Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: Award-winning Marconi Bakery) is an Italian progressive rock band. PFM were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics. They also had several successful European and American tours, playing at the popular Reading Festival in England and on a very popular national television program in the United States.

The lack of a strong lead vocalist had always been considered PFM's biggest liability so, for this reason, they enrolled Bernardo Lanzetti, who was previously with the group Acqua Fragile. While a college student, Lanzetti had lived in Austin, Texas for a few years. But most importantly he had a powerful and distinctive voice and could speak fluent English. The first release by the six-piece band was Chocolate Kings in 1975. Featuring a harder rock sound, it had modest success at home but was their least popular album in Italy so far. The same album was released with different cover art by Manticore in the UK and by Asylum Records in the US. The controversial US/UK cover showed a chocolate bar in a partially peeled Stars and Stripes wrapper on the front, along with the crumpled and discarded wrapper on the back. PFM appeared on the BBC television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976 performing the title track to the album. The album reached the UK top 20 but was less successful internationally. Mauro Pagani left the group following Chocolate Kings to pursue a solo career. Lanzetti also appeared on Jet Lag (1977), an album highly influenced by the Jazz-fusion movement, which was recorded in Los Angeles. This was their last album with English lyrics and the last album released in the U.S., also on Asylum. Violinist Gregory Bloch, previously with the group It's a Beautiful Day, replaced Mauro Pagani and helped the band acquire notoriety in the US before leaving to join the Saturday Night Live Band in 1979. For Passpartu (1978) PFM added two new percussion players and shifted stylistic direction once again. The album contains seven songs in Italian and one instrumental, characterized by an international pop music style; an early example of what today is known as 'Worldbeat'. The album contains mostly acoustic guitar and draws from Italian folk and Latin music as well as Jazz-Pop styles, somewhat like Steely Dan. This was the last album to feature Lanzetti, who then left to pursue a solo career.

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