Ricchi E Poveri

Ricchi e Poveri is an Italian pop group formed in Genova in 1967. The original lineup consisted of four members: Angela Brambati (born 20 October 1949, Genova), Angelo Sotgiu (born 22 February 1947, Trinità d'Agultu, Sardinia), Franco Gatti (born 4 October 1942, Genova), and Marina Occhiena (born 19 March 1950, Genova). The group built their career across several decades, accumulating over 20 million records sold and establishing a strong following across Europe and Latin America. Marina Occhiena departed in 1981, after which the group continued as a trio. Franco Gatti stepped back from the group in 2016 and returned briefly in 2020 alongside Occhiena, reuniting the classic four-member formation until Gatti's death on 18 October 2022 in Genova.

The group's popularity extended well beyond Italy, with particular commercial traction in Spanish-speaking markets and across Eastern Europe, where their melodic pop style found a substantial audience during the 1970s and 1980s. Their records were licensed and pressed in a number of Eastern Bloc countries, making local pressings a consistent target for collectors in the region. Angela Brambati and Angelo Sotgiu have remained active as the core of the group from 1967 to the present day.

For collectors associated with East of the Groove, the primary points of interest are the Eastern European licensed pressings of their peak-period releases — particularly those on state-operated labels — which circulated widely in markets where Western pop was otherwise limited in availability. Condition-graded copies of these pressings attract steady interest in the current collector market.