The story begins sometime before 1968 when three friends Vangelis Papathanasiou, Demis Roussos and Lucas Sideras, decided to leave Hellas because the opportunities a band had to make a breakthrough back then were few. They chose to try their luck in England. Their other buddy Argyris Koulouris couldn’t leave the country ‘cause he had to fulfill his army duty. Vangelis was the most experienced guy of all three; he had participated in several albums and his first work was with the band The Forminx for the movie “My Brother, The Traffic Policeman”, back in 1963. After that, he also released an album with The Forminx in the period 65 – 66.
So, on their way to England they faced some problems. They were not allowed to enter the UK due to their work-permits, and then they got stuck in Paris due to a transportation strike. Thus, they stayed in Paris and they managed to sign up with “Mercury” record label. That was it! From that very moment, the well-known story of Aphrodite’s Child starts; a band that had all the potential to take the leading part in the music scene! Let’s not bypass the fact that Aphrodite’s Child had been one of the most pioneering art, atmospheric, progressive pop-rock bands in the history of music.
They firstly released the song “Rain & Tears” as the first single of their debut album “End of the World”. “Rain & Tears” immediately strikes gold and becomes a huge hit worldwide! It is a song that even after so many years is regarded as a classic by everyone! The first huge aim was achieved! All the music community was talking about the three guys from Hellas that had released an impressive debut album! The other single that was released from that album in October 1968 was the moody mushy homonymous song. Shortly after “Valley of Sadness” was the third single that was released.
It is true that’s hard to find any band with music quality comparable to Aphrodite’s Child in our time. The members of the band are all impressive musicians and we cannot bypass the fact that the great Vangelis was the composer of this band. In this point, I must refer to Boris Bergman who also helped the band very much by writing the lyrics.
Aphrodite’s Child released only three albums in their short career (1968 – 1971) and then they split up, without any profound reason. Maybe they felt that they had offered all that they could with Aphrodite’s Child and they were looking forward to doing something else. Although they only released three outstanding albums, they are still considered to be a classic band! I totally believe that Aphrodite’s Child not only deserves a place in the Hall of Fame but generally they deserve a place in your heart! Whenever and wherever you happen upon an Aphrodite’s Child album do not hesitate to get it, especially if you love art, prog, pop, melodic, atmospheric & rock music. I will also present their other two albums in the near future, but till then let’s follow them to the “End of the World”… “If you come with me to the end of the world, I’ll give you anything that lives on earth…”
Tracklist:
1. End of the World
2. Don’t Try to Catch a River
3. Mister Thomas
4. Rain and Tears
5. The Grass is No Green
6. Valley of Sadness
7. You Always Stand in My Way
8. The Shepherd and the Moon
9. Day of the Fool
Line-up:
Vangelis Papathanassiou – Organ
Demis Roussos – Bass, vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Lucas Sideras – Drums, Percussion, Timbales
