In the Belgian musicians magazine a peculiar article in Dutch appeared that consisted mainly of
an extensive description of the man's works, but also featured a few snippets of an interview.
It would be rather pointless to translate the complete article, so here follow a few excerpts
with mainly the interview bits, split by dashes.
Vangelis: There was just the classical problem of almost all the popconcerts at that time: Much turbulence, something was broken and the police interfered. I didn't like that at all, that's true, but to say because of that that I don't like performing is nonsense. Besides, the circumstances during a performance are completely different these days.
Backstage: Did you flee for the colonels because of political motives?
Vangelis: Directly it had nothing to do with the politics, although I couldn't stand the military dictators. No one did by the way. What made me leave was rather a collection of problems: you couldn't maintain a dialogue with those people. Performing was made impossible for us, I could no longer obtain the foreign material to continue working in electronic music. As rockmusician you were a "persona non grata..." A claustrophobic situation. I left then, to see whether I'd be able to work better somewhere else. Because studying is something one does everyday, isn't it?
On "La Fete Sauvage" we hear for the first time the golden voice of Vana Veroutis. Not only does she sing on Vangelis records, she is also his wife, or was, because Vangelis claims he now doesn't even know were she is.
Vangelis: It's a model of a jazz oriented record, that we put together in 1970 with some friends. It was certainly not meant to become a record. For that, the music is really not good enough... We have been fighting legally for years to get it out of the stores.
When we ask Vangelis, and tell him that quite some people disapprove of his (over-)production
he answers bored/sarcastically that he occasionally feels like releasing 40 records a year.
Vangelis: People aren't forced to buy my records, are they?
Don't worry, nothing is able to bother that Greek in his studios in London... Nothing? We asked Vangelis whether he'll live in London for ever. Foolish question to a Greek of course, because our beard joked: "Rien n'est definitif (claps in his hands) dans ce monde, hein?" [Transl: "Nothing lasts forever in the world, right?"] The same answer you would get from Telly Savalas or Melina Mercouri, or whichever Greek you'd ask.
Interview by A.L. from Backstage magazine, 1982
Translated from Dutch by Dennis Lodewijks.
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Latest Update: November 19, 2000