Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou - a.k.a. Vangelis - has died in Paris at the age of 79.
Vangelis was born in Agria, Greece and became something a self-taught young musical prodigy. He was a part of the prog-rock band Aphrodite's Child for a number of years, before eventually getting a solo record deal on their demise.
But it is for 1981's Chariots of Fire soundtrack, that Vangelis will forever be remembered. Released as a single, it also made number one on the US Billboard charts.
He also wrote the soundtracks for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Carl Sagan's PBS series, Cosmos. In fact, he had a lifelong interest in space, dedicating his 2016 album Rosetta to the spacecraft of the same name. This continued right up until last years Juno to Jupiter album.
It seems he died in Paris on Tuesday (17th May) of a heart condition, possibly related to Covid. Tributes have been coming in for a man that has chalked his name up on the list of memorable composers.
EL-P from Run the Jewels tweeted, "Rest in peace to a pioneer (and personal musical hero) Vangelis. Thank you."
Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias also commented (in a translated message), "Vangelis Papathanassiou, a great Greek composer, excelled at a global level. We say goodbye with a big thank you for what he offered music, culture and Greece."
(From: NPR / NME, 19 May 2022)
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