One of Greece’s legendary singers, Tolis Voskopoulos, has passed away, aged 81, after a cardiac arrest in Athens.

Born on 26 July, 1940, in Piraeus, Kokkinia, he was the twelfth child of the Voskopoulos family, the first son after the birth of  11 sisters.

Mr Voskopoulos is known for his romantic songs of the laika genre, and became one of the most commercial performers of Greece.

He shot to fame in the 1960s, and first appeared in theatre in 1958 at the age of 18 before he made his film debut in 1963.

One of his most iconic songs was Agonia (Agony), composed by George Zambetas in 1968.

He was adored for hits, such as Anamniseis (Memories), Perasmenes mou agapes (Lost Loves), Na kanoume enan erota olo trela (Let’s make love full of madness), Mia agapi (One love), Stihimatizo (I bet) and many more. These are songs which have been loved for generations and will continue to be sung for generations to come.

He had impressive collaborations with Zambetas, Mimis Plessas, Akis Panou, Thanasis Polykandriotis, Marios Tokas, Giannis Parios, George Katsaros and many more.

On celluloid, he performed with major actors such as Vassilis Avlonitis, Rena Vlachopoulou, Kostas Chatizihristos and others.

Mr Voskopoulos was also known as “the Prince”.

He had been married four times, with Stella Stratigou (1960-1965), singer arinella (1973-1981), Julia Papadimitriou (1990-1996) and at the time of his death had been married to Angela Gerekou, actress/former minister and current head of the Greek National Tourism Organisation since 1996. Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Ms Gerekou had conveyed her husband’s love for Greek Australians.

He leaves behind two children, Hara (1986) and Maria (2001).

He was rushed to hospital on 11 July after not feeling well, and died just a few days before his 82nd birthday.