Litfiba: listen to the unreleased “17 Re”, out 40 years after the eponymous album

After 40 years, the title track from “17 Re“, one of Litfiba's masterpieces and the second chapter of their “trilogy of power,” finally sees the light of day. Recorded back then but left off the tracklist of the 1986 album because it was deemed out of step with the record's balance, it has now been officially released, marking the celebrations of one of the most influential works in Italian rock.

This is not a strictly archival operation. As Piero Pelù makes clear, the track has been thoroughly reworked: a few melodic lines and fragments of the original lyrics remain, but the rhythmic structure, sound and intent have all been rethought to speak to the present day. The result is a composition that keeps its roots in the 1980s while moving with an updated language, in keeping with the political and social tension that has always run through the Florentine band's writing.

Listen to "17 Re" below.

The whole point of Pelù and co.'s project stems precisely from this desire to bring those works up to date. “17 Re” becomes an explicit reflection on contemporary power dynamics, amid technocracy, global conflicts and democracies under threat. “This isn't a nostalgia trip,” explains Piero Pelù. “That much is proven by the fact that the song rises from the ashes of the old track left off the album. The melodies survived, along with parts of the lyrics and the harmony, which stayed fairly intact, but really everything else has changed: rhythm, beat, groove and spirit.” The idea for the release took shape around the celebrations for the album's fortieth anniversary — it came out in 1986 — on the occasion of which the band will return to the stage starting June 27th for 20 dates in the original line-up (Piero Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Antonio Aiazzi, Gianni Maroccolo), something that hasn't happened since 2014. Discussing the track, Piero Pelù stressed how it's “still incredibly relevant — shelved back then, it now comes out updated to describe what we're living through, namely a historical period incredibly focused on abuses of power by a murderous technocracy, see Netanyahu, Trump, Putin, the ayatollahs, North Korea, the disaster in Sudan and all the other wars. We've found out that even Thailand is bombing Cambodia. It's a period in which the powerful are trying to sweep everything clean. As artists we count for nothing, but we do have a voice, and the courage to stand on the side of the victims too. Even those few Israelis who stand up for peace, because the criticism is aimed at that pro-fascist fringe of this distorted Zionism, not at Jewish people in general. Netanyahu is considered a war criminal, and finally, belatedly, our government has taken a stand.”

Here is the full lyrics of the song "17 Re".

Diciasette re… chiusi in un quadro

Dove la luce…genera i mostri

Diciasette re…vecchio teatro

Of war and peace... their new video game...

Shah-mat…

A man is lost without his history

e io non voglio dimenticare

Shah-mat…

A man is lost without his memory

e io non voglio dimenticare…

oh no oh no…

che il tempo è mio…mio…mio…mio…mio

Diciasette re …controllo totale

e droni e spade…e i loro eserciti di lacchè

Diciasette re …vogliono il sangue

per farci amare…il re maiale!

A man is lost without his history

e io non voglio dimenticare…

Shah-mat…

Shah-mat

A man is lost without his memory

e io non voglio dimenticare…

oh no oh no

che il tempo è mio..mio…mio…mio…mio

Shah-mat…

diciasette, diciasette

diacessette re marionette…

Diciasette, diciasette

diciasette re marionette…

un uomo è perso senza la sua storia

e io non voglio dimenticare oh no oh no

diciasette re marionette!

Senti gli applausi, quanti applausi

quanti inchini e urrà

tutti vincenti e coinvolti

auto-assolti…libertà!

l'uomo arancione fa il padrone

e sodomizza…la verità…

Shah-mat…

The release of the single also introduces the celebratory tour “Quarant'anni di 17 Re”, marking the return of the historic line-up made up of Pelù, Ghigo Renzulli, Antonio Aiazzi and Gianni Maroccolo, joined by Luca “Mitraglia” Martelli on drums. A significant reunion, considering the last full show dates back to 2014. The tour will criss-cross Italy between late June and mid-August. The full schedule follows below:

• June 27 Perugia – Umbria Che Spacca Festival
• June 30 Padua – Sherwood Festival
• July 2 Bari – Fiera del Levante
• July 4 Pescara – Terrasound Festival, Porto Turistico
• July 7 Milan – Kozel Carroponte
• July 9 Villafranca (VR) – Villafranca Festival 2026, Castello Scaligero
• July 11 Asti – AstiMusica, Piazza Alfieri
• July 14 Genoa – Altraonda Festival
• July 16 Rome – Rock in Roma, Ippodromo delle Capannelle
• July 18 Servigliano (FM) – NoSound Fest, Parco della Pace
• July 21 Bologna – Sequoie Music Park
• July 23 Florence – Prato delle Cornacchie
• July 25 Cosenza – Rendano Arena, Piazza XV Marzo
• July 28 Naples – Arena Flegrea
• August 1 Alghero – Alguer Summer Festival, Anfiteatro Ivan Graziani
• August 4 Catania – Villa Bellini
• August 7 Melpignano (LE) – Sei Festival, Piazza Avantaggiato
• August 11 Palmanova (UD) – Estate di Stelle, Piazza Grande
• August 13 Forte dei Marmi (LU) – Villa Bertelli Live
• August 15 Bellaria Igea Marina (RN) – Beky Bay

Ahead of the official launch, the band will also take the stage at Rome's May Day Concert, previewing the project live.

Ride the wave of great music

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