It’s hard to conceive of anyone not being aware, at least on some level, of the extraordinary and unique musical talents of Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou — better known to most simply as Vangelis. Born in Agria, Greece in 1943, Vangelis is best known for his inspiring use of synthesizers in creating hundreds of solo and collaborative works released as singles, albums and soundtracks throughout a career that spanned 1962 to 2022. We all know the Chariots Of Fire and Blade Runner soundtracks, of course, and many will be familiar with his electronic albums such as Heaven and Hell, Albedo 0.39, and Juno to Jupiter (his very last album). But how many are aware that he also wrote significant classical compositions for ballet, theatre and concert orchestra?
This new self‑published version spans 400‑pages, and is clearly the culmination of a massive effort to detail the complete life and career of Vangelis.
Mark J.T. Griffin’s unofficial biography (Vangelis: The Unknown Man — Complete. The Definitive Biography, ISBN 978‑0‑9533017‑6‑8, published by Gryffyn Productions Ltd) stems from a long‑held interest in and passion for Vangelis’ work. The original 90‑page incarnation of this book appeared in 1994 before being expanded to 176 pages in a 1997 second edition. But this new self‑published version spans 400 pages, and is clearly the culmination of a massive effort to detail the complete life and career of Vangelis.
The content is drawn from vast swathes of material, derived mostly from countless published articles and interviews in music magazines and newspapers, printed throughout the extent of Vangelis’ public popularity, as well as from numerous album sleeve notes, TV and radio documentaries, and a variety of websites which materialised long after the earliest versions of this book. Although there’s nothing official from Vangelis himself (or his representatives) as far as I can see, some of his collaborators and friends have contributed to what is a very thorough and comprehensive collection of information, stories and anecdotes, describing the composer’s life and works in a fascinating and entertaining way with considerable detail.
While many of the synthesizers and other equipment used by Vangelis and his associates in various productions are mentioned casually in passing — and there is an appendix listing equipment known to have been used during different periods of his career — there’s little technical detail concerning this equipment, its use, or the production techniques Vangelis developed and employed. Consequently, this book is more of historical interest than detailing the musicological or innovative technological aspects of his work.
I was sent a pre‑publication book for review, and I have to say I found the typography pretty dense and hard on the eye due to the constant switching between Griffin’s own commentary in a normal font, and italicised sections for quoted material. But happily that doesn’t detract from the captivating story of one of my own musical heroes!
The book is divided into 18 key chapters, each covering a period in Vangelis’ life defined mostly by a specific project. The book also includes many rare and private photographs, and several further appendices provide extensive listings of Vangelis’ recorded albums, soundtracks, collaborations, and even his album sales statistics. There is also a full bibliography and references list. Vangelis: The Unknown Man — Complete is well worth reading by anyone interested in the works of Vangelis, not least for its gathering of so much information into one cohesive story.