Greek singer Demis Roussos: biography and personal life. Demis Roussos, his wives and children: photo of Demis Roussos who is by nationality

Greek singer, pop star of the 1970s-1980s Artomios (Demis) Ventouris Roussos(Demis Roussos) was born on June 15, 1946 in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, where his father worked as a contract architect. Demis's family was musical, his mother was a singer and his father played the classical guitar.

In the 1950s, during the Suez crisis, the wealthy Roussos family, leaving their property, returned to Greece.

Demis Roussos was educated at the Athens College of Music, where he learned to play the trumpet, double bass and organ.

To help his parents, Demis began to play in local cabarets and restaurants. He continued his education at the University of Athens at the Faculty of Philosophy, successfully mastering several languages.

In the mid-1960s, he played with various groups in Athens on ships and in hotels, entertaining tourists and visitors. In these groups, Demis Roussos performed both as a trumpeter and bassist. But only in the We Five group did he manage to demonstrate his singing abilities to the public.

While playing at big hotels in Athens such as the Hilton, Demis met many musicians, including Vangelis Papathanassiou, the leader of the band Formix, whom he became very close friends with. Together with Agyrilos Koulouris and Loukas Sideras, they founded the band Aphrodite's Child. In 1968, the group moved to Paris, where they won worldwide recognition. In 1971, Demis Roussos left the group, deciding to pursue a solo career.

In the late 1970s, the singer was actively involved in solo projects. Demis' first solo album, On The Greek Side Of My Mind, was released in November 1971. In March 1972, his second solo single "No Way Out" was released, but it failed. However, his third single called "My Reason" became a worldwide hit in the summer of 1972.

A second solo album was accordingly recorded and released in April 1973. It was in 1973 that Demis was at the pinnacle of success in Europe, Latin America and Canada and performed with concerts around the world.

In 1974, during his first concert at the Ahoy Hall in Rotterdam, Holland, he performed his new single "Someday Somewhere" for the first time.

In 1975 Demis' three albums "Forever And Ever", "My Only Fascination" and "Souvenirs" topped the top ten albums in England.

In 1977, Roussos recorded the French Album. The song of the same name as the album title "Ainsi Soit-il" became a hit. Demis and Vangelis teamed up again, and Vangelis produced Demis' album "Magic" in 1977. The song "Because" from this album became a mega hit in many countries, including France.

In the 1970s, Roussos' popularity was so great that the singer's name entered the Guinness Book of Records for the number of records sold.

In 1978, Demis traveled to the United States. Despite the fact that both the single "That Once A Lifetime" and the album "Demis Roussos" were successful in the US, the tour did not live up to high expectations.

In the 1980s, Roussos gave 150 music programs a year. In 1982, the album "Attitudes" was released.

On July 14, 1985, the singer flew by plane to Rome and was taken hostage by terrorists along with other passengers. Demis was held hostage in Beirut for five days.

In 1987, Roussos recorded the Christmas album, in 1988 - "Time", in 1989 - "Voice and Vision". Very successful were the music albums released in 1992 - "The Story of ..." and "X-Mas Album".

In 1993, almost all of Europe celebrated the 25th anniversary of the "Greek nightingale" Demis Roussos, he released a new album "Insight", the singer gave a huge number of solo concerts.

The artist continues to actively tour around the world, his concerts gather the public in many countries. He also writes music for films, in particular Indian films, produces the musical career of his daughter Emily and does not stop working on new compositions.

Roussos was married three times and has two children from different marriages - daughter Emily and son Cyril.

During his life he received the glory of a real heartthrob. He was married four times, and each time - for love.

At the beginning of his career, the musician really needed support - after all, it is always difficult to set foot on a creative path. Such support for him was Monique. Young people got married, they had a girl named Emily. However, being married to a musician surrounded by admirers proved difficult, and the marriage fell apart. Emily went with her mother to France.

Demis, he claims, met "the woman of his dreams" - Dominic, who gave him another child - the son of Cyril (Cyril). But here, too, the singer could not be a model of family for a long time. He kept having an affair, although he claimed that his heart belonged only to his wife. Dominique did not forgive him for his betrayal. During the divorce, the son stayed with him - the mother, who went to Chicago, did not mind, believing that you were Greece, and in the care of Olga's grandmother (DUmis's mother), Cyril would be better off.

Roussos' next lover was Pamela, American model. They met tritely - in a bookstore, and, not yet being married, got into a tragic mess with hostages together. The plane on which they followed to Rome was hijacked by terrorists; they had to spend several days in captivity.

The longest, according to Demis himself, was “delayed” with him Maria Teresa, French yoga instructor They met in 1994 and Marie, leaving everything, went to Greece for her beloved. However, the couple chose a civil marriage. By the way, she is not a “girl” at all compared to her husband, the age difference is only a few years.

The artist admitted that the ideal woman for him does not exist, if we mean height, hair color, figure. He gives himself only to his passion and demands one thing in return - undivided love. He, in his own words, is terribly jealous and would never have been able to forgive betrayal.

At the same time, Demis Roussos has repeatedly admitted that he is unlikely to be able to swear eternal fidelity to his wife. He nodded at the numerous fans who surrounded him on tour, and noticed that at least one man could hardly resist in such an environment. I still remember his marriage proposal to 22-year-old Siberian Elena Kurakova, which many took seriously. However, before the wedding, it still did not come.

This is how he was, a world-famous Greek - passionate, falling in love, fickle. Roussos' daughter Emily currently lives in Paris. Cyril, the son, became a DJ and became quite famous in Greece, promoting the work of his great, without false modesty, and already deceased father with might and main.

To the 70th anniversary of the birth of DEMIS ROUSSOS

Demis Roussos had, indeed, a completely unique voice, and here no singer in the world could compete with him. The second equally unique voice was the great Polish singer Anna German, who was loved and appreciated much more in the USSR than in her homeland.

Demis Roussos. Hits of different years

https://my.mail.ru/mail/01.anna.anna/video/1/46.html

DEMISE RUSSOS - MAN - EPOCH!

The great Greek performer was born in Alexandria, Egypt on June 15, 1946. His real name is Artemios Venturis Roussos.

In his memoirs, he forever preserved a living memory and love for his native city: “Alexandria is a city with a Greek spirit, built by Alexander the Great (Macedonian), with a large Greek community and a strong Orthodox patriarchate of the same name.

When I remember my childhood years, pictures of childhood memories sometimes give me the feeling that I'm watching a movie based on the novels of Agatha Christie ...

From Alexandria I took my love for the stage. This love was a tradition in our family. Both my father and my mother suffered from it. We wanted to make people happy."

His parents - George and Olga - were famous Greeks in Egypt: his mother was a famous singer, and his father, although he was an engineer by profession, played the classical guitar.

Little Demis studied music and was in the Byzantine church choir in his native Alexandria. When the Suez crisis broke out under Nasser, his family lost all their property and was forced to return to Greece.

Already in Greece, his passion for music at the age of 17 led him to the then famous band Idols, where he met Vangelis Papafanasiou (known worldwide as Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, with whom he would later form the rock band Aphrodite's Child (" Child of Aphrodite).

The group became widely known in 1968 during the Paris Spring thanks to the song "Rain & Tears". The music for the group was written by Vangelis Papafanasiou - he also played the keys, and the tenor Demis played the double bass and was the main performer.

Demis' specific tenor, who was often called "the fat man with the thin voice", helped the group gain worldwide fame. From 1968 to 1971, their singles consistently topped the European charts for three years.

Demis Roussos himself believed that the success of the group was ensured by the correct "timing": "All Paris was on fire, choking on tear gases, and we sang ... Rain & Tears."

Demis Roussos (Aphrodite's Child) - Rain And Tears

The group recorded several singles, three of which received worldwide success. The most significant was their last single - their "swan song" - called "666 - Apocalypse of John", which is considered one of the classics in progressive rock music.

Demis began his solo career in 1971 with the single "We shall dance", which was not marked by much success. But the breakthrough came a couple of years later with the song "Forever and Ever", which took first place in the charts in many countries in 1973.

Demis Roussos - My friend the wind, 1973

The songs "My Friend The Wind", "My Reason", "Velvet Mornings", "Goodbye My Love, Goodbye", "Someday Somewhere" and "Lovely Lady Of Arcadia" brought world fame to the singer.

Tour photo from Joe and Demise's SALUT LES COPAINS, 1973

Demis Roussos and Joe Dassin, 1973

In collaboration with Vangelis Papafanasiou (Vangelis) in 1970, the album "Sex Power" (sometimes referred to as Aphrodite's Child) was released, and in 1977 - "Magic".

But their most successful and famous collaboration was the song "Race to the End" from the Oscar-winning film Chariots Of Fire.

The songs of Demis Roussos were released in many languages ​​of the world, in many countries of Europe and Latin America. In total, he recorded 42 albums, and their total sales exceeded 70 million!

In 1982, his book “A Question of Weight” was published, in which the singer talks about his victory over being overweight: he managed to lose 50 kg in 10 months, dropping his weight from 147 kg to 97!

After a long period of struggle with depression, which he suffered for more than 10 years, Demis Roussos returned to the stage in 1993 with the album "Insight", also known as "Morning has Broken".

In subsequent years, the singer continues his career, performing around the world with concerts and recording CDs.

In 2003, he speaks to the leaders of 40 countries at a concert in St. Petersburg on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city.

In 2010, Demis Roussos starts a world tour from Athens, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of his professional career.

Demis Roussos and Charles Aznavour

In September 2013, France awards the Greek singer with the Order of the Legion of Honor - the country's highest award.

Rewarding Demis Roussos with the title of Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor

A peculiar tribute to the singer was expressed by the Russian astronomer Timur Kryachko, who gave his name to the asteroid of the solar system discovered by him (279226 Demisroussos - 2009 UR103).

Demis Roussos stood out sharply against the backdrop of the dominant Western style with his peculiar voice, and unique stage image, and a special manner of contact with the audience, unlike other prototypes of the Western style.

The style of clothing, behavior, a thick, flowing beard - all this fascinated the audience even before the singer began to sing - and he had no choice but to completely surrender to the power of the unique voice of his favorite.

An interesting incident happened to the singer in June 1985. Demis Roussos, together with his future wife Pamela, flew from Athens to Rome on TWA Flight 847.

The flight was hijacked by Lebanese terrorists and the plane made an emergency landing, first in Beirut and then in Algiers. The singer had to spend several days on board with the terrorists.

Upon learning that Demis Roussos was among the hostages, they not only asked him for an autograph, but also celebrated his birthday on June 15 and released him a couple of days later, one of the first.

The popularity of the singer in the Arab countries was not hindered even by the huge popularity of this Greek in Israel, where he often toured and recorded one of his hits "Golden Jerusalem".

His popularity was huge in Russia, and Demis Roussos reciprocated this.

In one of his interviews in Moscow, he stated: Russia is my second home. I love your audience very much and I love coming to Moscow very much.

It seems to me that I already know this city very well, and still, every time I visit, I discover something new for myself, I always discover what to do and what to see in my free time, although I never plan any obligatory program for myself in advance.

I also really like Russian cuisine, although I don’t really understand it, to be honest. I love dumplings and pancakes and, of course, your famous black caviar,” he shared.

As for food, he admitted that it occupies an important part in his life: "For me, the main thing is music, food and women, and in that order."

In the Egyptian city of Alexandria, where his father worked as a contract architect. Demis's family was musical, his mother was a singer and his father played the classical guitar.

Demis Roussos was educated at the Athens College of Music, where he learned to play the trumpet, double bass and organ.

In the mid-1960s, he played with various groups in Athens on ships and in hotels, entertaining tourists and visitors. In these groups, Demis Roussos performed both as a trumpeter and bassist. But only in the We Five group did he manage to demonstrate his singing abilities to the public.

Together with other famous musicians, Roussos founded the group Aphrodite "s Child. In 1968, after a military coup in Greece, the group moved to Paris, where they achieved success thanks to the song Rain & Tears. In 1971, Demis Roussos left the group, deciding to pursue a solo career.

In the late 1970s, the singer was actively involved in solo projects. Demis' first solo album, On The Greek Side Of My Mind, was released in November 1971. In March 1972, his second solo single No Way Out was released, but it failed. However, his third single, My Reason, became a worldwide hit in the summer of 1972.

The second solo album was recorded and released in April 1973. It was in 1973 that Demis was at the pinnacle of success in Europe, Latin America and Canada and performed with concerts around the world.

In 1974, during his first concert at the Ahoy Hall in Rotterdam, Holland, he performed his single Someday Somewhere for the first time.

In 1975 Demis's three albums Forever And Ever, My Only Fascination and Souvenirs topped the top ten albums in England.

In 1977, Roussos recorded the French Album. The song of the same name as the album title Ainsi Soit-il became a hit. Demis' album Magic was released in 1977. The song Because from this album became a mega hit in many countries, including France.

In the 1970s, Roussos' popularity was so great that the singer's name entered the Guinness Book of Records for the number of records sold.

In 1978, Demis traveled to the United States. Although both the That Once A Lifetime single and the Demis Roussos album were successful in the US, the tour did not live up to high expectations.

In the 1980s, Roussos gave 150 music programs a year. In 1982, the album Attitudes was released.

On July 14, 1985, the singer flew by plane to Rome and was taken hostage by terrorists along with other passengers. Demis was held hostage in Beirut for seven days.

Roussos recorded The Christmas Album in 1987, Time in 1988, and Voice and Vision in 1989. Very successful were the music albums released in 1992 - The Story of ... and X-Mas Album.

In total, the singer has a little less than three dozen records, which are invariably popular with listeners all over the world.

The artist toured extensively, his concerts gathered the public in many countries. Roussos first visited Russia in 1986, after which he repeatedly came to the country with concerts. In 2012, his concert was dedicated to the 45th anniversary of the singer's creative activity.

Demis Roussos has passed away.

Roussos was married three times and had two children from different marriages - a daughter, Emily, and a son, Cyril.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Throughout his musical career, Demis Roussos has sold over one hundred million copies of his albums. These numbers are simply incredible! So how did Demis build such a dizzying career? Read about this, as well as other interesting facts from his biography in detail in our article!

Demis Roussos: biography

During his creative activity, this Greek artist wrote about forty-two albums, selling one hundred million copies. Today, Demis is no longer alive, but despite this, fans of his work still remember and love the singer, and thousands of covers are still being recorded on his songs to this day.

Childhood and youth

Demis was born on June 15, 1946 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the firstborn, and also to his parents, Nelly and Yorgos, after some time a second son was born - Kotas, who became the younger brother of Demis.

During a serious crisis, the family of the future singer was forced to change their place of residence - they moved to the homeland of their ancestors, to Greece. Demis's parents were creative people, so the fact that the boy chose a musical career for himself is not surprising. Demis' mother, Nelly Mazlum, worked as a professional dancer, and his father, despite the fact that he earned a living as an engineer, was excellent at playing the guitar.

The future world-famous performer in childhood was a smart and talented boy. From an early age, he sang well, so his parents decided to send him to the choir of the Greek Byzantine church. Demis spent 5 years there, which were not in vain: he studied musical theory, mastered the skill of playing the double bass, trumpet, and organ.

Personal life

The singer did not particularly like to touch on the topic of his personal life. His first wife was a girl named Monique. The lovers got married at the very beginning of Demis's creative career. After several years of marriage, the couple had a daughter, Emily, but Monique did not agree to share her husband with numerous fans, and therefore the family broke up. Demis's wife realized that Roussos is not a supporter of a calm and measured family life and prefers fame and popularity to her, and literally two months after Emily's birth, she filed for divorce. With a baby in her arms, the woman moved to relatives in Florence.

Less than a year after the divorce, Demis married a second time. The new wife of singer Demis Roussos was called Dominica. The girl gave birth to a Greek singer son, whom the couple named Cyril.

Dominique was so in love with Demis that she closed her eyes and did not believe the news that was all over the newspapers that Roussos was having an affair with another fan. The girl sincerely believed that during her tour the performer remained faithful to her, until Demis himself told her about the sexual relationship between him and his fan that happened at one of the concerts. Dominique could not forgive the betrayal of her husband.

Unlike Monique, the second wife of Demis did not take the joint child. She considered it expedient to give her son to the performer's mother in Greece.

For the third time, Roussos married an American model, Pamela. The performer met her in a bookstore, and even before tying the knot, the couple was on the verge of death.

In the summer of 1985, the lovers became hostages on a plane from Athens to Rome. Then, for a whole week, passengers were held at gunpoint, even one of them was shot right in front of adults and children.

The Greek performer was well known in the Arab countries, and when the terrorists recognized the passenger Demis Roussos, he had to perform songs for them.

When the lovers recovered a little from shock and shock, they legalized their relationship and officially became husband and wife. After some time, this marriage broke up.

The longest relationship in the biography of Demis Roussos was with his last lover, Maria Theresa. The girl was originally from France and worked as a yoga instructor. The first meeting of the future spouses took place in 1994. Maria, closing her eyes to everything and leaving her family and friends, went to Greece for her lover. Demis spent the rest of his life with Maria, for some reason without making an offer to the girl - the performer preferred ordinary cohabitation to marriage.

Carier start

In 1963, a fateful event occurred in the biography of Demis Roussos - he met talented musicians who, like Demis himself, dreamed of a successful career in this area. Some time after they met, the group Aphrodite's Child appeared, Demis was the vocalist in it. Then the songs The other people and Plastics nevermore brought the group its first popularity. In 1968, there was a military coup in Greece, in connection with which the group was forced to move to the capital of France is Paris.

Music

In Paris, the musicians had already begun an active creative activity, and soon it was known throughout the country. Their legendary song Rain and tears literally in a few days rose to the top of the charts throughout Europe. Some time after that, the albums End of the world and It "s five o" clock were released.

The popularity of the group grew by leaps and bounds, but despite this, the Greek artist made the difficult decision to leave her and try to achieve success in his solo career. The last album of Aphrodite's Child - "666" - was finalized and released by the group after its breakup.

Nationality

Many fans argued about what nationality Demis Roussos is, but the answer to this question is unequivocal. Demis has Greek roots, and the performer himself is Greek by nationality, which his compatriots are very proud of. What language did Demis Roussos write his songs in?

Demis was not limited to one language. His discography included English, French and Greek songs. Demis released one of his albums in four languages!

Solo career

Demis' first solo disc called Fire and Ice appeared to the world in 1971. A couple of years after this event, the second work of the Greek singer, Forever and ever, was released, which includes a huge number of world hits.

Already by 1973, Demis gave concerts and went on tour around the globe. In 1975, three albums by the Greek artist topped the top ten albums in England.

Demis' album, Universum, released in 1974 in four languages, was a huge success in France and Italy. Most likely, the record owes its popularity to such singles as Loin des yeux and Loin du coeur, which were released about a month before its release.

In 1982, Demis Roussos released the album Attitudes, which did not have much commercial success. In order to rise again in the eyes of his loyal fans, the Greek performer released his new work, where he covered tracks from the 50s and 60s. After that, Demis went to Greece and recorded the singles Island of love and Summerwine there, and then released another album called "Greater love".

In 1987, Demis Roussos returned to his hometown, where he worked diligently on an album with digital recordings of versions of his most popular and grandiose hits. A year later, the release of the next record of the artist called Time took place.

In 1993, a modern version of Morning has broken was released from the artist's record called Insight. Later, in nine years (from 2000 to 2009), Demis Roussos released only three albums: Auf meinen wegen, Live in Brazil and Demis.

Below is Demis Roussos' video for the legendary song Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye.

Death

Unfortunately, relatively recently - on January 25, 2015 - the talented Greek singer passed away. His relatives and friends did not want the shocking news about Roussos' death to have any effect on the parliamentary elections scheduled for the same day, so the press and the singer's fans found out about it only a day later - on January 26.

Fans of the performer suspected something was wrong, drawing attention to the excessive secrecy of relatives. The family of Demis Roussos did not want to talk about the cause of the death of the singer, for a long time they could not set the exact date and place of the funeral ceremony.

Often, fans, from whom they hide something, begin to give out their versions of what happened. So it was this time. According to one of the many theories, Demis died of obesity against the background of an exacerbation of a chronic illness, according to another, he died of a serious illness that he did not want to advertise.

After some time, the artist's daughter, Emilia, clarified the situation. The girl said that her father had been fighting pancreatic cancer for two years, unfortunately, without success.

The funeral ceremony took place on January 30, 2015. The grave of the eminent artist is located in the First Cemetery of Athens - according to tradition, only noble and famous Greeks are buried there.

In the photo, Demis Roussos is already in old age.

Outcome

The biography of Demis Roussos is full of various bright events, his story will be interesting to read not only by a fan of his work, but also by people who are simply fond of music. The artist's discography contains a huge number of wonderful compositions, which at one time caused a storm of emotions among fans around the world. And despite the fact that the singer is no longer alive, his songs continue to be listened to and re-sung. One thing is for sure - thousands more covers will be recorded on Demis's songs, and more than one generation of young music lovers will listen to his legendary albums.