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.
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
I was feeling kind of seasick,
But the crowd called out for more.
The room was humming harder,
As the ceiling flew away.
When we called out for another drink,
The waiter brought a tray.
And so it was that later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
She said there is no reason,
And the truth is plain to see
That I wandered through my playing cards,
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast.
And although my eyes were open,
They might just as well have been closed.
And so it was later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
The lyrics to Demis Roussos's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" describe a surreal experience where the singer and someone else are dancing to a light fandango, turning cartwheels, and feeling seasick. Despite this, the crowd calls out for more, and the room begins to hum harder as the ceiling seems to fly away. When they call for another drink, the waiter brings a tray. Later, as the miller tells his tale, the singer notices that the face of the person he's dancing with has turned a whiter shade of pale. She says that there is no reason and that the truth is plain to see, that the singer wandered through his playing cards and would not let her be one of sixteen vestal virgins leaving for the coast. Although his eyes were open, they might as well have been closed.
Line by Line Meaning
We skipped a light fandango,
We danced joyfully and carefree.
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
We spun around and around on the dance floor.
I was feeling kind of seasick,
I was getting dizzy from all the dancing.
But the crowd called out for more.
The audience demanded an encore performance.
The room was humming harder,
The energy in the room was intensifying.
As the ceiling flew away.
The atmosphere became surreal and dreamlike.
When we called out for another drink,
We asked for more alcohol to enhance the experience.
The waiter brought a tray.
The waiter fulfilled our request for more drinks.
And so it was that later,
At a later time, after the dancing was over,
As the miller told his tale,
As the storyteller recounted his narrative,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Her countenance initially looked pale and frightened,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
Became even more pale and colorless looking.
She said there is no reason,
She explained that there was no explanation for her reaction,
And the truth is plain to see
The truth about what had happened was already clear,
That I wandered through my playing cards,
That I was preoccupied with my own interests rather than paying attention to her,
And would not let her be
And did not allow her to have a say in the matter.
One of sixteen vestal virgins
One of a group of women who were pure and chaste,
Who were leaving for the coast.
Who were departing for a journey elsewhere.
And although my eyes were open,
Even though I was present and conscious,
They might just as well have been closed.
I failed to truly see what was happening around me.
And so it was later,
And at a later time, after reflecting on the events,
As the miller told his tale,
As the storyteller retold his story,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Her appearance initially looked pale and frightened,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
Became even more pale and ghostly looking.
Contributed by Eliana W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Татьяна
Низкий поклон тебе, Демис!!! Голос на века звучит в наших сердцах!!!
Zilda Vicente
Descanse em paz Demis! Obrigado por fazer parte da minha adolescência! Você e suas músicas estará sempre em nossas memórias!
Raimunda Oliveira
Obrigada pela postagem. Essa voz maravilhosa, romântica, não existe outra igual. Essas musicas me envolvem em um clima de amor e paz. Descansa em paz Demis, estás na eternidade cantando com os anjos♥♥♥♥♥
silvio rodrigues
quem viveu esta epoca, ouviu e se apaixonou nos embalos destas belas cancoes pode se considerar privelegiado, saudades.
Jorge Negrete Rmz
No lo había escuchado con el MAESTRO Demis. Me encanta el tema, y escuchar al gran maestro cantarla... Mis dos grandes 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Walter Lynch
Uma das maiores vozes do séc. xx , descanse em paz , Demis Roussos.
Nubia Pinheiro
Sempre estará em meu repertório.
Ione Cassimiro Neves
Demis, sua voz incomparavel deixou saudades infinitas.
jacqueline Machado
É simplesmente maravilhoso poder ouvir algo tão esplêndido .
Manuel Moya
Demis Roussos tu voz entra por los oídos acariciando y te sale y te sale por todo el alma con tu alegre y melancolía de alegría tristeza eres único Manuel Moya