Instruments Vocals, guitar Role Singer Name Richard Benson | Labels Playgame Music, INRI Years active Since 1971 | |
Birth name Richard Philip Henry John Benson Born 10 March 1955 (age 69) ( 1955-03-10 ) Occupation(s) Guitarist-singer-songwriter Albums L'inferno dei vivi, Madre Tortura Music group Buon Vecchio Charlie (1970 – 1972) Similar People Pino Scotto, Germano Mosconi, Federico Zampaglione, Ivor Emmanuel, Mario Magnotta Profiles | ||
Richard Philip Henry John Benson, known as Richard Benson (born 10 March 1955, Woking, England) is an English guitarist based in Italy since 1965.
Contents
Career
In 1971 he recorded with the progressive rock band "Buon Vecchio Charlie" a self-titled LP, which was only released in 1990.
In 1972, he took part in the festival "Villa Pamphili".
In 1983 he released his first LP, Animal Zoo, an Italo disco production. In the following year he released his second LP, Renegade, a song (along with the B-side Flash Back) with electro-rock tones. Both discs are difficult to find and, for a long time, their existence was even doubted, especially for what concerns Renegade.
In 1987 he curated the compilation album Metal Attack (RCA Italy – Talent), where he sings in the track Exotic Escape.
In 1992 he played himself in Carlo Verdone's film Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrato.
In the second half of the 1990s he arrived at the peak of his musical career giving concerts in Rome.
In 1999 he released his first CD, Madre Tortura.
Benson is well known for having recorded various tutorial videos to teach young guitarists how to play fast, shredder-like scales. In these videos he shows all of his guitarist skills playing a version of "il vecchio blues". Another of his famous tricks is the "hellish carillon" (carillon infernale).
Benson has then appeared in Italian national broadcast television as a music opinionist (Rai 2), together with Max Giusti, though the role of Benson in the show was, once again, rather comical than serious, in fact, playing a sort of parody of his own character.
In 2015 he released his second CD, L'inferno dei vivi, a rock-opera produced by Federico Zampaglione.