Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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ROUSSOS, Demis

(b 15 June 1946, Alexandria, Egypt; d 25 January 2015, Athens) Greek crooner. A member of the successful trio Aphrodite's Child, he then had a solo career, singing in several languages with a high-pitched voice and considerable girth, and then lost considerable weight (perhaps tired of the jokes). He sold a lot of records in Europe on Polydor labels, not much in USA; UK hits '75-7 in the strange pop calm before punk rock included 'Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun' at no. 5, EP The Roussos Phenomenon at no. 1 (the first EP to top all the UK singles charts), 'When Forever Has Gone' at no. 2; then forever went.