Pavlos

Alec Zardis

Pavlos Sidiropoulos was a Greek rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Athens. He was born to an affluent Pontic Greek family, and his mother's side of the family originated in the island of Crete. Sidiropulos was active as a musician from 1970 to his death in 1990. He had an acting role in the film "O Asymvivastos" ("The Defiant", 1979), and performed all of the film's songs. He also had an acting role in the television series "Oikogeneia Zardi" ("The Zardis Family"; 1983), where he portrayed an opium addict. In the last months of his life, Sidiropoulos' left hand was paralyzed. He died from a heroin overdose in December 1990, at the age of 42.

In 1948, Sidiropulos was born in Athens. His father was the Pontic Greek businessman Konstantinos Sidiropoulos, and his mother was Konstantinos' wife Ioanna (nicknamed "Jenny"). His paternal family were traditionally tobacco merchants. His father founded the company ELFOT, which had a monopoly in the sales of photography paper in Greece. Sidiropoulos' mother was from Heraklion, Crete. She was a granddaughter of the miner Georgios Zorbas (1865-1941), whose adventurous life inspired the novel "The Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas" (1946) and the film "Zorba the Greek". Through his mother, Sidiropoulos was a nephew of the novelist Elli Alexiou (c. 1894-1986). His maternal aunt Galatea (Elli's sister) was the first wife of the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957).

From 1948 to 1954, the primary residence of Sidiropoulos and his family were in Thessaloniki, the de facto capital of Greek Macedonia. In 1954, they moved to Athens. The family settled in the neighborhood of Patisia, located in central Athens. The neighborhood is primarily famous as the location of a 16th-century church which is still standing. The Sidiropoulos family continued living there until 1970.

In 1967, Sidiropoulos became a mathematics student at the "Aristotle University of Thessaloniki". The university has the largest college campus in Greece, at the size of 230,000 square meters. His college years coincided with the early years of the Greek junta (1967-1974), a right-wing military dictatorship. Sidiropoulos was politically leftist (like his father), and felt frustrated at the strict censorship imposed by the junta at all levels of education. He dropped out of his studies by 1970.

During his college years, Sidiropoulos was an amateur musician. He was also a fan of Greece's then emerging rock music scene. He eventually decided to become a professional musician. In 1970, he formed the duo "Damon and Phintias" with novice musician Pantelis Delleyannidis. They named themselves after two Pythagorean philosophers whose friendship and loyalty to each other were considered exemplary. The duo soon released their first single "To xespasma/ O Kosmos tous" (The outbreak/Their world). In 1971, the duo performed in rock concerts, alongside other bands of the era.

In 1972, the rock band "Bourboulia" lost two of its members, following an internal dispute. Sidiropoulos and Delleyannidis joined the band as replacement members. They performed in concerts and released new singles, but were unable to secure a contract to release LP records. Their profits were lower than expected, and the band disbanded in 1974. Sidiropoulos started working in his father's factory, while also studying solfeggio, counterpoint, and harmony.

Sidiropoulos formed a working relationship with the composer Yannis Markopoulos, and performed as a singer in the albums "Thessalikos Kyklos" (Thessalian Circle, 1974) and "Oropedio" (Plateau, 1976). He was frustrated, however, at the perceived loss of his creative freedom. In November 1977, Sidiropoulos was introduced to the members of the rock band "Spyridoula". They were interested in performing his songs, and Sidiropoulos soon became an associate member of the band. In 1978, Sidiropulos served as the main creative force in their album "Flou". It was released belatedly in 1979, to rather low sales of 5,000 units. But the music press praised its songs, and the album would eventually be considered as highly influential to the Greek rock scene.

In 1979, Sidiropoulos made his acting debut as the protagonist of the film "O Asymvivastos" ("The Defiant"). In the film, a disillusioned medical student starts a music career. Following his failure to secure a contract for records, two failed romantic relationships, and the suicide of his mentor, the main character gives up his dreams and starts working as a physician. Sidiropoulos performed all of the film's songs, including "Kapote tha'rthoun" (Someday they'll come) by Mikis Theodorakis and Lefteris Papadopoulos. Which became one of Sidiropulos' signature songs. The film met with lukewarm reviews and only sold 32,000 tickets in its initial release. However several songs from the film's soundtrack became enduring hits.

In the summer 1979, Sidiropoulos found himself without a band. He had parted ways with the members of "Spyridoula" following internal disputes. At the time, he hanged out with other veteran members of the Greek rock scene. They decided to form the band "Etairia Kallitehnon" (Artist's company). They performed together in live concerts, but never released an album. Theis band disbanded by the end of the year.

In 1980, Sidiropoulos joined the band "Aprosarmostoi" (Maladjusted). He would participate in all their albums for a decade, ending with his death. At about this point, Sidiropoulos ended his long-term romantic relationship with poet Giola Anagnostopoulou. In 1982, Sidiropoulos and his band released the controversial album "En Lefko" (Carte Blanche). At least two of its songs made clear references to drug use, and the music censors argued that the songs were encouraging listeners to participate in the behavior. Another song was thought to have explicit lyrics about sex.

Sidiropoulos released a string of albums throughout the 1980s, sometimes solo and sometimes in collaborations with others. He formed a long-term working relationship with the music band "Termites", performing in their concerts from 1983 to 1988. He also reconciled with Yannis Markopoulos, and performed in his album "Tolmiri Epikinonia" (Daring Communication, 1987).

In the summer of 1990, Sidiropoulos' left hand was paralyzed. His doctors diagnosed the problem as "left plexus arm paralysis", indicating neurotrauma. The exact origin of the problem was never determined. He took a hiatus from his music performances, and went to rehab in Naxos. Sidiropoulos' prolonged heroin use was thought to be the cause for his declining health, though he was also depressed over the then-recent death of his mother.

In the autumn of 1990, Sidiropoulos resumed live performances, with his paralyzed left hand under wraps. He and the band "Aprosarmostoi" started recordings of his new music material. On December 4, 1990, Sidiropoulos had his last recording session with the band. He turned up drunk in their session, and quarreled with the other band members. He departed early. On December 6, Sidiropoulos fell into a heroin-induced coma while staying at a friend's house . He died in the ambulance which was transporting him to a hospital. He was 42-years-old at the time of his death. His death was ruled to be the result of an accidental overdose. However, a bandmate indicated in interviews that Sidiropoulos may have intentionally attempted suicide. Sidiropoulos had expressed suicidal thoughts in their recent conversations.

Sidiropoulos was buried in the Kokkinos Milos Cemetery (Red Mill Cemetery), located in Nea Filadelfeia (New Philadelphia). His final songs were released posthumously in the album "Ante ke kali tichi maghes" (Goodbye and good luck, pals, 1991). It was the name of one of his hit songs. Several other posthumous releases followed, including previously unreleased material from the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Besides his signature rock-style, some of these songs were combinations of the music genres of blues and rebetiko.

Sidiropoulos is long-gone, but many of his songs continue to be performed by other singers. He remains one of the most famous rock singers and songwriters of Greece, and he has been cited as an influence in several generations of Greek musicians. His death at a young age has turned him into a tragic figure.

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#	Name	Score	Year	Win	Nom	Known	★	Wins	Noms	Votes
1	O Asymvivastos	3.25	1979			•	6.6	0	0	347
2	Oikogeneia Zardi	1.25	1983			•	0.0	0	0	0

Pavlos Sidiropoulos

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Credit Score: Pavlos Sidiropoulos