Throughout his childhood he was influenced by the musics that were coexisting in Egypt. The sound of Arabic music entered into his life at that time and has continued until today as one of his biggest influences. At the age of ten, he was intrigued by Jazz and learnt to play the trumpet. As a young boy he also attended the choir of the Greek Byzantine church of Alexandria and sang for five years as a soloist.
However, when Artemios reached the age of fifteen, his life changed. It was the time of the Suez Canal crisis. His family left Egypt and immigrated to their homeland Greece. Artemios then had to work to support his family. During the day he attended school and, at night, he played the trumpet in various clubs in Athens. Two years later, his first band, "The Idols" was formed. Artemios played the Bass Guitar and sang backing vocals as well. One day, as the lead singer needed to rest, he asked Artemios to replace him for a few songs. That night, when Artemios sang "The House Of The Rising Sun" and "When A Man Loves A Woman" the audience was amazed. From then on Artemios was asked to sing again and again.
Within a short period, Artemios was making a sound reputation. It was at this time that he met the man who would later become one of his most successful composer, Lakis Vlavianos. From that meeting a new band was born, the "We Five", with Artemios as the lead singer.
In 1968 Artemios’s journey crossed the road of two other top Greek musicians, Vangelis Papatanassiou and Loukas Sideras. Their associationbecame one of the biggest musical events of the seventies in the form of "Aphrodite’s Child". This ambitious band decided to travel to the United Kingdom for better commercial prospects. Artemios--who had now shortened his name to Demis--would be the singer and the bass player, Vangelis the main composer as well as the keyboard player, and Loukas would play the drums.
However, they were refused entry to the United Kingdom for lack of a work permit. Instead, Aphrodite's Child travelled to Paris, arriving just as the city was going through the May 68 revolution. After a few concerts in some trendy Parisian clubs, a major company offered to record a song of theirs, one that was inspired by Pachelbel‘s canon called "Rain And Tears". This first album of Aphrodite’s Child sold over a million copies in France alone.
Nine months later, as Demis first daughter, Emily, was born, "Rain And Tears" was the top single all over Europe and a top 20 single in the United Kingdom. The band experienced a huge success for three years.
They then released their legendary last album “666”, after which, for various reasons, Aphrodite's Child decided to split up.
Since Demis was one of the main elements of the band, the record company offered him a chance to recorded his first solo single, "We Shall Dance", which was released on the album "On the Greek Side of My Mind". This album and the single jumped into the top five of all the national hit parades of Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia.
Some months later, Demis met with his old friend of the "We Five", Lakis Vlavianos. Lakis was then going through an inspired period and wrote many songs which Demis recorded; these turned into a string of number one hits all over the world, including: "Forever And Ever", "My Friend the Wind", and "Velvet Morning".
After his second child, Cyril, was born in 1975, Demis toured the globe for eight years with his second wife and child. In Brazil, he packed a stadium of 150 000 people--an event that was achieved in that particular stadium twice only. (The other previous artist was Frank Sinatra.) In fact, Demis sold enough records to gain a name in the Guinness Book of records among the personalities of show business in the 70’s and the eighties. He was awarded more than a hundred golden, platinum, and diamond albums and cassettes.
His unique dressing style was often considered eccentric but Demis was following his instinct which told him that the music he was performing should match with the combination of looks between the glorious Byzantine Empire and the Arabic Caftan.
In 1978 his instinct told him again that he should retire for a while, thinking of new things concerning his career and life. And so he took his family to an area of the world where he was unknown, Malibu Beach, California. There, Demis lost over 50 kilograms. He returned to Europe and lived a quieter life between England and Greece, alone with his son, Cyril.
On June 14 1985, wile he was travelling from Athens to Rome, a decisive event occurred. Demis’s TWA airplane was hijacked by terrorists. After two days in that plane praying, Demis was held three days in the prison of Beyrouth with his third wife. Like many other survivors, he went through the shock of a traumatic experience. After that, Demis said he had never understood so well the importance of the nations living in peace and how precious life is when you see death so close. He felt more than ever that his contribution for a better tomorrow could be via music and so decided to return to the recording and performance scene.
He recorded twenty songs and compiled an album called "The story of Demis Roussos". With this album, Demis started to world tour again and found a nostalgic audience who had missed his magic voice. In 1986 Demis toured the USSR for three weeks and was invited to join important scientists, writers and artists at the forum for peace and disarmament in Moscow, during February 1987.
Later that year, during a tight TV schedule in Chile, Demis insisted on fitting in a visit to the Earth summit in Rio to get a clearer picture of the environmental problems, which were a main concern for Demis.
Since then Demis had been a regular visitor of the charts with singles such as "Quand je t’aime" and "On écrit sur les murs", and albums such as "Voice and Vision" and "Immortel".
Since 2008, Demis had been living in Greece by the sea. After being one of the most talented singers of his century, Demis was still working on more magical offerings, with the blessing of music and God.
He died aged 68, on the Hygeia Hospital in Athens on January 25, 2015.
11. My Friend The Wind
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When dawn will rise, he'll wake me again
My friend the wind will tell me a secret
He shares with me, he shares with me
My friend the wind will come from the north
With words of love, she whispered for me
My friend the wind will say she loves me
I'll hear her voice and the words
That he brings from Helenimou
Sweet as a kiss are the songs of Aghapimou
Soft as the dew is the touch of Manoulamou
Oh oh oh
We'll share a dream where I'm never away from Helenimou
Blue are the days like the eyes of Aghapimou
Far from the world will I live with Manoulamou
Oh oh oh
My friend the wind go back to the hills
And tell my love a day will soon come
Oh friendly wind you tell a secret
You know so well, oh you know so well
I'll hear her voice and the words
That he brings from Helenimou
Sweet as a kiss are the songs of Aghapimou
Soft as the dew is the touch of Manoulamou
Oh oh oh
La la la, Helenimou
La la la, Aghapimou
La la la, Manoulamou
In Demis Roussos's song My Friend The Wind, the singer speaks of a friend, the wind, who comes to visit him every morning from the hills. The wind tells him secrets and words of love from a woman named Helenimou whom the singer loves deeply. The wind tells the singer that Helenimou loves him and only him. The singer describes how he and Helenimou dream of living together far from the world with their love being sweet as a kiss and soft as the dew.
The song speaks of the imaginative world of the singer where the wind acts as his messenger from the woman he loves. The lyrics show the magical bond that the singer has with the natural world, as he shares secrets and words of love with the wind. This song is not just a love song but can be interpreted as a metaphor for the spiritual relationship between humans and nature. Therefore, Demis Roussos's My Friend The Wind speaks not only of love and devotion but also of an understanding and appreciation of the beauty that nature has to offer.
Line by Line Meaning
My friend the wind will come from the hills
The gentle breeze will arrive from the hills at dawn
When dawn will rise, he'll wake me again
The wind will awaken me once more when the sun rises
My friend the wind will tell me a secret
The wind will reveal a secret to me
He shares with me, he shares with me
The wind confides in me
My friend the wind will come from the north
The gentle breeze will come from the north
With words of love, she whispered for me
The wind whispered words of love to me
My friend the wind will say she loves me
The gentle breeze will say that she loves me
And me alone, and me alone
She loves only me
I'll hear her voice and the words
I'll listen to her voice and the words that she utters
That he brings from Helenimou
The wind brings the whispers of Helenimou to me
Sweet as a kiss are the songs of Aghapimou
The songs of Aghapimou are as sweet as a kiss
Soft as the dew is the touch of Manoulamou
The touch of Manoulamou is as soft as dew
We'll share a dream where I'm never away from Helenimou
We'll share a dream where I'll never be away from Helenimou
Blue are the days like the eyes of Aghapimou
The days are as blue as the eyes of Aghapimou
Far from the world will I live with Manoulamou
I'll live with Manoulamou, far away from the world
My friend the wind go back to the hills
The gentle breeze must return to the hills
And tell my love a day will soon come
Tell my love that a day will come soon
Oh friendly wind you tell a secret
Oh, friendly wind, you are telling a secret
You know so well, oh you know so well
You know it so well
La la la, Helenimou
La la la, Helenimou
La la la, Aghapimou
La la la, Aghapimou
La la la, Manoulamou
La la la, Manoulamou
Lyrics © ALLO MUSIC EDITIONS, BMG Rights Management
Written by: ROBERT COSTANDINOS, STYLIANOS VLAVIANOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-yf1dy9qh2y
This man's voice is a gift of God's grace
@gilbertmogindol7468
Wright
@ndreipall
Like everything in this world
@rosabezerrasa5677
Linda🤔😪
@TeresaKepska-oo2bt
Piękna piosenka Mój przyjaciel wiatr .Jascott dziękuje za możliwość oglądania i słuchania piosenek Demisa ,są niepowtarzalne i wyjątkowe można słuchać bez końca ♥️🌹♥️♥️
@TeresaKepska-oo2bt
Dziękuje ♥️💙
@ianlane4036
My dad (bless him)used to play this most Sunday mornings when I was about 6yrs old god bless you them both ❤️.
@paulomendesdesa9759
.....Demis Roussos..... simplesmente inesquecível !!!....suas lindas canções fazem parte da minha vida !!!....... não tem como deixar de ouvi-las !!!....(Paulo Mendes - Curvelo - MG).
@renateblanke8153
Ein wunderbarer Sänger ❤ Einer der besten
@user-fs3jn2nl6d
The universe has lost a Greek legend. RIP