Richard Benson

Richard Philip Henry John Benson (born 10 March 1955) is a British-Italian guitarist, singer, music journalist, and actor. Benson was born in Woking, England to a Belgian mother (with Italian origins) and a British father. He moved to Italy and was an active musician since his early teens. In 1971 Benson recorded with the progressive rock band Buon Vecchio Charlie a self-titled LP, which was only released in 1990 when the original record company brought out some of their early productions on CD. The album features Benson on vocals and 12-string guitar. In 1972 he took part in the festival Villa Pamphili.[3] In 1983 he released his first single, Animal Zoo, an Italo disco production.[4] In the following year he released his second single, Renegade, a song (along with the B-side "Flash Back") with electro-rock tones.[5] In 1984, he wrote and recorded music for the cult movie The Incinerator (Italian title L'inceneritore) in which he also appeared in a small role as a street gang member. In 1987 he produced the compilation album Metal Attack (RCA Italy – Talent), where he sings on the track Exotic Escape that he also co-wrote.[6] In 1999 he released a solo album called Madre Tortura that featured progressive hard-rock tracks. In 2015 he released L'inferno dei vivi on the label INRI, a rock-opera-style concept album with electronic elements, and the accompanying single I Nani.[7] In 2016 Benson released Duello madre, a digital compilation of tracks from earlier releases.[8] He is currently working on new songs, releasing rough acoustic live performances on YouTube. During the 1970s and 1980s Benson hosted various programs about contemporary alternative music on TV and radio. In 1992 he played himself as a TV host in Carlo Verdone's successful film Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrato. In the 1990s and 2000s Benson often appeared as a guest on RAI, the prime Italian channel, usually judging musicians. His appearances were often over the top and satirical in nature.