Aphrodite's Child was a Greek rock band formed in 1968 by vocalist/bassist … Read Full Bio ↴Aphrodite's Child was a Greek rock band formed in 1968 by vocalist/bassist Demis Roussos, multi-instrumentalist Evangelos (Vangelis) Papathanassiou and drummer Lucas Sideras. After a failed attempt to enter England, the band regrouped in Paris, where guitarist Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris was added to their line-up (although he would be forced to leave the band to perform military service, with guitar and bass both being played by Roussos during his absence).
The band's first two albums, End of the World and It's Five O'Clock, combined a very '60s sounding Euro-pop-rock with Greek folk music elements. The former album featured the song "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. The song was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, but did far better in France, where the band was based, as well as the rest of Europe. Other European hits included "Marie Jolie", "I Want to Live", and "Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall" from 1969 and 1970 respectively.
The band began to record their crowning achievement in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelations, entitled 666 - The Apocalypse of St. John. Relations between Roussos, Vangelis and Sideras were not good at the time, and continued to worsen before the album's creation. However, the group was contractually obligated to release a third album, and went into the studio in 1970 to create 666.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Further, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and pressure from the record company for the band to produce another hit single did not help. In essence, the band broke up during the completion of 666. Vangelis finished the album primarily on his own with assistance from studio musicians.
Immediately afterwards, Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which consisted of actress Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" in various stages of orgiastic ecstasy, while Vangelis accompanied her on percussion. However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. After Roussos and Sideras had already embarked on solo careers, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 two years after its completion, and it came out in 1972.
Strangely enough, 666 was the only Aphrodite's Child album to make any impact in America. The blood-red cover with the letters 666 prominently displayed in black and white was striking, and brought immediate accusations of occultism from various quarters. Any suspicions of occultism could be dispersed by simply reading the lyrics, which were fairly faithfully based around the Book of Revelations, but the accusations undoubtedly helped sell the album in the United States. The album met with less controversy overseas and sold reasonably well on its own merits.
The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes. Vangelis turned down the offer in order to concentrate on a solo career. However, he and Anderson later created several duet albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the band split, both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in progressive electronic music. Kolouris worked with both on occasion. Lucas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing the single "Rising Sun" after the break-up.
Discography
End of the World (1968)
It's Five O'Clock (1969)
666 (The Apocalypse Of John,13/18) (1971)
Best Of Aphrodite's Child (1980)
Aphrodite's Child's Greatest Hits (1995)
The Complete Collection (Aphrodite's Child) (1996)
Babylon the Great (2002)
Song Highlights:
"Four Horsemen", from the album 666, was a minor hit on FM radio in the United States, receiving AOR airplay to this day. "Babylon", from the same album, was released as a single, and found similar acceptance on AOR radio in the 1970's. "Hic and Nunc" and "Break", from the same album, were also tried out as singles but did not chart well at the time.
"Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" - the final single before the release of 666 and the last of the band's singles to chart significantly in their European home base.
"Rain and Tears" - based on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, this song was probably their biggest hit as a single release.
"It's Five o Clock" and "Such a Funny Night" also charted in Europe. All of the above songs can be found on various compilation/greatest hits discs. The band's singles were aimed squarely at the pop market, and do not bear any significant resemblance to the music on 666.
The band's first two albums, End of the World and It's Five O'Clock, combined a very '60s sounding Euro-pop-rock with Greek folk music elements. The former album featured the song "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. The song was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, but did far better in France, where the band was based, as well as the rest of Europe. Other European hits included "Marie Jolie", "I Want to Live", and "Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall" from 1969 and 1970 respectively.
The band began to record their crowning achievement in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelations, entitled 666 - The Apocalypse of St. John. Relations between Roussos, Vangelis and Sideras were not good at the time, and continued to worsen before the album's creation. However, the group was contractually obligated to release a third album, and went into the studio in 1970 to create 666.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Further, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and pressure from the record company for the band to produce another hit single did not help. In essence, the band broke up during the completion of 666. Vangelis finished the album primarily on his own with assistance from studio musicians.
Immediately afterwards, Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which consisted of actress Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" in various stages of orgiastic ecstasy, while Vangelis accompanied her on percussion. However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. After Roussos and Sideras had already embarked on solo careers, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 two years after its completion, and it came out in 1972.
Strangely enough, 666 was the only Aphrodite's Child album to make any impact in America. The blood-red cover with the letters 666 prominently displayed in black and white was striking, and brought immediate accusations of occultism from various quarters. Any suspicions of occultism could be dispersed by simply reading the lyrics, which were fairly faithfully based around the Book of Revelations, but the accusations undoubtedly helped sell the album in the United States. The album met with less controversy overseas and sold reasonably well on its own merits.
The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes. Vangelis turned down the offer in order to concentrate on a solo career. However, he and Anderson later created several duet albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the band split, both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in progressive electronic music. Kolouris worked with both on occasion. Lucas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing the single "Rising Sun" after the break-up.
Discography
End of the World (1968)
It's Five O'Clock (1969)
666 (The Apocalypse Of John,13/18) (1971)
Best Of Aphrodite's Child (1980)
Aphrodite's Child's Greatest Hits (1995)
The Complete Collection (Aphrodite's Child) (1996)
Babylon the Great (2002)
Song Highlights:
"Four Horsemen", from the album 666, was a minor hit on FM radio in the United States, receiving AOR airplay to this day. "Babylon", from the same album, was released as a single, and found similar acceptance on AOR radio in the 1970's. "Hic and Nunc" and "Break", from the same album, were also tried out as singles but did not chart well at the time.
"Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" - the final single before the release of 666 and the last of the band's singles to chart significantly in their European home base.
"Rain and Tears" - based on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, this song was probably their biggest hit as a single release.
"It's Five o Clock" and "Such a Funny Night" also charted in Europe. All of the above songs can be found on various compilation/greatest hits discs. The band's singles were aimed squarely at the pop market, and do not bear any significant resemblance to the music on 666.
Break
Aphrodite's Child Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bye bye, my friend, goodbye
With a lie
you forget and break it
You make it
You make it
You make it
You make it
Cry in my empty room
and we try
to forget and break it
Fly
high
and then
you make it [interlude]
Bye bye, my friend, goodbye
With a lie
you forget and break it
You make it
You make it
You make it
You make it
Do it!
*As about the syllables you hear, it is Vangelis' voice, "answering" to Lucas by the jazz doo-wap technique: "stoobeedooobedoo..." and so on. It was Vangelis way of making fun to the song.
With a lie
you forget and break it
You make it
You make it
You make it
You make it
Cry in my empty room
and we try
to forget and break it
Fly
high
and then
you make it [interlude]
Bye bye, my friend, goodbye
With a lie
you forget and break it
You make it
You make it
You make it
You make it
Do it!
*As about the syllables you hear, it is Vangelis' voice, "answering" to Lucas by the jazz doo-wap technique: "stoobeedooobedoo..." and so on. It was Vangelis way of making fun to the song.
The song "Break" by Aphrodite's Child is a melancholic goodbye to a friend. The use of the word "bye" multiple times throughout the song emphasizes the finality of the situation. The line "With a lie you forget and break it" suggests that the friendship ended due to a betrayal or deception. The repetition of the phrase "You make it" may be interpreted as a reflection on the responsibility that both parties hold in the destruction of the friendship, as well as the prospect of moving on and creating new beginnings.
The chorus of the song, consisting of the word "Cry," is a poignant reminder of the emotional pain and sadness that accompanies endings. The line "Fly high and then you make it" perhaps alludes to the idea that one can overcome the difficulties of a broken friendship and emerge stronger on the other side.
Overall, "Break" is a bittersweet and reflective song that captures the complexities of friendship and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Bye bye, my friend, goodbye
Saying farewell to a friend
With a lie
Leaving with a dishonesty
you forget and break it
Leaving without any concern about the broken relationship
You make it
It's up to you to build or destroy something
Cry in my empty room
Feeling sorrowful in a vacant space
and we try
Attempting to cope with the situation
to forget and break it
Trying to ignore the damaged bond
Fly
Move away from everything
high
Go far away
and then
After leaving everything behind
you make it [interlude]
Creating a new path in life with freedom
Do it!
Just go and do it without any hesitation
Contributed by Eva R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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@cliffpooley930
1977, I'm 16 years old and first day working in a record shop.
The manager told me to forget the drivel on the radio and top of the pops and get ready for a musical education.
Then he played this.
He was right, brilliant track by an underappreciated band.
Thanks Dave, wherever you are
@joselara-rx8yb
Bye
Bye my friend, goodbye
With a lie
You forget and break it
You make it
Oooh, you make it
You make it
Oh you make it
Cry
In my empty room
And we try
To forget and break it
Fly
High
And then
You make it
Bye
Bye my friend, goodbye
With a lie
You forget and break it
You make it
Oooh, you make it
You make it
Oh you make it
Oh, ah, ah
@Rondo2ooo
This is a beautiful goodbye song... to Demis, to Vangelis, to this album... thank you for the music.
@migou4995
Singing by Lucas Sideras 👍👍
@Dimitris1959100
and to Lukas Sideras
@Rondo2ooo
@@Dimitris1959100 he's not dead.
@ChrisRamsbottom
RIP Vangelis. Thank you for the music.
@teresacristinaandrade4253
Just wonderful! Wonderful!
@882952
I had a friend, Jess Tradewell. We both loved Vangelis' music, but the Aphrodite's Child album, 666, was special to us. Jess used the album to teach me about blues. Jess LOVED the blues guitar work in this album. And this song in particular, I think touched Jess. I remember the first night I brought this to his house, he was trying to pick out the chords to this song on his piano. Then he'd try to get me to learn some of the guitar solos in some songs so we could play together, but I wasn't any good at picking up this blues stuff because I was too entrenched in metal (as a guitar player), even though I loved this music. Jess is gone now, but I will always remember his kind compassionate soul and friendship. I would give about anything to hear him play Moonlight Sonata for me one more time. His rendition was my favorite out of all the others I've heard in my lifetime. And now, whenever I get this album out, I can't even listen to this song because of the wave of sadness it brings... "Goodbye... bye my friend, goodbye..."
@liaqopiashvilil9109
❤😂❤ I AM SORRY OF YOURvFRIend JESS, 😢😢😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@cliffpooley930
1977, I'm 16 years old and first day working in a record shop.
The manager told me to forget the drivel on the radio and top of the pops and get ready for a musical education.
Then he played this.
He was right, brilliant track by an underappreciated band.
Thanks Dave, wherever you are
@frenchvinyladdict
Wow great story