Roussos was born and raised inAlexandria,Egypt, in aGreek family.[3][4] His father, George (Yorgos) Roussos, was a classical guitarist and an engineer, and his mother, Olga (1923–2019), participated with her husband in an amateur theatrical Greek group in Alexandria (there were three such groups in the Greek community); her family originally came from Greece.[3] His maternal grandparents were fromChios and immigrated toAlexandria after theAsia Minor Catastrophe. His paternal grandparents were fromChania. His grandfather moved to Egypt in the early 1900s along with his future wife who was underaged. He changed his surname from Ventouris to Roussos to hide from her family.[5]
As a child, Roussos studied music and joined theGreek Church Byzantine choir in Alexandria.[6][7] His formative years in the ancient port city's cosmopolitan atmosphere were influenced byjazz, but also traditional Arabic andGreek Orthodox music.[8] His parents lost their possessions during theSuez Crisis in 1956 and consequently decided to move to Greece.[9][failed verification]
After settling in Greece, Roussos participated in a series of musical groups beginning with the Idols when he was 17, where he met Evángelos Papathanassíou (later known asVangelis) andLoukas Sideras, his future bandmates inAphrodite's Child.[10] After this, he joined theAthens-based band We Five, another cover band which had limited success in Greece.[11]
Roussos's operatic vocal style helped propel the band to international success, notably on their final album666, based on passages from theBook of Revelation, which became aprogressive rock cult classic.[11]
After Aphrodite's Child disbanded, Roussos continued to record sporadically with his former bandmate Vangelis. In 1970, the two released thefilm score albumSex Power (the album has also been credited to Aphrodite's Child), and later recorded the 1977 albumMagic together. Their most successful collaboration was "Race to the End" (also sung in Spanish as "Tu Libertad"), a vocal adaptation of the musical theme from theOscar-winning filmChariots of Fire (scored by Vangelis). Roussos also guested on Vangelis' soundtrack toBlade Runner (1982),[12] on the tracks "Tales of the Future", "Damask Rose", "Taffey's Snake Pit Bar", and "On the Trail of Nexus 6" (several only available in non-bootleg form on the 29th Anniversary Limited Edition CD set released in 2011).
Roussos also began a solo career with the song "We Shall Dance" in 1971, which was a top ten hit in both theNetherlands andBelgium. Initially unsuccessful, he toured around Europe and became a leading artist. His solo career peaked in the mid 1970s with several hit albums.[12] His single "Forever and Ever" topped the charts in several countries in 1973. It was No. 1 in theUK Singles Chart in 1976.[6]
Roussos' run of hits was maintained in the 1980s mainly in France with a number two "Quand je t'aime" in 1988 and "On écrit sur les murs" in 1989, along with golden records for the albumsLe Grec andVoice and Vision. Also hisChristmas Album andGreatest Hits easily reached the gold status in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1989, he recorded the song "Young Love", a duet with German singer and songwriterDrafi Deutscher, which was released as a single in Germany and reached No. 2 on the German music TV showZDF-Hitparade in October that year.[18]
In 1982, Roussos released an album simply titled Demis, on whichJon Anderson of the bandYes collaborated, writing one song music and lyricsLament and writing lyrics on two others, the first oneSong For The Free and the other oneRace to the end with music byVangelis. This song is a cover of Vangelis' hitChariots of Fire, on which Jon Anderson wrote the lyrics for Roussos.[citation needed]
The 1990s saw even more substantial releases by Roussos. In 1993, he released "Insight" (also called "Morning Has Broken") to general acclaim. After that he teamed up with BR Music in the Netherlands to produce "Immortel", "Serenade" and "In Holland".[19]
In more recent years he appeared in Russia and theUnited Arab Emirates.[citation needed] A committed follower of theGreek Orthodox faith, he sang as a guest in a number of churches in Greece and worldwide, including France.[13]
In 2006, he releasedDemis Roussos – Live in Brasil,[20] almost thirty years after "Você Você e Nada Mais", aPortuguese hit in 1977.[21] From 2006 to 2008, he was part of theÂge Tendre et Têtes de Bois tour, a series of concerts featuring French singers from the 1960s and 1970s.[22][23]
Roussos staged a comeback in 2009, wherein he recorded his final studio album,Demis, produced byMarc di Domenico [fr], released on 11 May.[24] On this albumSteve Howe's sonVirgil plays drums.
Just one month before his death, Roussos selected the tracks for an official CD compilation of his life's work, including notes by his two children Emily and Cyril. The CD,Demis Roussos Collected, was released in March 2015.[citation needed] It became a number one album in the Belgian album charts and reached number 61 in the Netherlands.
Demis Roussos collaborated withMichel Elefteriades on many songs which Elefteriades rearranged in an oriental fusion;[25] the project was called Demis Roussos & the Oriental Roots Orchestra.[26][27][28][29] This project was first presented at the Mediterraneo Byblos Festival in 2001[30][31][32][33][34][35] and shortly after became an international success in the Arab world[36] later being staged again in Egypt andQatar. Elefteriades also composed, wrote and arranged the song "The Beast" for Roussos and directed the video for it.[37]
In June 1985, Roussos was among the passengers ofTWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome, which was hijacked, but he was released along with four other Greeks after five days while most of the other hostages remained there for 17 days.[13][38]
For years, Roussos 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 10 months.[39] In 1982 he co-authored the bookA Question of Weight with his close friend, the photographerVeronique Skawinska, in which he dealt candidly with his struggles withobesity.[40]
Roussos died in the morning of 25 January 2015, fromstomach cancer,pancreatic cancer, andliver cancer while hospitalised atYgeia Hospital in Athens, Greece. His death was confirmed a day later by a friend, the journalistNikos Aliagas, who tweeted the news on 26 January 2015 in both Greek and French.[41][42] His death was also confirmed later on the same day by his daughter, who spoke to Greek and French media.
Fellow Greek singerNana Mouskouri paid tribute to Roussos on the French radio stationRTL, saying "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."[1]
Roussos' funeral was held at theFirst Cemetery of Athens, the burial place of many Greek politicians and cultural figures, on 30 January. The singerMariza Koch said, "His was a voice which awakened emotions in people and honoured Greece wherever it reached. We bid farewell to Demis." ComposerGiorgos Hatzinasios commented, "I can still hear his heartfelt laugh in my ears and I want to bid farewell to him with nostalgia and love."[43]
Roussos was married three[44][45][46][47] or possibly four[48][49] times. He had a daughter, Emily, with his first wife, Monique. With his second wife, Dominique, he had a son, Cyril. Both of Roussos' children are musicians.[50][51] His third wife, the American model Pamela Smith, now Pamela Roussos-Rațiu (wife of the Romanian businessman Indrei Rațiu, married in 2004),[52] was with him during the 1985 TWA plane hijacking incident.[53] His fourth, and last, wife was a Parisian named Marie.[54]
Roussos listedMozart andSting among his favourite composers.[55]
Roussos is the subject of an argument between two main characters in the TV adaptation ofMike Leigh's 1977 playAbigail's Party. On the day of Roussos' death, actressAlison Steadman was interviewed byBBC Radio 4'sPM and discussed the significance of the music in the play.[56]
On 15 June 2016, his children Emily and Cyril opened the Demis Roussos Museum inNijkerk,Netherlands. After his death, the curator initiated the procedure to move the museum to Greece.[57]
TheBollywood song "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from the filmSholay is based on Roussos "Say You Love Me". In an interview,[when?] its directorRamesh Sippy related attending a Roussos concert in London. His wife asked him to incorporate this song intoSholay's music track.[58][better source needed]
^abRoussos, Demis (1982).A question of weight. M. Laffon. p. 18.ISBN978-2-86804-008-4.I was born on the 15th of June 1946 in Alexandria, of Greek parents who had lived in Egypt for two generations. Olga, my mother, was born into a merchant family who left Greece to seek their fortune in the East. My father, Georges
^Murrells, Joseph (1978).The Book of Golden Discs. Barrie and Jenkins. p. 235.ISBN978-0-214-20480-7.Demis Roussos was born in Alexandria (Egypt) of Greek parents on 15 June 1947, his parents also being artistic, father a classical guitarist and engineer, mother a singer.
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