Leo Leandros
|
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leo Leandros (real name Leandros Papathanasiou , Greek Λέανδρος Παπαθανασίου , born August 23, 1926 in Astakos , Aetolia-Acarnania , Greece ) is a former Greek pop singer, music producer , composer and lyricist. From 1956 to 1969 he published numerous records in German. He is the father of Vicky Leandros . In addition, he has two children and a grandchild from his second marriage, all of whom now live in Hamburg.
Life
Until 1955 Leo Leandros lived as the son of a university professor in Greece, where he completed a law degree. During the Greek Civil War (1946-1949) he was a soldier in the Greek army. After the end of the war he was discovered by a reporter as a singer and placed on a radio station. After a short time Leandros was already one of the most famous pop singers in Greece. In May 1955 he gave up his work as Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and went to Germany with his wife Kyriaki Protopapa in the hope of being able to continue his career as a pop singer there. Several attempts to find an engagement with radio stations failed because of his lack of knowledge of German. It was only when he was given the opportunity to audition at Hessischer Rundfunk that he was featured on the Frankfurter Wecker show . After another appearance on a television show, the record company Philips became aware of Leandros and signed a record deal with him. The first single was released in the summer of 1956 ( Conchita / Kleine Violetta ), a year later he had his first record success with the title Komm Mister Talliman , a cover version of the Banana Boat song sung by Harry Belafonte . Philips then produced more records with Leo Leandros in quick succession, and between 1960 and 1963 another five successful productions were made. The title Mustafa , which was in the "Top 50" of the music magazine Musikmarkt from June to November 1960 and achieved second place as the best listing , became the greatest success . In 1958 his daughter Vassiliki (Vicky), who had previously lived with her grandparents in Greece, came to Germany. Her father divorced three years later.
With his fellow musicians Günther Kallmann, Bernd Golonski, Sigurd Hilkenbach and Karl-Heinz Welbers, Leandros founded the group Die Five Tops as the lead singer in 1964 . With her, Philips produced ten singles by 1968, of which the title Rag Doll (German cover version of the hit song of the same name by the US group The Four Seasons ) was the most successful with fourth place in the music market.
In 1968 Leo Leandros began his second music career as a producer. As such, he first appeared on the first records of his daughter Vicky Leandros, whom he also looked after in her further career. He also worked with Ulli Martin ( You don't have to cry ) and for many years with Demis Roussos ( Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye ) and Julio Iglesias ( No Addio - No Goodbye ). Leandros also produced several records with Freddy Quinn in the latter's career years ( Istanbul is far ). Leandros also worked as a composer for Julio Iglesias (give me your love ) and Demis Roussos ( vagabond of love ). Some of the songs with Vicky Leandros were also penned by her father, such as the winner of the 1972 Après toi Grand Prix competition (Then you came).
In 1983 Leo Leandros retired and only acted as an advisor to his daughter. In the 1990s he returned to Greece, where he lives with his third wife Venetia and their daughter Vanessa, born in 1990.
Through Vicky Leandros , he has three grandchildren, including the actress Sandra von Ruffin , and has been the great-grandfather of at least one great-grandchild at the earliest since 2013.
Filmography
- 1960 O sole mio
- 1960 We never want to part
- 1961 Schlagerrevue 1962
Discography (Germany)
Vinyl singles
| From page | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| Conchita / Little Violetta |
Philips 344 792 PF |
6/1956 |
| This is the Fiesta / Black Rosita | 344 816 PF | 7/1956 |
| Kongo-Bongo / Bongo-Billy | 344 867 PF | 10/1956 |
| Ay, ay, ay, ay, that's love / In Bordeaux | 344 894 PF | 11/1956 |
| Marie, star of Napoli / Tigi-tigi-tio | 344 956 PF | 6/1957 |
| Come on, Mister Talliman / Peppino | 344 971 PF | 8/1957 |
| Chella-Llá / Kuli-Song | 345 014 PF | 2/1958 |
| Chella-Lla / When a bullfighter kisses you | 345 030 PF | 3/1958 |
| Hundred Thousand Cruzeiros / Mucho Amore | 345 050 PF | 9/1958 |
| Bambina / A journey into happiness | 345 055 PF | 9/1958 |
| Come Prima / Viva L'amore | 345 080 PF | 10/1958 |
| Hey Käpt'n - Rolling Home / Kari Waits For Me | 345 089 PF | 11/1958 |
| I dream of the south / Often the sky cries tears | 345 146 PF | 5/1959 |
| Penny Serenade / All streets are lonely | 345 154 PF | 6/1959 |
| Ay, ay Paraguay / Girls from Napoli | 345 170 PF | 9/1959 |
| Carina / Marina | 345 194 PF | 11/1959 |
| Blue Night In Zanzibar / For Seven Years | 345 205 PF | 2/1960 |
| Carmen Ramona / All girls want to kiss | 345 127 PF | 4/1960 |
| In the harbor of our great love / Anita | 345 223 PF | 4/1960 |
| Mustafa / moonlight and sea | 345 228 PF | 4/1960 |
| Tum-Balalaika / takes a boat to Kalamo | 345 270 PF | 1/1961 |
| Bananas / Shabada | 345 300 PF | 5/1961 |
| One day / fly to the home of my dreams | 345 326 PF | 9/1961 |
| Signorina Bella / Hasta la vista | 345 328 PF | 10/1961 |
| Love came / On the quay of Corsica | 345 364 PF | 1/1962 |
| Farewell, Jasmina / Bamboo Bambina | 345 399 PF | 6/1962 |
| Madrileña / They speak Spanish | 345 559 PF | 3/1963 |
| Everyone's favorite / In the Cantina Mexicana | 345 575 PF | 4/1963 |
| Piccolina / Your cherry red lips | 345 580 PF | 5/1963 |
| Somewhere in Athens / Manina | 345 635 PF | 10/1963 |
| Kara Ben Jussuf / Everyone cries once | 345 677 PF | 1964 |
| Love is so beautiful / Dinah-Lu | 345 731 PF | 1964 |
| What was once / As beautiful as you | 345 788 PF | 1964 |
| Believe in it / Rag Doll (Five Tops) | 345 786 PF | 10/1964 |
| Wait for luck / I'll do it for you (Five Tops) | 345 818 PF | 4/1965 |
| When the bouzoukis sing / Sirtaki Time | 345 853 PF | 9/1965 |
| Just ask your heart / stay with me (Five Tops) | 345 863 PF | 10/1965 |
| Our sun / your heart is cold as ice (Five Tops) | 345 897 PF | 5/1966 |
| It is difficult to be alone / one day he will stand in front of you | 346 033 PF | 1966 |
| So much love / You don't ride well there (Five Tops) | 346 039 PF | 1/1967 |
| Today is today / Homesickness (Five Tops) | 346 068 PF | 8/1967 |
| Believe in life / a thousand pretty girls (Five Tops) | 384 514 PF | 4/1968 |
| La Felicidad / Don't take it so hard (Five Tops) | 384 546 PF | 7/1968 |
| That day / Maria | 384564 | 1968 |
| 40,000 Mark / Ma Va La (Five Tops) | 388 364 PF | 5/1969 |
literature
- Frank Laufenberg: Rock & Poplexikon (Volume 1), Econ Taschenbuch Verlag 1998, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 , p. 863.
swell
- ↑ Leo Leandros in the German charts
- ↑ Vicky Leandros became a grandma for the first time , In: OK! Magazine on October 25, 2013, accessed on October 25, 2013
Web links
- Leo Leandros at rocknroll-schallplatten-forum.de
- Leo Leandros at home.wxs.nl (English)
- Leo Leandros at Discogs (English)
- Works by and about Leo Leandros in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leandros, Leo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Papathanassiou, Leandros (real name); Panas, Mario (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek composer, singer, lyricist and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 23, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Astakos , Greece |