Aphrodite's Child
Aphrodite's Child were formed in Athens, Greece, by singer Demis
Roussos and keyboard player Evangahlos O. Papathanassiou (better known
later as Vangelis) in the mid 1960's. They originally recorded a
single for Philips Records in Greece (Plastics Nevermore b/w
The Other People) under the name The Papathanassiou Set. The
recordings showed that the band had absorbed the psychedelic influence
from artists such as The Beatles, Procol Harum and others, but had
retained a distinct Greek influence too. The group's music was deeply
rooted in Greek traditionalism, and they even adapted national folk
songs to contemporary treatment.
The recordings were passed to Mercury Records in London who
requested that the band should come over to England to record. By this
time Greece had undergone a right-wing military coup led by Colonel
Papadopoulos, with both political and artistic freedom becoming
severely limited.
Prior to departure for England, guitarist Koulouris received his
military call-up papers and was forced to undertake domestic National
Service. The remaining three musicians made their way to England, but
on arrival at Dover they were refused entry to the UK due to problems
with their work permits. The trio headed back to Paris while their
British visa issues were resolved. The group then found themselves
stranded in France due to a nationwide transport strike - the first
stages of the French industrial and student unrest of 1968. Philips
Records in France took up the option to sign the band to Philips'
Mercury label.
The first release by Aphrodite's Child was the single Rain and
Tears, released in May 1968. It was a worldwide hit and reached
the Top 10 in France, Holland and Belgium, and climbed to Number 27 in
the UK. The band re-entered the studio in June 1968 to record their
first album, End Of The World, Rain and Tears, which was
released in October, adorned in an elaborate psychedelic sleeve with
the track selection demonstrating the slightly schizophrenic musical
nature of the band. Aphrodite's Child were by now established as a
major act in continental Europe.
The band's second album, It's Five O' Clock, was released in
November 1969 and was a hit again across Europe - although it failed
to chart in Britain. By now Vangelis was becoming frustrated with the
musical direction of Aphrodite's Child and the band began undertaking
live work in Italy and Spain without their keyboard player (Greek
musician Harris Chalkitis deputized on keyboards).
By the end of 1970 "Silver" Koulouris had completed his military
service and was invited to come to Paris to contribute to the next
Aphrodite's Child album, the stunning and expansive double set, 666.
This album was a conceptual work with music by Vangelis and lyrics and
text by Greek film director Costa Ferris. The album's concept was
based on the Apocalypse of St John in the New Testament, with some
references to the late 60s/early 70s counter-culture. The music on the
album could not have been more different from the band's previous work
and Mercury passed the album to its 'progressive' label, Vertigo,
securing a release in France in late 1971.
The album was heralded as "a work of stunning complexity and
originality" and received widespread critical acclaim. Unfortunately,
the album did not fare well commercially.
With musical differences within the group now growing too wide to
heal, the inevitable break-up of Aphrodite's Child came later in 1971,
with Roussos setting out on his own singing career, which culminated
in British hit single Happy To Be On An Island in the Sun in
1975, followed a year later by the chart-topping EP The Roussos
Phenomenon. Vangelis Papathanassiou also went solo and made
several albums. Then in 1979, he and Jon Anderson recorded the hit
album Jon and Vangelis, from which their chart single I Hear
You Now was taken.
In 1981, Vangelis composed the music for the score of the movie
Chariots of Fire which was chosen for the year's British Royal
Film premiere.
| The
Band |
Vangelis Papathanassiou
Organ
|
Demis Roussos
Vocals, Bass
|
Loukas Sideras
Drums
Anargyros Koulouris
Guitar |
|
