Aphrodite's Child
 Aphrodite's
Child were formed in Athens, Greece, by singer Demis Roussos and
keyboard player Evangahlos O. Papathanassiou (better known later
as Vangelis) in the mid 1960's.
They originally recorded a single for Philips Records in Greece
(Plastics Nevermore b/w The Other People) under
the name The Papathanassiou Set.
The recordings showed that the band had absorbed the
psychedelic influence from artists such as The Beatles, Procol
Harum and others, but had retained a distinct Greek influence
too.
The group's music was deeply rooted in Greek traditionalism,
and they even adapted national folk songs to contemporary
treatment.
The recordings were passed to Mercury Records in London who
requested that the band should come over to England to record. By
this time Greece had undergone a right-wing military coup led by
Colonel Papadopoulos, with both political and artistic freedom
becoming severely limited.
Prior to departure for England, guitarist Koulouris received
his military call-up papers and was forced to undertake domestic
National Service. The remaining three musicians made their way to
England, but on arrival at Dover they were refused entry to the UK
due to problems with their work permits.
 The trio headed back to Paris while their British visa issues
were resolved. The group then found themselves stranded in France
due to a nationwide transport strike - the first stages of the
French industrial and student unrest of 1968. Philips Records in
France took up the option to sign the band to Philips' Mercury
label.
The first release by Aphrodite's Child was the single Rain
and Tears, released in May 1968. It was a worldwide hit and
reached the Top 10 in France, Holland and Belgium, and climbed to
Number 27 in the UK.
The band re-entered the studio in June 1968 to record their
first album, End Of The World, Rain and Tears, which was
released in October, adorned in an elaborate psychedelic sleeve
with the track selection demonstrating the slightly schizophrenic
musical nature of the band. Aphrodite's Child were by now
established as a major act in continental Europe.
The band's second album, It's Five O' Clock, was
released in November 1969 and was a hit again across Europe -
although it failed to chart in Britain. By now Vangelis was
becoming frustrated with the musical direction of Aphrodite's
Child and the band began undertaking live work in Italy and Spain
without their keyboard player (Greek musician Harris Chalkitis
deputised on keyboards).
By the end of 1970 "Silver" Koulouris had completed
his military service and was invited to come to Paris to
contribute to the next Aphrodite's Child album, the stunning and
expansive double set, 666. This album was a conceptual
work with music by Vangelis and lyrics and text by Greek film
director Costa Ferris.
The album's concept was based on the Apocalypse of St John in
the New Testament, with some references to the late 60searly 70s
counter-culture. The music on the album could not have been more
different from the band's previous work and Mercury passed the
album to its 'progressive' label, Vertigo, securing a release in
France in late 1971.
The album was heralded as "a work of stunning complexity
and originality" and received widespread critical acclaim.
Unfortunately, the album did not fare well commercially.
With musical differences within the group now growing too wide
to heal, the inevitable break-up of Aphrodite's Child came later
in 1971, with Roussos setting out on his own singing career, which
culminated in British hit single Happy To Be On An Island in
the Sun in 1975, followed a year later by the chart-topping
EP The Roussos Phenomenon.
Vangelis Papathanassiou also went solo and made several albums.
Then in 1979, he and Jon Anderson recorded the hit album Jon
and Vangelis, from which their chart single I Hear You
Now was taken.
In 1981, Vangelis composed the music for the score of the movie
Chariots of Fire which was chosen for the year's British
Royal Film premiere.
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