Aphrodite's Child
| Aphrodite's Child | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Rock , progressive rock |
| founding | 1968 |
| resolution | 1972 |
| Founding members | |
| Vangelis | |
| Demis Roussos † | |
Drums , vocals |
Lukas Sideras |
| Silver Koulouris | |
Aphrodite's Child was a Greek progressive rock band that existed from 1968 to 1972 and featured a few songs in the charts ( Rain and Tears , End of the World , It's Five o'Clock ).
history
Demis Roussos († January 25, 2015) was born on June 15, 1946 in Egypt as the son of Greek emigrants and lived in Alexandria . After the turmoil of the Suez crisis , the family returned to Greece in 1958. Roussos learned to play the piano and guitar. In 1963 he founded his first band "The Idols".
Vangelis Papathanassiou (born March 29, 1943) also founded his first band Forminx with friends in Greece in 1963, with great success, because they also performed in Greek stadiums. Vangelis wanted to develop further and moved to Paris in 1968 , not only for political reasons (at that time there was still a military junta in the country). There he founded Aphrodite's Child with Demis Roussos (bass, vocals), Lucas Sideras (born December 5, 1944, drums, vocals) and Silver Koulouris (guitar, percussion). Vangelis played keyboard instruments , flute and percussion and most of the compositions were also by him. Already in this phase his extraordinary talent became apparent, which would continue until the turn of the millennium. Her first single Rain and Tears (May 1968) reached top positions in the charts in most western countries and was a great success. Her first LP End of the World was released in 1968, followed by It's Five o'Clock the following year .
In 1972 they made a turn towards progressive rock and released the concept album 666 , a musical interpretation of the Revelation of John . Vangelis had been working on the album since 1970. According to the contract with the record company Mercury Records , the group had to deliver a third LP. Those in charge had strong doubts whether such a progressive concept could be sold. So they first asked for a new single and began recording 666 after the release of Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall . The album was then released on the label Vertigo, which specializes in progressive rock .
While Vangelis was finishing work on this project, the other group members performed live without him. The group soon fell apart.
Demis Roussos released a solo LP and later established himself as a successful pop singer , especially in Germany .
It is interesting that the album received a late "appreciation", because Michael Cretu took over some parts of the record and integrated them into the album MCMXC a. D. from Enigma .
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Albums
- 1968: End of the World
- 1969: It's Five o'Clock
- 1972: 666 (double album)
Singles
- 1968: Plastics Nevermore / The Other People
- 1968: Rain and Tears / Don't Try to Catch a River
- 1969: End of the World / You Always Stand in my Way
- 1969: Valley of Sadness / Mister Thomas
- 1969: Lontano dagli occhi / Quando l'amore diventa poesia
- 1969: I Want to Live / Magic Mirror
- 1969: Let Me Love, Let Me Live / Marie Jolie
- 1970: It's Five o'Clock / Wake up
- 1970: Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall / Air
- 1970: Such a Funny Night / Annabella
- 1972: Break / Babylon