BIOGRAPHY - ENGLISH SHORT VERSION
Born on 21 May 1947 in Savelli (province of Crotone, Calabria) a marvelous small village on the Sila Mountains (southern Italy), Nicola “Nick” Manfredi began to sing on stages and at events in his region when he was very young, winning his first singing contest at the age of 12 with “Piove” by Domenico Modugno. At the age of 15, he moved to Torino (northern Italy), where he started to develop his passion for pop music.
In September 1968, he decided to join his family in Vancouver, Canada. Two months after his arrival, Nicola set up his first band “Nicola e i Modesti”, later the band changed its name to “I Modesti” when his friend Decimo Bosa and new musicians joined. The song set list was made of cover songs in English and Italian due to the presence of the numerous Italian immigrants in Vancouver. They performed both in clubs and for private events. The passion for music did not become Nicola’s full-time career therefor after working as a machinist in 1977 he decided to become a barber, where his “artistic” side proved to be very successful. Years went by and Nicola gained more popularity, he sang in various bands and with time felt the need to write his own music and lyrics. He collaborated with many musicians such as Des Bosa, Cosimo Natola & David Peterson, who later contributed to his first albums.
Nicola’s first important award arrived in 1978 at the “Original Song Festival - 1st Edition” (held at the Italian Cultural Centre) in British Columbia, where his talent as a songwriter won him first place with "Il mio sole, il mio casolare”. In the same year the song was recorded at Pinewood Studio Vancouver, with the arrangement by Harry Loriou. In 1986 along with songs like Bella, Playboy & Hazel Eyes, “Il mio sole, il mio casolare" became the title track of his first album.
After 20 years, nostalgia for Italy and the desire to return to his homeland was growing, so together with his wife and their son, in June 1987 he took the leap of faith and moved back to his country. The family settled in the North of Italy, he continued as a barber and a singer with various bands in the area and being the lead singer of Liscio Simpatia for over ten years, singing traditional Italian and international songs.
His song writing skills flourished thanks to life experiences and the people he met along the way, like the valuable collaboration with friend Norberto Tronca, musician & composer witch still continues today. In 1994, Nick released his first Italian cd (it includes “Grazie Paese”, arranged by N. Tronca and mixed by R. Crivellaro) which is one of his fans most loved songs. Many more followed “A Crotone Nuova Provincia”, “Amore Spaziale” (with lyrics by his Italian mentor Teodoro Torchia)
For the last 15 years Nicola has been collaborating with Orienteering.it and his long time friend Gabriele Viale. He has performed at international Orienteering Events in Italy and abroad. In 2008 Park World Tour & Gabriele Viale produced the cd “Song for all Orienteering Friends by Nicola Manfredi”, which included three new songs in English such as “Bella”, “Lovely Song” and “You & Me” (an anthem dedicated to all Orienteering Friends around the world - arranged by Paolo De Carli), plus the well known “Stupenda Tremenda” (arranged by N.Tronca).
For the first time in September 2009, Jörgen Martensson and Gabriele Viale, hosted by Nick Manfredi, visited Savelli and the Sila Highlands/Cecita Lake. During their stay they promised to create an orienteering map of Savelli and organize an orienteering race for all of Nick Manfredi’s international fans! This Promise has been kept, we'll see you all the 9th of March 2017 in Savelli (KR-Italy)
Brochure and pics from the 2017 MOC - Nick Manfredi Day in Savelli KR - Italy
