Artémios Ventoúris Roússos was born in Alexandria on June 15, 1946. His death was announced in a brief statement by Ygeia Hospital, where he was being treated with an undisclosed illness. His funeral took place on Friday at the First Cemetery of Athens, following a public liturgy.
The Egyptian-born pop star sold about 60 million records worldwide. The boy who relocated in Greece at age 15 in 1961 in the middle of the Suez Canal crisis met with stardom in the ’70s after founding the band Aphrodite’s Child, a pioneering Greek trio – sometimes quartet- seen as one of the originators of progressive rock. Demis Roussos was on the bass guitar and main vocals, with fellow Greek composer Vangelis Papathanasiou playing the keyboards, while Loukas Sideras was on drums and vocals and Anargyros ‘Silver’ Koulouris played the guitar.
Roussos’ career took off when he went solo, though, while his hits Forever And Ever, Mr Reason, Goodbye My Love, Goodbye and Quand je t’aime sold millions of copies.
The extravagant but sensational signer was viewed as something of a kitsch figure at the time, as featured by Mike Leigh’s 1977 BBC TV play Abigail’s Party.
“Even if I die tomorrow, Demis Roussos left a card, a trademark, something that cannot be forgotten,” he later commented, taking pride in his immortalisation.
His unique ground-breaking style and frugal personality, not to mention his size, were to blame. The musician, also known as the Kaftan King, made a statement with his iconic kimono-style dresses, apart from his extremely high-pitched singing abilities and folklore Greek-inspired melodies.
His larger-than-life figure reportedly peaked near 150kg in his hey-day. The singer embarked on a weight-loss journey he later featured in a diet book, A Question of Weight.
In spite of his ‘grande’ physique, women seemed to be quite fond of him.
“Yes. Because I never consider myself a sex god. I love women, I always liked women – no secret about that. It did surprise me, but when someone is at the top of the limelight of success, it is normal,” Roussos said back in the day.
During his eventful years of fame, he was even briefly held hostage by Lebanese militants in 1985 when he was aboard a hijacked TWA flight from Cairo to the US. The predicament took place on his 39th birthday. The hijackers, armed men seeking the release of Arab prisoners from Israeli jails, threw a party when they realised he was on board and released him first amongst eight nationals.
“Along with Nana Mouskouri, he is one of the two biggest Greek pop music artists. They are the two great voices that put Greece on the map,” French Greek TV personality Nikos Aliagas told AFP.
“We had known each other since I was a kid. He broke through borders and made his country proud,” Aliagas added.
“He had a superb voice, he traveled the world … he loved what he was doing,” Nana Mouskouri told French radio RTL.
“He was an artist, a friend. I hope he is in a better world.”
* Demis Roussos recorded and toured until 2009, when he released his last album. In 2013, he received the Legion of Honour – France’s highest distinction – for his life’s work and travelled to Athens for one of his last and most mesmerising performances.