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News

Vangelis, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dies at 79

The musician was well known for his work on Blade Runner and Chariots
of Fire

By Michelle Hyun Kim

May 19, 2022

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Image may contain Vangelis Face Human Person Electronics Monitor
Display Screen Tie Accessories and Accessory
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou aka Vangelis, June 1991 (Rob
Verhorst/Redferns)

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Vangelis--the composer who scored Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire, and
many other films--has died, Reuters reports, citing the Athens News
Agency. A cause of death was not revealed. According to The
Associated Press, the musician died at a French hospital. Vangelis
was 79 years old.

Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, Vangelis was largely a
self-taught musician. He found success in Greek rock bands such as
the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child--the latter of which sold over 2
million copies before disbanding in 1972. One of his earliest film
scores, written while he was still in Aphrodite's Child, was for a
French nature documentary called L'Apocalypse des animaux.

An innovator in electronic music, Vangelis is arguably best known for
his work on Chariots of Fire and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. It was
noted by many upon the release of the Harrison Ford-starring film
that Vangelis' score was as important a component as Ford's character
Rick Deckard in bringing the futuristic noir film to life. Years on,
it's considered by many to be a hallmark in the chronology of
electronic music.

Vangelis' work on Chariots of Fire earned him the 1981 Academy Award
for Best Original Score. The soundtrack album also reached the top of
the Billboard 200 albums chart in April 1982. The film's opening
theme--called "Titles" on the soundtrack album--topped the Billboard
Hot 100 the following month. The theme has featured often at the
Olympic Games.

In 1973, Vangelis started his solo career with his debut album Fais
que ton reve soit plus long que la nuit (Make Your Dream Last Longer
Than the Night). During the '70s, he was widely rumored to join the
prog-rock band Yes, following the departure of keyboardist Rick
Wakeman. After rehearsing with them for months, Vangelis declined to
join the group. He and Yes lead vocalist Jon Anderson reunited later
in the '80s, and they went on to release several albums together as
Jon & Vangelis.

Vangelis released his final studio album, Juno to Jupiter, in
September 2021 via Decca. The record was inspired by the mission of
NASA's Juno spacecraft and featured soprano Angela Gheorghiu.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece's prime minister, eulogized Vangelis on
Twitter. "Vangelis Papathanassiou is no longer with us. For the whole
world, the sad news states that the world music firm has lost the
international Vangelis. The protagonist of electronic sound, the
Oscars, the Myth and the great hits," he wrote, according to the
site's translation. "For us Greeks, however, knowing that his second
name was Odysseus, means that he began his long journey in the Roads
of Fire. From there he will always send us his notes."

Nikos Dendias, the foreign minister of Greece, also tweeted,
"Vangelis Papathanassiou was a great Greek composer who excelled at a
global level. We say goodbye with a big 'thank you' for what he
offered to Music, Culture and Greece."

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TagsObituaryVangelisElectronicExperimental

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