Artemios Ventouris Roussos (1946 - 2015)

Born 15 Jun 1946 in Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt

Died 25 Jan 2015 at age 68 in Athens, Attikí, Greece

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Biography

Demis Roussos is Notable.

Artemios "Demis" Ventouris Roussos was an Egyptian-born Greek vocalist and performer who had an internationally acclaimed career, both as a single recording artist and bandleader. As a band member he is best remembered for his work in the progressive rock music act Aphrodite's Child, but as a vocal soloist, his repertoire included hit songs like Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye and Forever and Ever. Roussos sold over 60 million albums worldwide and became "an unlikely kaftan-wearing sex symbol".

Musical career

After settling in Greece, Demis participated in a series of musical groups beginning with the Idols when he was seventeen. This was where he met Evángelos Papathanassíou (later known as Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, his future bandmates in Aphrodite's Child. His teenage years coincided with a boom in the Greek tourism industry and he began singing in tourist bars. Forming progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child with Vangelis and Loukas brought Demis to a wider audience from 1967 to 1972, initially as a singer but later also playing bass guitar. His operatic vocal style and unique high tenor helped propel the band to international success; notably on their final album 666, based on passages from the Book of Revelation, which became a progressive rock cult classic. Even after Aphrodite's Child broke up, Demis and Vangelis collaborated on Race to the End (also sung in Spanish as "Tu Libertad"), a vocal adaptation of the musical theme from the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire (scored by Vangelis) and on Vangelis' soundtrack to Blade Runner (1982).

Demis' career arguably peaked in the 1970s as a soloist, although he continued to tour and record successfully up until his untimely death. Some of his 'greatest' songs are We Shall Dance, Forever and Ever, My Friend the Wind, Goodbye My Love, Goodbye, My Only Fascination and Lovely Lady of Arcadia.^[1]

Hijacking

In June 1985, Roussos was among the passengers of TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome, which was hijacked by members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. He and Pamela were released along with four other Greeks after five days while most of the other hostages remained there for 17 days.^[2]

Philanthropy

Demis Roussos worked towards world peace, expecially after the hijacking incident. Like many other survivors, he went through the shock of a traumatic experience. It made him aware of the importance of nations living together in hrmony and how precious life is. He realised his best contribution for such peace was through his music and returned to recording and performing. He was invited to join scientists, writers and artists at the forum for peace and disarmament in Moscow, held in 1987.

Later that year, whilst touring Chile, he visited the Earth Summit in Rio to get a clearer picture of the environmental problems. Many of his songs from that time reflect his concerns and desires.^[3]

Personal life

Demis Roussos was born on 15th June 1946 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the son of Egyptian-born Greek, George (Yorgos) Roussos, who was a classical guitarist and an engineer with his own property construction company, and Greek-born, Olga, who was a singer. Music was always going to play a big part in the young lad's life. As soon as he was old enough young Demis studied music and learned guitar, trumpet and piano. He joined a Greek Byzantine church choir in Alexandria as a child and later began work as a cabaret musician to help his family make ends meet. Demis was fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Arabic, as well as Greek and English. His parents lost their possessions during the Suez Crisis and consequently moved to Greece.^[4]

He married four times, with the first three ending in divorce. Both of Demis' children are musicians.

• Demis was first married to French-born Monique. They had a daughter, Emily, born in early 1969 in France, as Aphrodite's Child's first hit, Rain And Tears, was the top single all over Europe and a top 20 single in the United Kingdom.^[5]
• With his second wife, Dominique, also French, he had a son, Cyril, on 15th September 1975.^[6] They had renovated a house in Maisons-Laffitte, outside Paris. With Demis becoming very well known in Europe, they rented a magnificent villa by the sea in Malibu, California, in June 1979, where they could escape the crowds and onlookers. By the early 1980's he returned to Europe and lived a quieter life between England and Greece, alone with his son, Cyril.
• Demis met American model and violinist, Pamela Smith (1948-), now Pamela Roussos-Rațiu, in 1983 and they married soon afterward. Pamela was with him during the 1985 TWA plane hijacking incident. They were together for ten years and remained good friends following their divorce.^[7]
• His fourth, and last, wife was a Parisian named Marie. They moved to Athens in 2008, purchasing a house overlooking the sea.

For years, Demis struggled with his weight. In June 1980 he weighed 147 kilograms (23 st; 324 lb). He then began a diet in which he lost 50 kg (8 st; 110 lb) in ten months. In 1982 he co-authored the book, A Question of Weight, in which he dealt candidly with his struggles with obesity.

Demis remained a committed follower of the Greek Orthodox faith; regularly singing as a guest in churches in Greece and worldwide, including France.

He passed away, aged 68 years, from stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer on 25th January 2015 in Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece.^[8] Demis' funeral was held at the First Cemetery of Athens, the burial place of many Greek politicians and cultural figures, on 30th January.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Demis Roussos discography
2. ↑ [www.apnewsarchive.com AP News: The Hijack of TWA Flight 847]
3. ↑ Last FM: Demis Roussos; accessed 22 Oct 2018
4. ↑ Roussos, Demis (1982). A question of weight. M. Laffon. p. 18. ISBN 9782868040084
5. ↑ Facebook: Emily Roussos; accessed 22 Oct 2018
6. ↑ Facebook: Cyril Roussos; accessed 22 Oct 2018
7. ↑ Pamela Roussos-Ratiu website; accessed 22 Oct 2018
8. ↑ BBC News Obituary; accessed 22 Oct 2018

See also

• Demis Legrec: Demis Roussos.
• Wikipedia: Demis Roussos.