About Raf (singer)
Raffaele Riefoli (born 29 September 1959), known as simply Raf, is an Italian singer-songwriter. He first became known in the early 1980s as a singer of Italo disco and as original singer and co-author of the hit "Self Control". He has turned to Italian-language music since the late 1980s and had further hits in his home country. == Biography == Riefoli lived the few first years of the 1980s in London, before starting out his musical career in 1984, landing mostly in the new wave scene with his English language debut album, Raf. His first single, "Self Control", which he co-wrote with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo, was a huge hit not only in his native Italy but also in Austria (No. 7), Switzerland (No. 1) and Germany, where the single climbed as high as No. 2 in the Media Control single chart and spent a total of seven weeks within the Top 10. Raf's version of the song also managed to enter the Top-40 in France. "Self Control" was recorded and released contemporaneously by American pop star Laura Branigan, previously best known for the hit singles "Gloria" (another cover version originally released by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi) and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You".
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.