Antonio Forcione is an Italian-born guitarist-composer. Winner of numerous awards, he has released 18 albums of largely original material. He tours internationally in festivals and for charity performances and masterclass workshops. Forcione was born in a village on the Adriatic shore of Molise in southern Italy. He first drew public attention at 13 when he toured Italy with his own band as a guitarist, mandolinist and drummer. A few years later he obtained a diploma in art and sculpture from the Art Institute in Ancona where he also studied percussion. For a further two years he studied harmony and mime in Rome, before moving to London in 1983. Unable to speak English, he initially made ends meet by busking in the streets of London's Covent Garden. Within 2 months he had won an award which led to a BBC television appearance before being whisked off to open for Barclay James Harvest on a major European tour, culminating in a concert at Wembley Arena. Since then he has collaborated with many artists, touring the world and performing both solo and with other artists in duo, trio or quartet. [More at Wikipedia]

January 1st, 1960 in Italy (Age 64)