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.
Dolce veleno
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Adaptation italienne Marco Luberti
Lì nei panni tuoi ti ho sgualcita un po',
Sembri un fiore che l'acqua non ha.
Ed il corpo tuo steso accanto al mio
Sembra un sole che caldo più non dà.
Non esiste più la bambina che
C'è una donna che non si sazia mai
E ora tu lo sai che l'amore è
Veleno dolce che ti consumerà,
Veleno dolce che poi ti perderà,
Ma perdersi per lui
A ritrovare noi
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
Io ti vedo già stenderti per me
La tua mano che vola fra di noi,
Gambe nude e poi gli occhi tuoi nei miei
E capisco che questo amore è
Veleno dolce che mi consumerà,
Veleno dolce che poi mi perderà,
Ma perdermi per lui
A ritrovare noi
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
Veleno dolce che si consumerà,
Veleno dolce che si perderà,
Ma perdersi per lui
A ritrovare noi
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
The song "Dolce veleno" by Demis Roussos is sung in Italian and is about the sweet poison of love. The lyrics talk about the singer seeing the person they love lying next to them, looking like a flower that has not been watered. The singer acknowledges that the person they love is no longer the same innocent child they used to be, but has grown into a woman who cannot get enough of love. The singer notes that love is like a sweet poison that will consume and eventually lose them, but they do not mind losing themselves for the sake of this happiness.
The lyrics describe a powerful and all-consuming love that is as dangerous as it is beautiful. The repeated use of the phrase "veleno dolce" (sweet poison) emphasizes the idea that love can be both good and bad, both nourishing and deadly. The imagery of a flower that has not been watered and a sun that no longer gives warmth further emphasize the idea that love can be fleeting and temporary.
Overall, the song is a melancholic yet beautiful testament to the complexities and nuances of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Lì nei panni tuoi ti ho sgualcita un po',
I have messed up your clothes a little, and you seem like a flower that hasn't been watered.
Sembri un fiore che l'acqua non ha.
You seem like a flower that has not received enough moisture.
Ed il corpo tuo steso accanto al mio
And your body lying next to mine,
Sembra un sole che caldo più non dà.
Looks like a sun that no longer shines brightly
Non esiste più la bambina che
The little girl no longer exists
Arrossiva un po' fino a poco fa,
Who blushed a little up until recently
C'è una donna che non si sazia mai
There is a woman who is never satisfied
E ora tu lo sai che l'amore è
And now you know that love is
Veleno dolce che ti consumerà,
A sweet poison that will consume you,
Veleno dolce che poi ti perderà,
Sweet poison that will later lose you,
Ma perdersi per lui
But losing yourself for him
A ritrovare noi
To find ourselves again
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
That sweet poison of this happiness.
Io ti vedo già stenderti per me
I already see you lying down for me
La tua mano che vola fra di noi,
Your hand that flies between us,
Gambe nude e poi gli occhi tuoi nei miei
Bare legs and then your eyes on mine,
E capisco che questo amore è
And I understand that this love is
Veleno dolce che mi consumerà,
A sweet poison that will consume me,
Veleno dolce che poi mi perderà,
Sweet poison that will later lose me,
Ma perdermi per lui
But losing myself for him
A ritrovare noi
To find ourselves again
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
That sweet poison of this happiness.
Veleno dolce che si consumerà,
A sweet poison that will consume itself
Veleno dolce che si perderà,
Sweet poison that will lose itself
Ma perdersi per lui
But losing yourself for him
A ritrovare noi
To find ourselves again
Quel dolce veleno di questa felicità.
That sweet poison of this happiness.
Contributed by Sydney K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@agnese4784
Meraviglioso DEMIS, tanti anni sono passati ma non ci stanchiamo mai di ascoltare la sua musica e la sua dolce splendida voce di insuperabile bellezza👏👏👏👏👏DEMIS forever nel nostro cuore 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹25 Gennaio 2023
@lucioseverino7796
Grandissimo fenomeno ci mancherà tanto con la sua voce
@annabassini6789
Una voce che ti dà un emozione senza pari, bellissima inimitabile.grande Demis R.l.P.😢😢😢😢
@cincin3946
DEMIS SARRAI TRA I MIEI CANTANTI PREFERITI È NON TI DIMENTICHERO MAI GRAZIE DI ESSERE STATO UN VERO GENTILUOMO CIAO TVB. 👍👍👍🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
@vandasanna6200
Che meraviglia! Demis era un cantante eccellente, con una voce indimenticabile! Questo era Sanremo...
Ora non riesco nemmeno a guardarlo.
@annamazzucchelli7652
Anche io
@cincin3946
IL MIO DOLCE DEMIS ROUSSOS, SEI UN GRANDE ARTISTA È UOMO DOLCE COME LE MORE CIAO TVB. 👍🍰🌹🌹🌹
@teresadiscolo5914
Emozionante sentirlo cantare in italiano👏👏👏Demis sei sempre fra noi è impossibile non ascoltarti, ci manchi tanto. DEMIS UNICO, INEGUAGLIABILE, AFFASCINANTE E SPECIALE 👑🙏🙏🌹☀️💯🌷🎤🎸🎹🎵🎶👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
@user-yz5dz6eq8j
La sua voce ineguagliabile non riesco a smettere diascoltarlo le sue canzoni con quella melodia vanno dritte al cuore❤❤❤
@francescodelsole4861
Le sue canzoni hanno accompagnato la mia vita. Ti ringrazio Demis . Voce unica, immensa.