The brothers followed Duncan-Smith's advice and named themselves Oliver Onions after the homonymous British writer; the name was chosen mostly because it was easy to remember for both people who speak English and people who do not, and because the two words are pronounced the same as they are written. In Italy, they became best known for writing and performing the theme song for Sergio Sollima's 1976 TV series Sandokan, based on novels by Emilio Salgari, which they also wrote the music score for; the song, heard under the opening credits, became a no.1 hit in the Italian pop charts in the same year. Their soundtrack for the 1981 cartoon series Viva i Re Magi (previously released in 1979, in Spanish language, in Mexico and Argentina as Vivan los Reyes Magos), for which they wrote the story and the screenplay as well as the full score and all the songs (which they sang themselves) was also a local hit.
The brothers adopted Duncan-Smith's suggestion and named themselves Oliver Onions, after a British writer with the same name; they chose this moniker because it was simple to remember for both English speakers and non-English speakers, as well as because the words are pronounced identically. In Italy, they became famous primarily for creating and performing the theme song for Sergio Sollima's 1976 TV series Sandokan, based on novels by Emilio Salgari; this song topped the Italian pop charts in its year of release. Their soundtrack for the 1981 cartoon series Viva i Re Magi (originally released as Vivan los Reyes Magos in Spanish) was also a local hit.