X-Tend

In 1984, in a house tucked away in an alley in the locality of St Julian’s, Godwin De Bono, Chris Cassar, and Sandra Sammut came together. A short time later, Eric “Ace” Calleja also joined them. From there, the members began a journey of experimentation, creating electronic music using a selection of synthesisers they owned.

The melodies they composed started coming together into the group’s first musical compositions. The four members felt that the sound and style of the songs they were producing had something special. So, they decided to record some demos at a proper recording studio.

It was Vince Fabri who suggested to Eric that the group should use the services of Dalli Studios in Valletta. They didn’t hesitate, they contacted Charles Dalli right away and visited the studio to showcase the material they had been working on.

Charles immediately noticed that the group’s music was very similar to what he himself was creating. He even told them he was working on a similar electronic music project. The inevitable happened; it was clear that Charles and the other four members would join forces. Together, they started producing and recording their first songs in a new and innovative style of that era known as New Wave, which was the global craze at the time.

Thirty-nine years have passed since those early days, and Charles, Godwin, and Eric are still producing music to this day. Ever since the release of their first single, “I Can Feel”, which won the Passaporto per San Remo Festival at the prestigious Ariston Theatre and the launch of their debut album "EXTEND" in 1985, they never looked back.

Since then, they have managed to produce an impressive amount of music: no less than 12 albums, along with numerous singles and music videos, filmed both in Malta and in major European cities such as Paris, Monaco, San Remo, Val D’Aosta, and Rome.

Beyond Malta and Gozo, where X-Tend have performed in practically every town and village, they’ve also shared the stage with international stars like Marc Almond (Soft Cell), Haddaway, Imagination, Wet Wet Wet, Jive Bunny, Bonnie Tyler, Mattia Bazar, and many more. X-Tend have been invited to perform concerts in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Tunisia, and even as far as Australia. There, they were warmly welcomed by the Maltese emigrant community in Sydney and Melbourne, where they performed a total of four concerts and also launched a CD album during that tour.

Over the years, other musicians such as Noel D’Anastas, Mark Attard, and Mark Abela were also part of X-Tend, each contributing to the group at different points in time. Additionally, Danny Dalli, Robert G., and Lorna Fiorini were also members of the group for a period.

Many of the group’s songs were written by Charles and Eric, while Godwin and Charles dedicated themselves to the production, arrangements, and mixing of most of the songs they released.

An interesting fact is that several of the songs written back in the 1980s are still popular today among radio station listeners and other media platforms.

X-Tend have frequently appeared on local television stations and were recently invited as Classic Artists at the prestigious "Mużika Mużika" festival, where they performed their first hit “I Can Feel” in Maltese for the very first time. The song, titled "Inħoss Ġo Qalbi", featured lyrics and music by Charles Dalli and was performed by X-Tend together with the emerging Maltese band OXYGYN