Nuove Proposte". Eurofestival News.
- "Schweizer Hitparade: Raf". Schwiezer Hitparade Hung Medien.
- "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 2 November 2009 al 2009-11-08)". FIMI.
- "Austriancharts.at: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien.
- "Lescharts.com: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien.
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