
Greek singer Demis Roussos dies aged 68
Greek singer Demis Roussos, who sold more than 60 million
albums worldwide, has died aged 68 the Hygeia Hospital in Athens has confirmed
to the BBC.
He was best known for his solo hits in the 1970s and 80s,
including Forever and Ever, Goodbye and Quand je t'aime.
He was also a member of progressive rock group
Aphrodite's Child.
Roussos was renowned for his off-screen role in Mike
Leigh's 1977 TV play Abigail's party, having provided the party's soundtrack.
Roussos was as famous for his outfits as his music
He had been in the private hospital with an undisclosed
illness for some time.
Greek singer Nana Mouskouri paid tribute on French radio
RTL: "He had a superb voice, he travelled in the world ... he loved what
he was doing.
"He was an artist, a friend. I hope he is in a
better world."
The singer was born Artemios Ventouris Roussos in
Alexandria, Egypt, in 1946, to a Greek father and Egyptian mother of Italian
origin.
He was raised there until his parents moved to Greece in
the early 60s after losing their possessions during the Suez Crisis.
Roussos began his music career at 17, when he joined the
a band called The Idols, where he met his future Aphrodite's Child bandmate
Vangelis.
Aphrodite's Child produced three albums including It's
Five O'Clock and The Apocalypse of St John, and enjoyed huge success in Europe
in the late 1960s, especially France.
Roussos went on to enjoy a successful solo career,
topping the charts in several countries with Forever And Ever in 1973, before
doing the same in the UK in 1976.
The 1970s were a prolific time for the singer who talked
about his UK success during that time in an interview with The Guardian in
1999.
"This country was one of my most important
territories," said Roussos.
"Back in '75 I had five albums in the top 10.
Simultaneously. And among them the number one album and the number one single.
And my name was mentioned twice or three times in the Guinness Book of
Records."
He continued: "In 1975 I had the award for the top
male artist, the award for top single, the award for top album. The Abba and me
we took everything. Hahahaha!"
Other solo hits include My Friend the Wind, My Reason,
Someday Somewhere and Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun.
Roussos' fondness for kaftans saw him dubbed "the
Kaftan King" and he often wore them for his performances on shows such as
Top of the Pops.
He was also famous for his vocal adaptation of the score
from the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which had been composed by Vangelis.
In 1978 he decided to keep a lower profile and moved to
Malibu Beach in the US.
Plane hijack
On 14 June, 1985, Roussos boarded TWA Flight 847 from
Athens to Rome - and found himself at the mercy of the Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah, who hijacked the plane.
The men, who had smuggled a pistol and grenades through
airport security, held the passengers at gunpoint.
The militant group demanded the release of 17 members of
Hezbollah and the Iraqi Islamic Daawa Party, who had been detained in Kuwait
for attacks that killed six people in 1983.
Roussos spent his 39th birthday in captivity, before
being released in Beirut on 18 June - but most of the remaining 153 passengers
spent 17 days on the plane.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency at the time, the
singer said he had been "treated quite well".
"They gave me a birthday cake and they gave me a
guitar, to sing," he said. "They have been very polite and very nice
with us."
Return to music
Over the years, his quote became misinterpreted and
distorted. Some papers said he had serenaded the hijackers. Others claimed he
had pledged allegiance to Hezbollah.
Roussos, who rarely spoke about the incident, admitted he
was riled by the exaggerations in an interview with Australia's Daily Telegraph
in 2006.
"It is not every day that a pop superstar gets
involved with terrorism as a victim, so the press takes advantage of that to
say things they think are funny.
"I would like to see the journalist [who first reported
the claim] in front of gunpoint like I was. Believe me, if he was there he
would be so scared he wouldn't care about writing such stupidities like that.''
The experience changed his life and afterwards he decided
the best way he could help others and promote understanding in the world was by
returning to music.
He released his album The Story of Demis Roussos not long
after.
ROUSSOS, Demis (Artemios Ventouris Roussos)
Born: 6/15/1947, Alexandria, Egypt
Died: 1/25/2015, Athens, Greece
Demis Roussos’ western – singer:
The Man from Cher (TV) – 1969 [member of the singing
group Aphrodite’s Child]