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.
Pretender
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lyrics to Pretender
All my life,
In her eyes I feel like a pretender,
She owns me and she's waiting for me to surrender,
Every day when she calls, I refuse to remember,
Have you heard of the love for the man when is dying,
Who was he, could it be it was his way of crying,
Gone away, with the love on the road he was trying,
Who was he, has he gone all his life only lying.
And far away, that there no signs shines right there,
And far away but there is no signs that I ever seen my true friend,
We all know of the pain that behind when the bother,
But I cry when they come to meet me where's they got her,
You and I, we must follow were nobody knows,
When I die will I ever be find in my whole,
Hou, Hou, Hou, more my life,
In her eyes, I feel like a pretender,
She wants me and she's waiting for me to surrender,
Every day, when she calls, I refuse to remember,
Come what may in the end it's my heart I will render,
Come what may in the end is my heart, is my soul, is my life, I'll will render.
The lyrics to Demis Roussos's song "Pretender" speak to the difficult relationship between the singer and a mysterious woman whom he feels he is pretending to be with. He feels owned by her and as though he is constantly putting up a facade, playing a role that isn't truly him. However, he is unwilling to let go, despite the constant pain and confusion he feels. The woman is waiting for him to surrender, to give up this charade and let himself be vulnerable, but the singer is unsure if he can do that.
The lyrics are interspersed with references to love and death, adding to the sense of desperation and uncertainty. The singer ponders the idea of a man who loved so deeply that it consumed him in his final moments. He wonders if he himself will ever be truly found or understood, and laments the pain that comes with saying goodbye to loved ones. In the end, he knows that he will have to let go and be honest with himself, but the journey to get there is not an easy one.
Overall, the lyrics to "Pretender" convey a sense of inner turmoil and the struggle to be authentic in a world that often demands masks and pretense. It speaks to the universal human experience of grappling with our own identities and the challenges of truly connecting with others.
Line by Line Meaning
All my life,
Throughout my entire existence,
In her eyes I feel like a pretender,
I sense that I am not genuine or true to myself when I look into her eyes.
She owns me and she's waiting for me to surrender,
I am completely under her control, and she is waiting for me to give in and submit to her wishes.
Every day when she calls, I refuse to remember,
Despite her persistent attempts to make me recall something, I constantly choose to forget about it.
Come what may, in the end it's my heart I'll will render,
Regardless of what obstacles I may face, I will always give up my heart and emotions to her in the end.
Have you heard of the love for the man when is dying,
Have you ever encountered the powerful love that someone has for a person who is about to pass away?
Who was he, could it be it was his way of crying,
Perhaps this love was his way of expressing his grief and sorrow.
Gone away, with the love on the road he was trying,
He has departed with the love he had, while trying to navigate the path ahead.
Who was he, has he gone all his life only lying.
Who was this person? Was he living a life of deception this whole time?
And far away, that there no signs shines right there,
In a distant place where there are no indicators or signals to guide us,
And far away but there is no signs that I ever seen my true friend,
Even when I am far away, I have yet to come across a true friend like you.
We all know of the pain that behind when the bother,
We are all aware of the suffering that comes with dealing with an issue or situation.
But I cry when they come to meet me where's they got her,
Even though I know they are coming to see me where they have taken her, I cannot help but burst into tears.
You and I, we must follow were nobody knows,
You and I must journey to an unknown destination, where no one else has ever been.
When I die will I ever be find in my whole,
After I pass away, will I ever be completely discovered and understood?
Hou, Hou, Hou, more my life,
As time passes, my life becomes even more complex and difficult to comprehend.
In her eyes, I feel like a pretender,
Looking into her eyes makes me feel as though I am not being honest with myself.
She wants me and she's waiting for me to surrender,
She desires me and is patiently waiting for me to give in and submit to her.
Every day, when she calls, I refuse to remember,
Every time she reaches out to me, I choose to forget whatever she is trying to make me recollect.
Come what may in the end it's my heart I will render,
No matter what happens, I will ultimately surrender my heart and emotions to her.
Come what may in the end is my heart, is my soul, is my life, I'll will render.
Regardless of any obstacles I may encounter, I will always give up my heart, soul, and even my life to her in the end.
Writer(s): Tetsuya, 公庄 拓, 佐野 昌樹
Contributed by Josiah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Maria Aparecida
DEMIS você é o melhor ❤
Javier Montilla
Excelente!!! Gran cantante, multi instrumentista y políglota!! Très bien, magnifique, j'adore son musique! Sure he's in heaven singing with the angels!!!
Marlete Gomes Campos
Essa eu não conhecia. Tão linda qto as demais músicas de Demis Roussos. Amo todas!!!!! ❤❤❤❤
Ivanilda de Souza Roque
No Plano onde Demis se encontra deve estar muito feliz pois é tanto amor que emana aqui da terra pra ele.Todo comentário à respeito dele tem muito afeto, e ele merece ser tão amado assim!
Regina Soul
com certeza!
continua sendo nosso amor inesquecível! <3
cada vez q ouvimos sua bela música, enviamos preces de gratidão àquela Alma!
Manuela Mori
Meraviglioso eterno amato Demis! ⭐⭐⭐🌺🌹
Demis Roussos Una Leggenda!
Liege Rodrigues
Demis vc é único 👏👏🙏🙏💖🎶🦅🇬🇷🇧🇷🌏
Rodrigo Sousa
Canta com a alma ele sempre será lembrado, grande cantor!
Iracema Modesto
Que bela música! Obrigada.
Ivanilda de Souza Roque
Marvilhoso