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Demis Roussos Interview

This interview was recorded at the time of Demis Roussos concert in Chaumont, Haute-Marne, France, in 1994.

André Bellot : How do you see your professional future ?
Demis Roussos : I think I will continue singing for another five or six years then make some records and perhaps try the cinema.

A.B. : What are your plans for the immediate future ?
D.R.: I am planning a lyric opera album then the release of concept theme albums.

A.B. : Do you have any television broadcasts planned ?
D.R. : Not for the time being, anyway, television…

A.B. : How many shows have you done this year ?
D.R. : About fifty in France and as many overseas.

A.B. : And how many records have you sold ?
D.R. : More than forty million [smile] with as many platinum as gold and diamond discs, of course.

A.B. : Are you planning a big concert in Paris ?
D.R. : We’re currently looking for a date and a venue.

A.B. : Which is your favourite country in terms of the welcome you receive ?
D.R. : Germany, without a doubt..

A.B. : Do you have a young following ?
D.R. : Not exclusively. There are people of all ages in my audiences.

A.B. : Where will you be tomorrow ? 
D.R. : In Zurich.

A.B. : Have videos been made of your shows ?
D.R. : A few, but I’m not really into videos.

A.B. : The Odyssey album has never been released despite a promotional show.
D.R. : The idea hasn’t been abandoned.

A.B. : Where did the idea for the Christmas album come from ?
D.R. : It was my personal idea.

Demis Roussos’ private life (a delicate subject which Demis shares graciously with us).

A.B. : Where do you live ?
D.R. : In Greece for six months of the year and all around the world for the other six months.

A.B. : Where do you buy your clothes ?
D.R. : Wherever I happen to be. I like fashion very much.

A.B. : Are there any books about Demis Roussos ?
D.R. : Two or three already, I think.

A.B. : If tomorrow I were to envisage writing a book about you, what would you think about that ?
D.R. : Why not? But I would like to see it before it was published.
Who are your favourite composers ?
D.R. : Mozart, ..., Sting

A.B. :Will you write any more songs ? You wrote ‘We shall dance !’
D.R. : Co-wrote, …, no.

A.B. : What is your relationship with Vangelis like ?
D.R. : SUPERB.

A.B. : What would you have done if you hadn’t chosen this profession ?
D.R. : Cook, chef.

A.B. : Do you have a fan club in France ?
D.R. : No, I don’t have an official fan club in France or anywhere else. I don’t like the idea of anyone having to spend a single cent on a club relating to me.

A.B. : What sort of relationship does an artist like you have with his children ?
D.R. : The same as any other father’s.

Questions about current issues.

A.B. : What are your reactions to the problems of drugs, AIDS, unemployment and the ‘mal de vivre’ (world-weariness) of young people today ?
D.R. : Drugs: I’ve never taken them; AIDS: the Third World War; unemployment: all this is organized so that the rich countries can swallow up the poor ones; the ‘mal de vivre’ of young people today: they have no ideas, no oracles!

A.B. : What do you think about the behaviour of certain politicians in the news lately ?
D.R. : I’m not interested in French politics.

A.B. : Do you have a passion, a favourite pastime? What are your hobbies, leisure activities ?
D.R. : Music, of course, but also cooking, reading, horse riding and escaping to the country.

A.B. : Do you envisage a career in theatre or cinema ?
D.R. : Not in the theatre but in the cinema, I hope.

A.B. : Why did you choose churches to sing in ?
D.R. : Jesus Christ preached love, I sing about love, so… and at the moment I am the only variety artist to sing in churches.