The arrangements were by Stylianos (Lakis) Vlavianos who mixed elements of Greek folk music with progressive rock. The album featured Lucas Sideras and Silver Koulouris of Aphrodite's Child, Michel Ripoche on violin, with lyrics by Boris Bergman, another Aphrodite's Child alumni. One such collaboration between Vangelis and Demis, and one that is often overlooked, is on Vangelis' 1970 soundtrack "Sex Power", wherein Demis contributed background vocals.Īs Vangelis went on to explore his personal style of electro-acoustic composition with the newly acquired synthesizers of the day, Demis continued in the style of Aphrodite's Child recording pop music with a Mediterranean flavor augmented by his distinct vocals.ĭemis' first solo album was "On the Greek Side of My Mind" which was also titled "Fire and Ice" on the French release. "666" would sadly signal the end of Demis' full time involvement with Aphrodite's Child and Vangelis although any signs of acrimony were not found as the two appeared to enjoy occasional collaborations. "666" was held from release by Mercury Records for 2 years due to this controversy.
Aphrodite's Child was a chart-topping pop and progressive rock band whose ultimate achievement "666" managed to gain the group notoriety due to not only the album's heavy concept ( the Apocalypse of John, 13:18, Book of Revelations), but more notably the vocal performance of Greek actress Irene Papas. A singer was born!ĭemis met Vangelis while performing and along with Lucas Sideras and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris Aphrodite's Child was formed. In the band We Five, in addition to playing bass, Demis lent his distinctive voice to the cover songs "House of the Rising Sun", "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "Paint it Black". Other bands of this era included The Charms, The Sounds and perhaps more importantly Vangelis Papathanassiou's band, The Forminx. Demis joined this scene playing bass with The Idols and We Five. Many bands were performing and recording cover versions of popular European and English songs. In Athens in the mid-sixties a musical style was flourishing. They left behind their possessions during the Suez crisis and returned to their native Greece.ĭemis, forced to support his family, began work as a cabaret musician having learned guitar, trumpet and piano in school. His father, George, had been a successful Greek architect, but the family, including mother, Olga, and brother, Costas, was forced to flee as penniless immigrants.
By Michael Thomas Roe The saga of Demis Roussos Artemios (Demis) Ventouris Roussos, born 15 June 1946 died 25 January 2015Īrtemios (Demis) Ventouris Roussos was born in Alexandria, Egypt on June 15, 1946.
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