Aphrodite's Child

A psychedelic-progressive rock band formed by four Greek musicians, including Vangelis and Demis Roussos, Aphrodite's Child enjoyed immediate success with the pop hit "Rain and Tears " (1968) and went on to release three albums, including a double that became a classic of the genre, 666 (1972). The quartet, formed in Athens in 1967, comprised Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards), Demis Roussos (guitar, bass), Lukas Sideras (drums) and Silver Kolouris (guitar), and began recording under the name Vangelis & His Orchestra before adopting the name Aphrodite's Child. Although they wanted to go to London, the musicians were stranded in Paris without a work permit during the events of May '68, and decided to settle there to record "Rain and Tears". The song, based on the harmony of Pachelbel's Canon, proved to be one of the biggest hits of 1968, selling over a million copies and reaching No. 1 in France, Belgium and Italy (No. 29 in the UK). The first album, End of the World, released shortly afterwards, was also supported by its homonymous title (no. 11 in France). The following year's release of It's Five O'Clock (#1 in France) proved to be a European plebiscite, with multiple chart-toppers including "I Want to Live" (#3 in France, #1 in the Netherlands), "Let Me Love, Let Me Live" (#14 in France), "Marie Jolie" (#7 in the Netherlands), "It's Five O'Clock" (#1 in Belgium, France and Italy), "Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" (#1 in Italy) and "Such a Funny Night" (#10 in the Netherlands). The group was already disbanded when the third double album, 666, was released in 1972, completed by Vangelis alone. Although the only hit was "Break", it was the best-selling album of its kind. Based on the story of the Apocalypse, it has since been considered a pinnacle of progressive rock. Vangelis pursued a prolific career in electronic music until his death on May 17, 2022 at the age of 79, while Demis Roussos enjoyed solo success in variety, before passing away on January 25, 2015 at the age of 68.