Avengers in Time: 1973, Music: Demis Roussos

Saturday 24 October 2015

1973, Music: Demis Roussos

In 1973 The Greek singer Demis Roussos, real name Artemios Ventouris-Roussos (15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015), scored 4 number 1 hits in the European charts: "Goodbye, my love, goodbye" (number 1 in Germany and Switzerland), "Forever and Ever" (number 1 in Belgium), "My Friend the Wind" (number 1 in Belgium and The Netherlands) and "Schönes Mädchen aus Arcadia" (English: "Lovely Lady of Arcadia") (number 1 in Belgium and The Netherlands).

Demis Roussos with "Aphrodite's Child"

Demis Roussos holding gold records for his single and album "Forever and Ever" (Paris, 1973)

"Goodbye, my love, goodbye"

"Forever and Ever"

"My Friend the Wind"

"Schönes Mädchen aus Arcadia"

Demis Roussos was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in a Greek family. His father, Yorgos Roussos, was a classical guitarist and an engineer and his mother Olga was a singer. He studied music and sang in the Greek Byzantine Church choir in Alexandria. During the Suez Crisis (1956) he moved with his parents to Greece. In Greece he met Evangelos Papathanassiou (aka Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, together they formed the progressive rock band “Aphrodite's Child” (1967). After “Aphrodite's Child” disbanded Roussos started a solo career in 1971 with with the song "We Shall Dance" in 1971, which was a top ten hit in both The Netherlands and Belgium.