History
It was probably Vangelis' idea that the still-anonymous band should be relocated in London which would be a more suitable environment for their music. Greece had entered a right-wing dictatorship in 1967. This decision, however, was not problem-free. Koulouris had to stay in Greece to fulfill his military service while the band, on their way to London, got stuck in Paris partially because they did not have the correct work permits and partially because of the strikes associated with the May 1968 events.
In Paris they signed to Mercury Records, christened "Aphrodite's Child" and released their first single "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. With this song the band became an overnight sensation in France and several other European countries in which the single charted well, despite the song being sung in English and not French. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. In October of the same year, the band released their first album End of the World. The album contained an equal amount of psychedelic pop songs and ballads in the vein of Procol Harum or The Moody Blues.
The band began touring around Europe, and in January 1969 they recorded a single in Italian for the Sanremo Festival, in which they did not participate. Their next hit single was "I Want to Live", an arrangement of the song "Plaisir d'amour". For their second album, the band traveled to London to record at the Trident Studios. The first single from the album, "Let Me Love, Let Me Live" was released in November, while the album It's Five O'Clock came out in January 1970. It featured more successful ballads (like the title song), but also songs that crossed many musical genres including country rock.
After their second album, the band begun touring again, this time without Vangelis who preferred to stay in Paris and record the music for Henry Chapier's soft porn film, Sex Power. Vangelis was replaced on stage with Harris Chalkitis. The year 1970 went by with the band promoting their latest album and Vangelis working on his first film project. To keep the steady flow of hits, the band released another single in August 1970, "Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall".
Read more about this topic: Aphrodite's Child
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