Fifa Riccobono

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.

Fifa Riccobono began her career in music as a 16 year old secretary at Alberts, Australia's first independent record label devoted exclusively to recording Australian pop artists. During her time at Alberts, Fifa worked with some of Australia’s biggest acts including AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and the Angels as well as the legendary Vanda & Young writing team. In 1990, she was appointed CEO of Alberts, becoming the first woman to run a record company in Australia. Fifa is a former Board Director of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), Australia’s peak industry body for songwriters, and in 2019 she was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for her significant contribution to the Australian music industry. 

In this interview, Fifa talks to Jane Gazzo about her early career before moving into A&R at Alberts. She reflects on her time with AC/DC, her first impressions of Bon Scott, her admiration for Malcolm Young as the driving force behind AC/DC, and what it was like to be in a crowd of over one million people watching AC/DC play at the 1991 Monsters of Rock gig in Moscow.

Interviewer: Jane Gazzo

Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017