Raf (singer)

Raf
Raf
	Raf
Background information
Birth name	Raffaele Riefoli
Also known as	Raf; Raff
Born	September 29, 1959
Origin	Margherita di Savoia, Italy
Genres	Pop rock, soft rock, new wave, Italo disco (early work), jazz fusion
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Carrere, East West, Columbia
Website	Raf Official Site

Raffaele Riefoli (born September 29, 1959 in Margherita di Savoia, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter who is better known as simply Raf.

Biography

Riefoli lived the few first years of the 1980s in London, England, 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)[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.[2] Raf's version of the song also managed to enter the Top-40 in France.[1]

"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.[3]

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 San Remo Festival. 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 German Red Army Faction, a terrorist cell, was popularly known by the acronym RAF, Riefoli was marketed as Raff, with a second "f".[4] 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), Le ragioni del cuore (2012) reaching No. 4, No.6, No. 13 respectively in the Italian album charts.[5]

Discography

Studio albums


Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
Title	Album details	ITA [6]	SWI [7]
Raf	Released: 1984 Label: Carrere Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	—	—
Self Control[lower-alpha 1]	Released: 1987 Label: Carrere Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	—	—
Svegliarsi un anno fa	Released: May 16, 1988 Label: Warner Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	—	—
Cosa resterà...	Released: February 7, 1989 Label: Warner Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	7	—
Sogni ...é tutto quello che c'é	Released: March 1, 1991 Label: Warner Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	6	—
Cannibali	Released: May 1993 Label: East West (Warner) Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	3	—
Manifesto	Released: June 8, 1995 Label: East West (Warner) Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	5	—
La prova	Released: November 19, 1998 Label: East West (Warner) Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	—	—
Iperbole	Released: June 1, 2001 Label: East West (Warner) Formats: Cassette, CD	3	75
Ouch	Released: May 14, 2004 Label: Columbia (Sony BMG) Formats: Cassette, CD	7	90
Passeggeri distratti	Released: May 26, 2006 Label: Columbia (Sony BMG) Formats: CD, Digital Download	3	—
Metamorfosi	Released: September 20, 2008 Label: Columbia (Sony BMG) Formats: CD, Digital Download	4	—
Numeri	Released: May 10, 2011 Label: Colombia (Sony Music) Formats: CD, LP, Digital download	6	—
Le ragioni del cuore	Released: September 15, 2012 Label: Colombia (Sony Music) Formats: CD, Digital download	13	—
Sono io	Released: June 30, 2015 Label: Universal Music Italy Formats: CD, Digital download	7	—
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Compilation albums


Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
Title	Album details	ITA [8]	Certifications
Collezione temporanea	Released: October 3, 1996 Label: Warner Formats: Cassette, CD, LP	5
Tutto Raf: Collezione Definitiva	Released: October 20, 2005 Label: Warner Formats: CD, Cassette	7	FIMI: Gold[9]
Semplicemente Raf: I Grandi Successi	Released: April 7, 2009 Label: Warner, Digital Download Formats: CD	58
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Live albums


Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
Title	Album details	ITA [10]
Soundview	Released: October 30, 2009 Label: Colombia (Sony BMG) Formats: CD, Digital Download	29
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Album
Title	Year	ITA [11]	AUT [12]	FRA [13]	GER [14]	SWI [7]	Album
"Self Control"	1984	1	7	40	2	1	Raf
"I Don't Want to Lose You"	1985	36	—	—	—	—
"Change Your Mind"		18	—	—	19	—
"Hard"		—	—	—	—	—
"London Town"	1987	32	—	—	—	—
"Inevitabile follia"	1988	10	—	—	—	—	Svegliarsi un anno fa
"Svegliarsi un anno fa"	1988	39	—	—	—	—	Svegliarsi un anno fa
"La Battaglia del sesso"	1989	—	—	—	—	—	Cosa resterà...
"Cosa resterà degli anni '80"		6	—	—	—	—
"Ti pretendo"		2	—	—	—	—
"E' meglio così "	1991	—	—	—	—	—	Sogni ...é tutto quello che c'é
"Interminatamente"		3	—	—	—	—
"Oggi un dio non-ho"		3	—	—	—	—
"Senza respiro"		22	—	—	—	—
"Siamo soli nell'immenso vuoto che c'è"		3	—	—	—	—
"Anche tu"(Raf featuring Eros Ramazzotti)		—	—	—	—	—
"Il Battito animale"	1993	4	—	—	—	—	Cannibali
"Cannibali"		—	—	—	—	—
"Il Canto"		—	—	—	—	—
"Due"		5	—	—	—	—
"Stai con me"	1994	20	—	—	—	—
"Dentro ai tuoi occhi"	1995	—	—	—	—	—	Manifesto
"Il Suono c'è"	1995	—	—	—	—	—	Manifesto
"Un Grande salto"	1996	—	—	—	—	—	Collezione temporanea
"Lava"	1998	—	—	—	—	—	La prova
"La Danza della pioggia"	1999	—	—	—	—	—	La prova
"Infinito"	2001	1	—	—	—	89	Iperbole
"Via"	2001	19	—	—	—	—	Iperbole
"In tutti i miei giorni"	2004	7	—	—	—	—	Ouch
"Superstiti"	2004	—	—	—	—	—	Ouch
"Dimentica"	2006	4	—	—	—	—	Passeggeri distratti
"Passeggeri distratti"	2006	23	—	—	—	—	Passeggeri distratti
"Non è mai un errore"	2008	12	—	—	—	—	Metamorfosi
"Ossigeno"	2008	12	—	—	—	—
"Ballo"	2009	—	—	—	—	—
"Per tutto il tempo"	2009	47	—	—	—	—	Soundview
"Un'emozione inaspettata"	2011	28	—	—	—	—	Numeri
"Le ragioni del cuore"	2012	49	—	—	—	—	Le ragioni del cuore
"Show Me the Way to Heaven" (VS. F-Clef)	2014	35	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
Title	Year	ITA [15]	GER [14]	SWI [7]	Album
"Gente di mare" (Umberto Tozzi featuring Raf)	1987	5	39	7	Invisible
"Tu vivrai" (Pooh, Eros Ramazzotti, Enrico Ruggeri, Raf, Umberto Tozzi)	1990	—	—	—	Non-album track
"Per la gloria" (Mario Lavezzi, Gianni Bella, Riccardo Cocciante, G. Combo, Mango, Raf)	1991	—	—	—	Non-album track
"Mi rubi l'anima" (Laura Pausini featuring Raf)	1993	—	—	—	Laura Pausini
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Footnotes

The album Self Control was a re-released version of the 1984 album, Raf. The '87 version contained two new additional songs, "Hard" and "London Town".

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References

"Raf: Self Control". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
"CHARTSDEUTSCHLAND: Single Top 100 (25 June 1984)". charts.de. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
Italy's Self Control in Worldwide Charts Assault. Billboard Magazine. June 24, 1984. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
"One Hit Wonder: Raff -Self Control". Bayerischer Rundfunk Online. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
"Raf: Album positions on Italiancharts.com". Hung Meiden. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
Peak positions for Italy's studio albums:
- For all albums except those listed below: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Cosa resterà...: "Gli album più venduti del 1989". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Sogni ...é tutto quello che c'é: "Gli album più venduti del 1991". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Cannibali: "Gli album più venduti del 1993". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Manifesto: "Gli album più venduti del 1995". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
"Schweizer Hitparade: Raf". Schwiezer Hitparade Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
Peak positions for Italy's compilation albums:
- For Collezione temporanea: "Gli album più venduti del 1996". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Tutto Raf: Collezone Definitiva: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For Semplicemente Raf: I Grandi Successi: "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 44 (dal 27 October 2008 al 2008-11-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
"F.I.M.I.: Certificazioni (Archivio)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved May 23, 2014.Note: To retrieve the certifications, 1) select "Album e Compilation" in the box of "Sezione" 2) type in Raf in the box of "Filtra "3) select "2014" in the box of "Anno" 4
"FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 2 November 2009 al 2009-11-08)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
For peaks positions in Italy:
- For all singles up to the year 2001: "Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singles)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For "Infinito", "Via", "In tutti i miei giorni", "Dimentica", "Passeggeri distratti", "Non è mai un errore", "Ossigeno": "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Singles)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- For "Per tutto il tempo": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 9 November 2009 al 2009-11-15)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- For "Un'emozione inaspettata": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 22 (dal 2011-05-30 al 2011-06-05)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- For "Le ragioni del cuore": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 35 (dal 2012-08-27 al 2012-09-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- For "Show Me the Way to Heaven": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 20 (dal 2014-05-12 al 2014-05-18)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
"Austriancharts.at: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
"Lescharts.com: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
"Charts: Raf (Singes)". Charts.de. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
"Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singes)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

External links

Official Site

Preceded by Romina Power & Al Bano	Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 (with Umberto Tozzi)	Succeeded by Luca Barbarossa

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[A-8] The album Self Control was a re-released version of the 1984 album, Raf. The '87 version contained two new additional songs, "Hard" and "London Town".

[Raf:_Self_Control-1] "Raf: Self Control". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2010.

[CHARTS-DEUTSCHLAND:_Single_Top_100_(1984-06-25)-2] "CHARTSDEUTSCHLAND: Single Top 100 (25 June 1984)". charts.de. Retrieved March 8, 2010.

[Italy's_Self_Control_in_Worldwide_Charts_Assault-3] Italy's Self Control in Worldwide Charts Assault. Billboard Magazine. June 24, 1984. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

[One_Hit_Wonder:_Raff_–_Self_Control-4] "One Hit Wonder: Raff -Self Control". Bayerischer Rundfunk Online. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2010.

[Raf:_Album-positions_on_Italiancharts.com-5] "Raf: Album positions on Italiancharts.com". Hung Meiden. Retrieved March 8, 2010.

[6] Peak positions for Italy's studio albums:
For all albums except those listed below: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Cosa resterà...: "Gli album più venduti del 1989". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Sogni ...é tutto quello che c'é: "Gli album più venduti del 1991". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Cannibali: "Gli album più venduti del 1993". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Manifesto: "Gli album più venduti del 1995". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[8] For all albums except those listed below: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[9] For Cosa resterà...: "Gli album più venduti del 1989". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[10] For Sogni ...é tutto quello che c'é: "Gli album più venduti del 1991". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[11] For Cannibali: "Gli album più venduti del 1993". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[12] For Manifesto: "Gli album più venduti del 1995". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[Swiss_peaks-7] "Schweizer Hitparade: Raf". Schwiezer Hitparade Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2015.

[9] Peak positions for Italy's compilation albums:
For Collezione temporanea: "Gli album più venduti del 1996". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Tutto Raf: Collezone Definitiva: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For Semplicemente Raf: I Grandi Successi: "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 44 (dal 27 October 2008 al 2008-11-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[15] For Collezione temporanea: "Gli album più venduti del 1996". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[16] For Tutto Raf: Collezone Definitiva: "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Albums)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[17] For Semplicemente Raf: I Grandi Successi: "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 44 (dal 27 October 2008 al 2008-11-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[10] "F.I.M.I.: Certificazioni (Archivio)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved May 23, 2014.Note: To retrieve the certifications, 1) select "Album e Compilation" in the box of "Sezione" 2) type in Raf in the box of "Filtra "3) select "2014" in the box of "Anno" 4

[11] "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 2 November 2009 al 2009-11-08)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[12] For peaks positions in Italy:
For all singles up to the year 2001: "Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singles)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For "Infinito", "Via", "In tutti i miei giorni", "Dimentica", "Passeggeri distratti", "Non è mai un errore", "Ossigeno": "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Singles)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

For "Per tutto il tempo": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 9 November 2009 al 2009-11-15)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

For "Un'emozione inaspettata": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 22 (dal 2011-05-30 al 2011-06-05)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

For "Le ragioni del cuore": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 35 (dal 2012-08-27 al 2012-09-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

For "Show Me the Way to Heaven": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 20 (dal 2014-05-12 al 2014-05-18)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[21] For all singles up to the year 2001: "Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singles)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[22] For "Infinito", "Via", "In tutti i miei giorni", "Dimentica", "Passeggeri distratti", "Non è mai un errore", "Ossigeno": "Italiancharts.com: Raf (Singles)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[23] For "Per tutto il tempo": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 9 November 2009 al 2009-11-15)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[24] For "Un'emozione inaspettata": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 22 (dal 2011-05-30 al 2011-06-05)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[25] For "Le ragioni del cuore": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 35 (dal 2012-08-27 al 2012-09-02)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[26] For "Show Me the Way to Heaven": "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 20 (dal 2014-05-12 al 2014-05-18)". FIMI. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[13] "Austriancharts.at: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[14] "Lescharts.com: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

[Germany's_peaks-15] "Charts: Raf (Singes)". Charts.de. Retrieved April 5, 2015.

[Italy's_peak_position_for_singles_on_hitparadeitalia.it-16] "Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singes)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved July 14, 2011.