In Memoriam: Demis Roussos

On January 25th, Greek singer Demis Roussos died in Athens. He dominated the European charts as a solo performer in the 1970s after having been a member of Aphrodite's Child, a progressive rock group that also included Vangelis. Among his greatest hits were "Rain and Tears" (by Aphrodite's Child, 1968), "Goodbye My Love Goodbye" (1973), "My Friend the Wind" (1973), "Schönes Mädchen aus Arcadia" (1973), "Happy to Be on an Island in the Sun" (1975), "Quand Je T'Aime" (1987) and "On écrit sur les murs" (1989).

May he rest in peace. 

To be honest, I was not a fan of his music but I've always respected the longevity of his career. My favourite Roussos track is the above-mentioned "Rain & Tears". I like the  psychedelic aspect of this song.

Aphrodite's Child (feat. Demis Roussos & Vangelis): Rain & Tears (1968)

In 1972, Demis took part in an "All Stars" project (with Vicky Leandros, Hildegard Knef, Sandra & Andres, Enrico Macias and Alice Babs) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the BBC. Luv' producer Hans van Hemert supervised the recording sessions of "Auntie" (released by Philips Records). This single peaked at #4 on the Dutch Top 40. In the early years of the BBC, "Auntie" was used as a nickname for the British broadcaster. Hans once described this project as a "Herculean task". Eurovision conductor Harry van Hoof helped him with the orchestration. Hans was obliged to record each singer separately in several countries. Funny fact: when the music video for "Auntie" was filmed, Demis had not recorded his part yet. He was obliged to lip-sync to what Hans sang to him. Then they went to the studio to record his voice and later they switch the tape for the final mix.

Dutch record sleeve

German record sleeve

"Auntie" music video (Demis Roussos, Vicky Leandros, Hildegard Knef, Sandra & Andres, Enrico Macias and Alice Babs)

In 1979, as a member of the Philips/Phonogram family, Demis attended the presentation of a gold record for the "Music by Candlelight" album (by Gheorghe Zamfir & Harry van Hoof). Will Hoebee produced this big selling LP. José, Big Mouth & Little Eve (Ingrid Kup and Willem Duyn) were also present:

Demis Roussos, José, Will Hoebee (producer of "Music by Candlelight"), Gheorghe Zamfir & Harry van Hoof, Ingrid Kup and Willem Duyn in 1979 / Photo courtesy by Jos Theuns

Source: Wikipedia, YouTube, Discogs...