PhosKrFrontIntroduction

Socrates (also known by their full name ‘'Socrates Drank The Conium”) was one of the most popular rock bands from Greece, founded in 1969 in Athens by classmates Yannis Spathas and Antonis Tourkogiorgis as a follow up of their previous band “Persons”. Influenced by groups such as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, the band could often be found playing covers of foreign rock hits at club ‘Kyttaro’ in Athens.

In 1971 the band recorded their first album ‘'Socrates Drank The Conium” in a single 3-hour session, at the time with drummer Elias Boukouvalas. Throughout their existence the band went through many line-up changes around core members Spathas and Tourkogiorgis. International success came with their next albums “Taste Of Conium” (1972) and “On The Wings” (1973), while the band moved to play in the Netherlands for 8 months in 1972.

In the summer of 1974 the band traveled to Paris in order to ask Vangelis for his advise with their music, and together they played a live performance for Radio Luxemburg. In the Parisian Studio Des Dames compatriot Dimitri Tambossis was recording new songs with Vangelis, and the members of Socrates play (uncredited) on several of these.

By 1975 Vangelis had moved to London, and while he was still in the process of building his own studio, he agreed with Nikos Antipas of Philips records in Greece to produce the latest album of Socrates in London. Recording sessions took place in Orange Studios near Piccadilly Circus in the fall of 1975 for six weeks, and since the Greek singer Mariangela was also present in the studio to record her debut album, she sings background vocals (uncredited) on Socrates’ album “Phos”. In return all members of Socrates play their instruments (uncredited) on the songs on Mariangela’s self-titled album.

At that time the band consisted of three members: Antonis Tourkogiorgis and Yannis Spathas on guitar, and George Tradalidis on drums. Vangelis is not only credited for producing the album, but also for playing keyboards and percussion, and co-writing the beautiful instrumental track ‘Every Dream Comes To An End’.

Although recorded in 1975, in took until 1976 for the album to get released, initially on LP in Greece and the USA. In Greece a (now ultra-rare) 7” single 'Starvation' b/w 'Queen Of The Universe' was released to promote the album, and "Phos" went on to become the band’s most successful commercial release ever, selling over 200,000 copies.

With Nikos Antipas replacing George Tradalidis on drums and several new members, the band continued their success with albums such as “Waiting For Someone” (1980), Breaking Through (1981) and “Plaza” (1983), after which they decided to disband. Due to renewed interest in their music, the group re-united in 1999, to untertake a concert tour in Greece, and the band regularly performed throughout the 2010s in Greece.

Yannis Spathas passed away on the 6th of July 2019, and Antonis Tourkogiorgis passed away on the 5th of May 2024.

 

PhosTracklistTracklist and credits

  1. Starvation *
  2. Queen Of The Universe **
  3. Every Dream Comes To An End ***
  4. The Bride *
  5. Killer *
  6. A Day In Heaven *
  7. Time Of Pain *
  8. Mountains **

* written by John Spathas and Antonis Tourkogiorgis.
** written by John Spathas, Antonis Tourkogiorgis and George Tradalidis.
*** written by John Spathas, Antonis Tourkogiorgis and George Tradalidis and Vangelis Papathanassiou.

  • Antonis Tourkogiorgis: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and bass guitar.
  • John Spathas: lead guitar and acoustic guitar.
  • George Tradalidis: drumas and percussion.
  • Vangelis Papathanassiou: keyboards and percussion.
  • Arranged by John Spathas and Antonis Tourkogiorgis.
  • Produced by Vangelis Papathanassiou.

 

PhosGrFrontDiscography

LP

  • 1976 Vertigo 6331 950 Greece
  • 1976 Peters International PILPS 9013 USA
  • 2024 Cobalt Music 5206999038269 Greece (Numbered limited edition)

CD

7” single

  • 1976 Starvation / Queen Of The Universe (Vertigo 6032 903) Greece

Note that all CD issues are sourced from the vinyl album. It raises the question what happened to the studio masters from Orange Studios, as those would be the preferred source for any CD.

 

Recording studio

The music for the album “Phos” was recorded at Orange Studios, a small but centrally located studio near Piccadilly Circus in London.

 

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