Almost forty years after the original releases, Litfiba announce the reissues of “17 Kings” and the live “12/05/87 (Open your eyes)”, two central titles of the era of the so-called “Trilogy of Power”. Pre-orders of the new editions are already available.
“12/05/87 (Open your eyes) Live”, recorded at Tenax in Florence during the last date of the “17 kings” tour, will return from June 19th on double vinyl, both black and colored. The album documents one of the most representative phases of the formation composed of Piero Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Antonio Aiazzi, Gianni Maroccolo and Ringo De Palma.
For the first time after about forty years, the concert is re-released as a double LP with a new sound remastering. Among the new features is also the inclusion of “Ballata”, previously only available in the CD edition.
From May 22nd, “17 Re” will be available again, originally published in 1986 and considered one of the most significant works of Italian rock of the 1980s. After the colored and signed edition released for Record Store Day, the album will arrive on double black vinyl and in digisleeve CD with a twenty-page booklet containing the lyrics.
The songs on the album include “Resta”, “Re del silence” and “Cafè, Mexcal e Rosita”.
The new editions bring back to the catalog two key releases from Litfiba's discography, linked to the most influential phase of the Florentine band.
After 40 years, the title track of “17 Kings” was also released, one of Litfiba's masterpieces, as well as the second chapter of their “trilogy of power”. Recorded at the time but excluded from the setlist of the 1986 album because it was considered out of focus compared to the balance of the album, it has now been officially released, accompanying the celebrations of one of the most influential works of Italian rock.
This is not an archival operation in the strict sense. As Piero Pelù clarifies, the piece has been profoundly reworked: some melodic lines and original textual fragments remain, but the rhythmic structure, sound and intention have been rethought to dialogue with the present. The result is a composition that retains roots in the Eighties but moves with an updated language, consistent with the political and social tension that has always run through the writing of the Florentine band.
Listen to “17 Kings” below.
The meaning of Pelù and companions' project arises precisely from this desire to update the contents of those works. “17 Kings” becomes an explicit reflection on the contemporary balance of power, between technocracy, global conflicts and democracies in danger. “It's not a nostalgic operation – explains Pierò Pelù – This is demonstrated by the song that was born from the ashes of the ancient song excluded from the album. The melodies, parts of the lyrics, the harmony quite intact, but in reality everything has changed: rhythm, bits, groove and spirit”. The idea of the publication took shape with the celebrations for the forty years of the album, released in 1986 on the occasion of which the band will return live starting from 27 June and for 20 dates in the original lineup (Piero Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Antonio Aiazzi, Gianni Maroccolo), as has not happened since 2014. Speaking about the song, Piero Pelù underlined how “it is still incredibly current, discarded at the time, it is now updated to tell what that we live in, that is, a historical period incredibly focused on the abuses of power by a murderous technocracy, see Netanyahu, Trump, Putin, the ayatollahs, North Korea, the Sudan disaster and all the other wars. We have discovered that Thailand is also bombing Cambodia. It is a period in which the bullies are trying to make a clean sweep. As artists, we have the voice and the courage to take the side of the victims, too they stand for peace, because the criticism is that pro-Nazi area of this distorted Zionism, not towards the Jews in general. Netanyahu is considered a war criminal, and our government has finally and belatedly taken a position.”
The release of the single also introduces the celebratory tour “Forty years of 17 Kings”, which marks the return of the historic lineup composed of Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Antonio Aiazzi and Gianni Maroccolo, supported by Luca “Mitraglia” Martelli on drums. A significant reunion, considering that the last complete performance dates back to 2014. The tour will cross Italy between the end of June and mid-August. Below is the complete calendar:
- 27 June Perugia – Umbria Che Spacca Festival
- 30 June Padua – Sherwood Festival
- 02 July Bari – Fiera del Levante
- 04 July Pescara – Terrasound Festival, Tourist Port
- 07 July Milan – Kozel Carroponte
- 09 July Villafranca (VR) – Villafranca Festival 2026, Scaligero Castle
- 11 July Asti – AstiMusica, Piazza Alfieri
- 14 July Genoa – Altraonda Festival
- 16 July Rome – Rock in Rome, Capannelle Hippodrome
- 18 July Servigliano (FM) – NoSound Fest, Parco della Pace
- 21 July Bologna – Sequoie Music Park
- 23 July Florence – Prato delle Cornacchie
- 25 July Cosenza – Rendano Arena, Piazza XV Marzo
- 28 July Naples – Arena Flegrea
- 01 August Alghero – Alguer Summer Festival, Ivan Graziani Amphitheatre
- 04 August Catania – Villa Bellini
- 07 August Melpignano (LE) – Six Festival, Piazza Avantaggiato
- 11 August Palmanova (UD) – Summer of Stars, Piazza Grande
- 13 August Forte dei Marmi (LU) – Villa Bertelli Live
- 15 August Bellaria Igea Marina (RN) – Beky Bay
Before the official departure, the Florentine band was also on stage at the May Day Concert in Rome, previewing the project live.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
