Albert Verrecchia

Later, in Rome, popular black jazz singer Rocky Roberts who had just split with The Airdales to go solo, chose the best musicians he could find in Paris to back him up, and one of the most influential Italian beat bands was born, "I Pyranas".

In film soundtracks Verrecchia delivered what are regarded as his most interesting works to date, with Tecnica di un Amore (1973), which he composed for a still rather obscure Italian erotic drama directed by Brunello Rondi and starring Janet Ågren alongside Erna Schurer and Silvano Tranquilli, standing as his most praised outcome.

Another Verrecchia highlight is the recently rediscovered Roma Drogata: La Polizia Non Può Intervenire (also known as Hallucination Strip), from a 1975 drugs-themed movie starring Bud Cort, Patrizia Gori, Annarita Grapputo, and directed by Lucio Marcaccini.

[1][2] It received a public release in 2007 (on the Cinedelic GDM label CD, thanks to Associazione Culturale Escalation's interest), Verrecchia made use of electric sounds instead of canonical orchestral arrangements, mixing soul, hard rock, blues style, experimental vocals and percussions, with heavy psychedelic influences.

For the instrumental part, Verrecchia recruited a group of young players: Cyan – an italo-English quartet formed by George Sims (guitars), Roger Smith (bass), Alberto Visentin (keyboards) e Franco Di Stefano (drums) derived from a former Patty Pravo backing band – the Baba Yaga – a female vocal trio who worked for RCA and had already backed singer-songwriters such as De Gregori (in Alice Non Lo Sa, 1973) and Dalla (in Anidride Solforosa, 1975) singing as well in a few soundtracks by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis such as Watch Out, We're Mad!

Roma Drogata: La Polizia Non Può Intervenire, both film and record, open with "We've Got a Lord", a soul ballad interpreted by Sammy Barbot featuring Baba Yaga.

What followed in Verrecchia's mind was the idea of a glittering disco trio led by Evy, who with two black chorists, Marcia Briscoe from Atlanta and Jusy Fortes from Cape Verde, formed Belle Epoque.

While Evy began recording solo again in 1982, contributing with her vocals both in English and French productions until the end of the decade, her brother bought a boat, the 'Silver Maid', Scottish, all in teak, which had been Susan Stafford's - where he managed to enter a grand piano!