Velvet (Italian Boy Band)

Formed in Rome in 1998, the Italian rock band Velvet drew its initial inspiration from Britpop, uniting Giancarlo Cornetta on drums, Pier Luigi Ferrantini on voice and guitar, Alessandro Sgreccia on guitar, and Pierfrancesco Bazzoffi on bass. Their debut single “Tokyo Eyes” surfaced during summer 2000, and the following year the group appeared at the San Remo Festival with “Nascosto Dietro un Vetro.” Both tracks appeared on the EMI debut Versomarte, which also contained the major hit “Boyband,” a satirical commentary on the manufactured boy-band phenomenon. Momentum carried into the 2002 album Cose Comuni, which featured a celebrated cover of Edoardo Bennato’s “Una Settimana, un Giorno.” Summer 2003 found Velvet supporting major pop acts such as Simply Red, Macy Gray, Craig David, and Alanis Morissette. The release 10 Motivi arrived in 2004; a revised edition followed in 2005 and added “Dovevo Dirti Molte Cose,” the song presented at that year’s San Remo Festival. A live album appeared in 2006, the same year the band—by then among Italy’s most successful pop acts—performed at the Rome Live 8 concert on July 2. Their final album, simply titled Velvet, was issued in March 2007.