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Legendary Greek Singer dies

Iconic Greek musician, Nikos Papazoglou passed away after losing his battle with cancer

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Nikos Papazoglou

Nikos Papazoglou with a statue sporting his iconic red bandana

19 Apr 2011
John-Paul Hussey

The iconic and much loved Greek musician, Nikos Papazoglou passed away last Sunday April 17, aged 63, after an extended battle with cancer.

Originally born Thessaloniki in 1948 he began performing in a number of Greek local groups in the 1960s. In 1972, he moved to Aachen in Germany with the group "Zilotes" in an attempt to break into the international music scene.

The group recorded six songs in Milan, Italy. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Greece. In 1976, Greek songwriter Dionysis Savvopoulos invited him to participate in Acharnees, a cycle of songs and stage acts based on the ancient comedy by Aristophanes. There Papazoglou met Manolis Rasoulis and the two, along with Dionysis Savvopoulos and Nikos Xydakis, produced in 1978 the influential Ekdikisi Tis Gyftias (The Revenge of Gypsies) The work received critical acclaim. Papazoglou and Rasoulis cooperated the following year in another successful work, Ta Dithen.

Since 1984 the artist organised his tours by himself, playing in small venues in villages and small islands, gaining huge popularity with the general public. His works generated an ever-expanding audience in northern Europe and America and he became very well known as a cult persona with his signature red bandana and the playing of the baglamas.

He was also a producer and sound technician to many of the underground rock scene of Greece in the 1980s through his Agrotikon Studio. Papazoglou gave a long battle against cancer, while his wife and their two children stood by his side. Papazoglou had left the hospital over the past few days and died at his family home.

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