The NEMO Years
In 1974, just some months before Vangelis went from Paris to London, Yes singer Jon Anderson met him. There is an uncorfirmed anecdote that Jon just rang Vangelis’ doorbell, someday in July. For BBC radio Vangelis said in 1981 about their meeting:
Reporter: “How did you first get together? Was it your idea, Van?
Vangelis: “It was not an idea, it was more like destiny or something like that. By chance, we met in Paris, few years ago, and we knew that one day we were going to day something together. Musically we met during the Heaven and Hell recording. And then, few months ago, we were enjoying ourselves by playing very spontaniously. This is the result of the Short Stories album.”
Reporter: (…) “Vangelis uses the destiny as his reason for the way you got together. But there must have been some sort of logistic thing as well?
Jon: “The fact that Vangelis was here in London, working in his studio, and we got about a lot, he was talking about the Heaven and Hell album. I came around just to see how he was recording it and he suggested that we try a song and we recorded it that day, wasn’t it?
Vangelis:” Hmmm, that day.
It was going to be a longterm friendship. Jon and Vangelis made several albums together, starting with Short Stories back in 1979, the last to be Page of Life in 1991. Jon sang on Heaven and Hell (1975) and their works were released on several compilationalbums like on Odyssey (2003) Next to that, together they made music which was never to be released. Their most famous songs are "I'll find my way home" and "I hear you now".
First thing Vangelis did in London was the recording of two albums. In the Orange Studios, near Piccadilly, he made the album "Phos" with Greek group Socrates. In the same studio, some days later, he recorded the self-titled album "Mariangela" with 17 year old singer Mariangela Celeste. In fact, when Vangelis recorded Phos, Mariangela provided the backing vocals on "A day in Heaven". In return, the men of Socrates provided music, uncredited, on Mariangela's album.
Mariangela (Celeste) is not to be confused with Mariangela, the Italian singer known from her song "Ninna Nanna" performed at he San Remo festival 2007.
The black and white picture shows Socrates in 1974. Next to that: Socrates still rocks!
The Mariangela album, the rare single from that album and Phos. All from 1975
The dream Vangelis had was to set up his own studio. His eyes felt upon the ex-BBC Command studios. But the owners didn't want the studio being used for recording music. So Vangelis bought some equipment and found a new place to work. This was the Hampden Gurney Studio, which was located near the Marble Arch.
The map above shows the location of Hampden Gurney street.
The building where his studio was being built into, was a former Anglican girlsschool. After it was used as school, it was transformed into a filmstudio where commercials and short films were recorded. The American director A.G. Melkom was one of the last to use the building for recording films in 1974. At the first floor a balletschool was seated. The second floor was the place for Vangelis. When he had his studio there, he left some parts of the filmstudio intact like the raised platform and some lightequipment. He named his studio NEMO. The first recording Vangelis made in the new NEMO studios was "Heaven and Hell". The album took six weeks to finish.
Vangelis: "That was not an easy time for me. I was trying to put together the studio while recording my first album, Heaven and Hell, at the same time. In fact, the studio was hell, because there was unmixed concrete everywhere, builders all over the place making a lot of noise and next to all that, there was I, trying to finish my album. (...) If you try to wait before the building work is complete, you’ll end up waiting forever!”
The place was 430 square feet (39,9 m2), the separate control room was 23 x 44 ft. (7,0 m x 13,4 m). It was packed with all sorts of instruments, equipment, couches, large floorcusions, carpets, toys, statues, sculptures, plants and chairs. Keith Spencer-Allen, at the time Vangelis' engineer, said about the environment:
"We do spend so much time here together, that we cannot afford to have any tension between us. Here we can make music in a totally relaxed atmosphere taking as much time as necessary. "
The controlroom of NEMO around 1977 and some time afterwards
The picture shown above shows the NEMO studio around 1977. In this year Vangelis gave his permission to Tony Oxley and his band to record the album "February Papers" at NEMO. Around this time, Vangelis and the Greek singer and actress Irene Papas recorded the LP Odes . They have known eachother for a long time. Back in the late sixties they worked together on 666, Papas shouting, whispering and gasping "I am to become a woolf". They were good acquaintances. The LP Odes was released poorly in some European territories, and in Argentina there it was named Odas. The next co-operation between Papas and Vangelis would be eight years later, 1986.
Pressphoto of Greek actress Irene Papas
1978 gave Dutch audience a pleasant surprise. Filmmaker Adriaan Ditvoorst released his film "Mantel der Liefde". The film was shot May and June 1977, costing a half a milion Dutch guilders at the time. The filmfund refused three times to fund this movie, so the producer had to find other ways to get the needed amount of money. The music which is used by Vangelis is Heaven and Hell, other musician's work is also used. There is a special record sleeve made for the Dutch market, named Mantel der Liefde. In fact it is Heaven and Hell.
The filmposter of Mantel der Liefde and the Dutch LP sleeve
In 1980 the famous LP "See You Later" came out. Initially, this release was made with more than six tracks, but four of them were not included on the final LP. "My Love" and "Domestic Logic 1" were released exclusively on 7". "Neighbours above" and "Fertilisation" were not on the final LP as well. Since it is known that there are those outtakes, this song is known as Neighbours. In 2003 an Irish first pressing of the LP was found, the song was called on it's tracklist as "Neighbours above". Unfortunately the song was not pressed on the LP, just stated on the label. My Love was released on a rare single in the UK, Holland, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland and Norway. It seems to be released in many countries but unfortunately it is pretty hard to find. On the B-side there is Domestic Logic 1.
In the eighties Vangelis gave several concerts throughout Europe. In the UK and Belgium he performed with an orchestra. In Brussels, Belgium, he gave a big gig at the Cirque Royale, May 17th 1979.
Vangelis between the instruments of the orchestra at Cirque Royale
The year 1980 Vangelis and Peter March made their single "Don't be foolish / Doesn't matter" It has been released in France, Holland, UK, Germany and Australia. Peter helped Vangelis out with some lyrics on his new album "See you later".
In 1981 Vangelis recorded the music for the Hugh Hudson movie Chariots of Fire, about two runners training for the 1924 Olympic Games. When he was asked to make the music, Vangelis was immediately caught. His father was a passionate runner as well. Chariots of Fire was dedicated tyo his father, Ullyses. He made several themes for the movie, but only the first was used. The album sold some milions copies worldwide. He composed the theme of Chariots of Fire in one afternoon. Private as he is, Vangelis didn’t like the attention at all after he won his Oscar. He had the feeling the winning of the Academy Award would promiss the world a new ‘higher standard'. In 1982 he said about it:
“Oh, it is a tremendous problem. Sometimes I’m completely panicked. Like now, for example. I’m living in constant fear that I have too many social values, which creation doesn’t have. Creative values are completely different from social values. Creation comes first, then analysis and evaluation come later. By putting the evaluation before, you kill the creation. Creation is completely unpredictable and free. (...) I go through all the usual everyday problems that everybody else has, so my problem is to keep the balance between this side which is success and fame and all that, and the creative side, which is pure and has nothing to do with fame".
Chariots of Fire became an internaional hit. It was broadcasted and shown almost worldwide.
American movieposter of Chariots of Fire, a French one and the international banner...
...and five examples of the internationality of the film. Two international posters, Turkey, Belgium and Finland
Two different LP sleeves: the right one has no picture of the Oscar statue, the next has. Take a good look! A b/w pic of Chariots, provided by A.M.P.A.S.
Just some days after he won the Award, he ended the theme for Blade Runner. After Vangelis won his Oscar for Chariots of Fire, he made more soundtracks like the famous Blade Runner soundtrack. Released twelve years later, in 1982 he recorded its music. After that, the music for Constatin Costa-Gravas' movie Missing was recorded.
A Polish Blade Runner poster
There are many stories what the reason was why the soundtrack was released in 1994. The most common story is that Vangelis was annoyed. While he was making the music, the film was edited constantly. Ridley Scott, the director of Blade Runner and Vangelis worked together in 1992. Blade Runner was a nominee for the Golden Globes Award of 1982 in the Best Original Score catagory. "E.T.: the extra terrestial" won the award. But another movie Vangelis had made music for was nominated for the Golden Globe. In the catagories Best Picture- Drama, Actor in leading Role, Actress in leading Role, Best Director and Best Screenplay the film Missing of Costa-Gravas was nominated. The movie won no award at all.
The filmposter of Missing from the USA and another one from Poland where the movie is called "Zaginiony"
Another film Vangelis had scored, Antarctica, directed by Koreyoshi Kurehara. Released worldwide on VHS, but on DVD in Japan exclusively. The Antarctica parts of the movie were filmed between December 1981 and February 1982 in the North of Alaska and Canada. The film recieved many good responses, as it was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Filmfestival, nominated at the Award of Japanese Academy and it won two prices at the Mainich Film Concours in Japan. Kurahara is also known for his film "Hiroshima". The American Humane Association which mission is to prevent animals cruelty rated the film 'unaccaptable' for supposed violence against dogs. At his studio Vangelis said in 1982:
"The main reason to accept is I very much like the film and by the end... if the connection between the director Kurahara and myself works as expect I belief and I hope we will have a very very good film and after all, the most important thing is to do things that you like and I like it. And I hope that the people are going to like it as well."
The filmposterof Antarctica from France. In this country the movie was released in 1985
Donna Summer nowadays
In 1983 the LP "Private Collection" came out, with some 7" in the shops but very little promotion. Beware: some of those 7" has the track"Song Is" which never made it on LP or CD! The last track, called "Horizon" lasts for a stunning 22:53. About the song "Polonaise" on the Private Collection album, Jon Anderson said in 1994 for Polish radio:
“This was the time of Solidarity. (anti-communist social movement in the harbourtown Gdansk, Poland) Solidarity created the breakdown of Russia. I was living in Paris, working with Vangelis, and at that moment, it was 1981, this incredible thing in Gdansk, meant that the people of the world are stronger than the governments. Coming into the 21st century we have to have a change of energy. And then, slowly we had the breakdown of the wall in Berlin, the breakdown of communism, and I think, my honest feeling is that it all started in Gdansk - the place where they had the shipbuilding place. So, that wonderful moment, I wanted to write a song. I wrote this song with Vangelis, and I said: “please play that beautiful music in the middle of Polonaise, Chopin”. This was a great moment in the history of Europe. (…) The danger ofcourse was the fear, of being persecuted. But they didn't do that, they stood by it, became a world-wide theme. And naturally, it has a lot to do with the becoming of the new world. I know it sounds very big, but it's very true. You can't get away from that.”
In 1984, Vangelis recorded his album "Soil Festivities". It was inspired on memories of his own childhood and 'the things you see under a microscope'. The album contains six tracks, or movements as how they are called, which are longer than standard musictracks. The album sold worldwide. A year later, in 1985, another LP came out on the Polydor label. It was Mask, again a LP with movement 1 - 6 as tracknames. It took two weeks to finish this album and it was released on March 29th 1985 (Yes, indeed, his birthday!) Again, this album sold worldwide, in Argentina named as " la Mascara".
Frédéric Rossif and Vangelis worked together again on a videorelease. There were some rumours then, this music would be pressed on LP for the public. But no proof whatsoever has been found yet this really happened.
Festa Selvaggia an Italian poster for Sauvage et Beau. On the right, a Belgian one.
The next score he made was for Roger Donaldson's "The Bounty". This music was never released, just the (remade) 'End'- and 'Openingtitles' of the film.
The British Broadcasting Company, BBC, used a new composition for the main theme of their " Great River Journeys" televisionseries. Broadcasted in the UK only existed of six episodes made by six directors. Every episode had one river as subject: the Congo, Sepik & Waghi, the Sao Francesco, the Murray, the Nile, and the BAFTA award winning episode the Mekong, directed by William Shawcross. Other directors were Michael Wood, Russell Braddon, Germaine Greer, Brian Thompson and Christina Dodwell. Every episode had it's own music made by Terry Oldfield, Brian Eno (The Nile) and others.
In 1984 Vangelis rebuilt his NEMO studios and updated his equipment. In the first half of the eighties Vangelis was asked to record music for television advertisements. In 1982 his music was used for the Mercedes 250. Greenpeace made an anti-fur ad in 1985.
Screenshots from the Greenpeace anti-fur ad, directed by David Bailey for Greenpeace
Vangelis was now worldwide known for his music for his solo work, television and films. But he made again music for ballet, now it was the Beauty and the Beast ballet, choreographed by Wayne Eagling. It was premiered December 2nd, 1986 by the Royal Ballet, at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Meanwhile Vangelis released a peculiar album on the Deutsche Grammophon label. This work, Invisible Connection, is now seen as rather controversial. Instead of what people might expect, this record consists of several 'booming' sounds, without any rythm or musical structure. You can listen to it as relaxing sounds, IMHO. It is really hard to find the Japanese pressing.
In 1986 Jon and Vangelis made their new album, but it never saw daylight. Now, it is only illegal obtainable on bootlegs. Songs like “All Through The Night”, “Say What You Will“ and “The Arms of Love” are not so easy to find. They are recorded on the bootlegs “Another Page of Life” and “Jon and Vangelis Demos” Click here to read and compare three Jon and Vangelis bootlegs.
In this year, 1986, a worldwide televisionevent took place. All around globe people start running to collect money to help support famine relief in African countries. Famous musicians, such as The Cars, Tears for Fears, u2 and The Police made their music available to make this event, called "Sport Aid, TheRace Against Time" possible. All around the world the event was broadcasted. Vangeis made it's main theme, while Spiral got a fresh new edit, especially cut for this event. For about 20 milion participants were running in 274 cities all around the world.
Vangelis and the Greek actress Irene Papas made their second album together, the first one being Odes (1979) In 2007 both albums were rereleased. Irene helped the boys of Aphrodite's Child with some vocals on 666.
Another co-operation has seen daylight in 1986. With famous cellist Andrew Lloyd Webber, Vangelis recorded Un Après-Midi. The first release of this track was on Webber's LP Encore! Travels with my cello volume 2 wich came out on CD as well. It has been rereleased in 1992 on the CD Harmonie, 1993 on the CD Encore! Travels with my cello volume 2 and in 1994 on the CD The Julian Lloyd Webber Collection. The last time a CD of Andrew with Un Après Midi was "Gentle Dreams" and "Made in England" (2004).
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