Banco del Mutuo Soccorso was formed around 1969-1970 in Rome, when brothers Vittorio and Gianni Nocenzi became fascinated with the exploding progressive rock scene at the time.
In 1971, the band participated in the Caracalla Pop Festival in Rome. Banco rapidly evolved to play intense progressive rock deeply influenced by classical music, due to the Nocenzi brothers’ interest in classical music.
The lyrics were composed by Vittorio himself together with vocalist Francesco Di Giacomo, who joined Banco in the month of June of that year.
Banco’s self-titled debut album was released one year later, in 1972, featuring songs like “RIP”, “Il giardino del mago” and “Metamorfosi”, some of the most memorable and iconic songs of the band. In particular “Metamorfosi”, an instrumental track, except for a short section sung at the very end of the song by Francesco Di Giacomo, was immediately recognized and considered a manifesto of the Italian progressive rock scene. The lineup that recorded the debut album included the Nocenzi brothers, Francesco Di Giacomo, guitarist Marcello Todaro, drummer Pier Luigi Calderoni and bassist Renato D’Angelo.
“Banco del Mutuo Soccorso” was housed in a large money box shaped cover and is still one of the most representative examples of the finest of the Italian progressive rock scene, with classical music influences based on the twin keyboards interplay and the fantastic, charismatic and highly original voice of Francesco Di Giacomo.
Later that same year Banco del Mutuo Soccorso released their second masterpiece, a concept album titled “Darwin.” The whole project was indeed conceived and written around Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Banco’s first two albums, together with 1973’s “Io sono nato libero,” are considered some of the most creative and influential albums of the golden era of Italian progressive rock. The sound of “Io sono nato libero” was a mix of British-style progressive rock, Mediterranean sounds and Italian melodrama with virtuoso instrumental parts and a unique singing style.
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso signed with Emerson Lake and Palmer’s label, Manticore Records. They released an album titled “Banco” in 1975, which was a collection of songs translated to English along with new material.
“Come in un’ultima cena,” was released in 1976, followed by a European tour opening for British progressive rock legends Gentle Giant. An English translated version of this album was also released, titled As in a last supper, with English language translation by well known Italian artist Angelo Branduardi.
In 1976, the band released the soundtrack for a movie directed by Luigi Faccini, inspired by Elio Vittorini’s novel Garofano Rosso.
“Di Terra” was released by the Dischi Ricordi label in 1978. “Canto di primavera” followed in 1979 and that album marked the end of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso’s progressive rock era. After that, Banco moved on to pop music.
In the 1990s, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso returned and re-recorded new versions of their first albums, “B.M.S. — Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso” (1991) and “Darwin” (Virgin, 1991). However, their last studio album in the 1990s was the disappointing pop-rock effort “13” (1994).
In 2014, the great Francesco di Giacomo died in a car crash. A year later, guitarist Rodolfo Maltese passed away.
In 2019, the band released its first studio album in 20 years, titled “Transiberiana.” On “Transiberiana”, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso presented a highly personal, intricate concept album, following a metaphorical storyline, which is explained both in Italian and English in the liner notes of the release.
“Transiberiana” in essence deals with the journey of life, which, garnered with many autobiographical references, is as dynamic and shapeshifting as the music.
“I’m happy after working such a long time on this new Banco del Mutuo Soccorso album for Inside Out. It fills me with joy and satisfaction, as I was truly inspired from the very beginning,” said founding member Vittorio Nocenzi. “For too many years, the band was only dedicated to live performances, so it was about time we would go back to composing, playing and producing new stuff! By choosing the ‘Transiberiana’ concept for this new piece of work, there are two main issues I’d like to point out: first the new Banco line up consisting of great musicians and great people, secondly, the presence of my two sons in the project: Michelangelo co-writing the album and Mario Valerio, who took care of a marketing and communication strategy related to it. These two elements have been the best gifts I could possibly imagine to receive! And this is an extra motivation if ever needed to do my best for reaching our goals.”
The 2019 lineup included Vittorio Nocenzi on piano, keyboards and vocals; Filippo Marcheggiani on guitar; Nicola Di Già on rhythm guitar; Marco Capozi on bass; Fabio Moresco on drums; and
Tony D’Alessio on lead vocals.
In 2022, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso celebrated their 50th anniversary with an ambitious concept album titled “Orlando: Le Forme dell’Amore” (The shapes of love). Vittorio Nocenzi worked on this new album’s musical concept for several years together with his son Michaelangelo and lyricist Paolo Lugli.
The Orlando story narrates a real XIV century poem through different songs. The band chose to sing
the lyrics only in Italian. In order to help the fans understand and follow the lyrics better on a track by track basis, English translations of the lyrics were included in the artwork, along with the original Italian lyrics.
For the cover of “Orlando: Le Forme dell’Amore”, Banco used the iconic ‘Salvadanaio’ (Italian for “piggy bank”), that became the band’s unique logo and brand.
Discography:
Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso (Ricordi, 1972)
Darwin! (Ricordi, 1972)
Io Sono Nato Libero (Ricordi, 1973)
Banco (Manticore, 1975)
Come In Un’Ultima Cena (Manticore, 1976)
Garofano Rosso (Manticore, 1976)
…Di Terra (Ricordi, 1978)
Canto Di Primavera (Ricordi, 1979)
Urgentissimo (CBS, 1980)
Capolinea (Ricordi, 1980)
Buone Notizie (CBS, 1981)
…E Via (CBS, 1985)
B.M.S. — Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso (B.M.S., 1991)
Darwin (Virgin, 1991)
Il 13 (EMI, 1994)
Transiberiana (Inside Out Music, 2019)
Orlando: Le Forme Dell’Amore (Inside Out Music, 2022)