In 1972, at the age of 15, he founded his first group, the JOSAFAT, which in 1974 transformed, with the entry of SILVIO CAPECCIA, into CHAMPAGNE MOLOTOV (a name that will often recur in the early part of his solo career).
In 1977, from the merger of Champagne Molotov and the band Trifoglio, the DECIBEL were born, with whom he recorded the album “Decibel” (commonly known as Punk due to a lettering on the cover) in 1978. The album, released by Spaghetti Records, was a commercial failure (selling only a few hundred copies) and resulted in a lawsuit for vilification of religion due to the lyrics of “Paparock,” which were camouflaged in the mixing stage to render them unintelligible to listeners.
After the single “Indigestione disko,” and the return of Silvio Capeccia, success arrived with participation in Sanremo with the song “CONTESSA” and the album “VIVO DA RE,” whose title track took part in that year’s Festivalbar.

**The Pop Punk Period**
In 1981, Enrico Ruggeri began his solo career produced by what would become his historic producer, SILVIO CRIPPA, and starting a long-standing collaboration with guitarist LUIGI SCHIAVONE. The album “Champagne Molotov” was released under the SIF record label but did not achieve the expected success, partly due to legal issues with “Spaghetti Records.”
During this period, Ruggeri also worked as a songwriter for various pop artists such as DIANA EST (writing lyrics for her first two singles “Tenax,” in 1982, and “Le Louvre,” in 1983), DEN HARROW, JOCK HATTLE, and ALBERT ONE.

In 1983 marked the year he began to gain recognition, thanks to the album “POLVERE,” which marked his entry into CGD, while the title track achieved moderate success, culminating in a second-place finish at the Festivalbar and participation in the singing competition “Azzurro.”
The song “IL MARE D’INVERNO,” which he would only record the following year, was successfully performed by LOREDANA BERTÈ, establishing him as a distinguished songwriter and opening his artistic horizons towards the cantautorial genre while not abandoning rock influences.
**Consolidating Success**
In 1984, Ruggeri returned to the Sanremo Festival with the song “NUOVO SWING,” marking a shift towards a style echoing that of French chansonnier. This was followed by the album “PRESENTE,” which blended new tracks with live performances (including a cover of “Vecchio Frack” by Domenico Modugno), which also competed in the Festivalbar.
In the same Sanremo edition, he produced the emerging group CANTON, writing for them “SONNAMBULISMO,” which would also be recorded in English.
From 1985 to 1986, after a brief collaboration with MIMMO LOCASCIULLI, Ruggeri entered a prolific creative period, releasing three albums in eighteen months, which definitively marked his place among the most appreciated Italian singer-songwriters.
“TUTTO SCORRE,” the mini LP “DIFESA FRANCESE,” and “ENRICO VIII” were released, the latter being the first to enter the Top 20. Additionally, at the 1986 Sanremo Festival, he won the critics’ award for “RIEN NE VA PLUS,” a song with a ternary rhythm accompanied by an accordion.

Ruggeri also became one of the most sought-after songwriters for numerous female interpreters, most notably FIORELLA MANNOIA and Loredana Bertè.
In 1987, he returned to Sanremo with GIANNI MORANDI and UMBERTO TOZZI (a collaboration born out of the charitable project of the NAZIONALE ITALIANA CANTANTI) with the song “SI PUÒ DARE DI PIÙ,” which won the event. This was followed by an ambitious tour through Italian theaters with the philharmonic orchestra of Alessandria and his trusted band, as further evidenced by the double live album “VAI ROUGE!”
That same year he received the critics’ prize at Sanremo with “QUELLO CHE LE DONNE NON DICONO,” sung by Fiorella Mannoia, for which Luigi Schiavone composed the music, authoring many other acclaimed successes of Ruggeri, who often appeared as the sole songwriter.
In 1988, he released the album “LA PAROLA AI TESTIMONI,” utilizing digital platforms and electronic instruments, achieving modest success.
The following year, the album “CONTATTI” was released, featuring three new tracks along with the contemporary “IL FUNAMBOLO” (co-written with RICCARDO COCCIANTE), orchestrated by the Moscow Philharmonic, as well as covers of other Italian singer-songwriters IVANO FOSSATI, LUCIO DALLA, FRANCESCO GUCCINI, SERGIO ENDRIGO, LUCIO BATTISTI, FRANCESCO DE GREGORI, and ALUNNI DEL SOLE.

**Return to Rock and Major Successes**
In 1990, with the album “IL FALCO E IL GABBIANO,” Ruggeri shifted back toward rock sounds, achieving some of his highest sales levels, largely due to the single “TI AVRÒ.”
The antithetical dualism between the two birds not only served as a logo but clearly represented his dual artistic identity, which he proudly embraced despite facing criticism for following such contrasting genres (the spirited punk-inspired rock and the introspective French chanson).
The year after saw the release of his most successful album, “PETER PAN,” selling 400,000 copies within a few months.
At the height of his success, in 1993, Ruggeri won the Sanremo Festival for the second time with the rock song “MISTERO,” which he considered too genre-specific to be an obvious winner.
This was followed by the album “LA GIOSTRA DELLA MEMORIA,” one of the first to experiment with the mix of old songs, new tracks, songs written for others, and live performances, some of which were previously unreleased.
In 1993, he also participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “SOLE D’EUROPA,” finishing in 12th place, which would later be among the last Italian entries in its history.
In 1994, “OGGETTI SMARRITI” was released. This album, comparable in quality to the previous three, was full of brilliant insights and marked a musical evolution toward more progressive sounds.

In 1996, the crisis in relations with CGD (which had recently come under American Warner control) led to the partial failure of the ambitious and valuable concept album “FANGO E STELLE.”
In 1997, moving to the PDU record label, he released “DOMANI È UN ALTRO GIORNO.” This album also looked to international markets with a Spanish-language version titled “LA GENTE CON ALMA,” referring to the Italian song “La gente di cuore,” which was performed with MARCO MASINI.
In 1999, “L’ISOLA DEI TESORI” came out, primarily composed of more or less famous songs previously written for other interpreters and groups, often featuring the same artists.
As a bonus track, it also included “La chanson de Mimie,” the French version of “LA POESIA.”
**The Years of Maturity**
In 2000, Ruggeri moved to SONY-BMG. Released was “L’UOMO CHE VOLA,” which included “GIMONDI E IL CANNIBALE,” the theme for the Giro d’Italia.
In 2001, he offered reinterpretations in acoustic style with the double live album “LA VIE EN ROUGE.”
In 2002, he participated with the ballad “PRIMAVERA A SARAJEVO” at the Sanremo Festival, with ANDREA MIRÒ as songwriter and orchestra conductor. The song was inspired by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the preceding years, echoing the sounds of those regions.
In 2003, along with Andrea Mirò, he returned to Sanremo with “NESSUNO TOCCHI CAINO,” a song against the death penalty, written after joining the association of the same name, where Enrico sang the thoughts of the executioner confronting what is merely his job, while Andrea voiced the condemned in hope of clemency.
The album “GLI OCCHI DEL MUSICISTA” was released, featuring, among others, the song “LA PREGHIERA DEL MATTO,” a dramatic exploration of mental distress.
In 2004, in “PUNK PRIMA DI TE,” he re-recorded the six tracks from the first album of Decibel along with covers of punk and rock songs from the 1970s by DAVID BOWIE, LOU REED, SEX PISTOLS, and RAMONES.
Also in 2004, he released his first double DVD live album, “ULISSE,” for Sony Music.
In 2005, he published “AMORE E GUERRA,” while the following year saw the release of the compilation “CUORE, MUSCOLI E CERVELLO,” a triple box set dividing his work into three categories as named in the title, including both previously released and unpublished material.
In conjunction with Christmas 2007, a new album of holiday covers was released, where Ruggeri interpreted classics such as “White Christmas” and others in his unique style.
In 2008, a new album of original tracks, “ROCK SHOW,” came out, where Enrico returned to rock themes, narrating his experiences as a rock singer-songwriter over a career spanning three decades.
On January 30, 2009, a new work titled “ALL IN – L’ULTIMA FOLLIA DI ENRICO RUGGERI,” a triple CD featuring the soundtrack for the film “Volata finale,” a duet album with foreign guests, and a live album of covers, was released.
In 2010, “LA RUOTA” came out, featuring “LA NOTTE DELLE FATE,” which was presented at the Sanremo festival.
The album was followed by a successful theater tour, during which, thanks to a roulette wheel, songs were drawn to be performed. This happening continued to evolve from performance to performance, keeping the “Ruota” spinning until October. In the autumn of 2010, Ruggeri served as a judge on the show “X Factor.”
The year 2011 began with “CHE GIORNO SARA’,” his first novel released (and later reprinted) by Kowalski (Feltrinelli).
The NEW TOUR was named after the book: 40 concerts with a renewed rock flavor.
In 2012, “Le Canzoni ai Testimoni” was released, an album unique in its genre, where 15 prominent figures from the independent music scene reinterpreted and rearranged as many of Ruggeri’s songs, spanning rock, new wave, and singer-songwriter music, highlighting Ruggeri’s great versatility, joining them only to sing the tracks.
In December 2012, Enrico achieved significant sales success with “Non si può morire la notte di Natale,” his first crime novel.
In May 2013, “Frankenstein” was released, an ambitious concept album paired with the novel “L’uomo al centro del cerchio.” This project featured a rock reinterpretation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel.
In 2014, “Frankenstein 2.0” was released, a revolutionary and bold operation: Enrico re-recorded the previous year’s album entirely, giving it a new wave electronic sound, adding several new songs, including “Insegnami l’amore,” written by his son Pico Rama, “L’Onda,” which became a radio hit, and “In un paese normale,” accompanied by a video with Ale & Franz, alongside which he continued a nationwide theater tour.
In December, his new novel “La brutta estate” was published by Mondadori. This new crime story achieved excellent sales results, leading to a third reprint.

On February 2, 2015, Ruggeri debuted on Radio 24 with “Il Falco e il Gabbiano,” sharing stories of extraordinary people and events from our time. The program took off immediately.
In the spring of 2015, “Pezzi di vita” was released, a double album featuring 14 hits from his early years (from 1980 to 1985) alongside 10 new tracks, including “Tre Signori,” which he performed at the Sanremo festival, where he appeared as a super guest.
On December 13, 2015, it was announced he would participate in the 66th edition of the Sanremo Festival in the “Campioni” section with the song “Il primo amore non si scorda mai,” which earned him fourth place and the Lunezia Award for best lyrics among the big names in competition.
In March 2017, the album “Noblesse oblige” was released, marking the reunion of the Decibel with Fulvio Muzio and Silvio Capeccia.
In March 2018, the Decibel participated in the 68th edition of the Sanremo Festival with the song “Lettera dal Duca,” which preceded the release of the album “L’Anticristo.”
Following the second successful tour with the Decibel, the box set “Punksnotdead” was released, which included a DVD, CD, and vinyl of the legendary band’s concerts.
In November 2019 and February 2020, Enrico hosted “Una storia da cantare,” seven prime-time Saturday evening shows on Rai Uno in which he recounted the epic of great interpreters and authors of Italian music: the program achieved unprecedented success in viewership that subsequent attempts to replicate his formula couldn’t match.
Shortly after, a vinyl EP featuring the show’s theme song and some historical songs already performed during the television adventure was released.

In the autumn of 2020, he published the novel “Un gioco da ragazzi,” set in 1970s Milan amid terrorism and the turmoil of a troubled family: it received excellent sales and critical response.
In 2021, he won the Tenco Prize for his career, marked by an epic concert at the Ariston Theater in Sanremo.
He opened a TikTok channel to share his music history lessons, which he had previously taught at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan.
In 2022, “La Rivoluzione” was released, an album characterized by innovative sounds, supported by three notable music videos. Critics unanimously praised it as one of the best works of his career.