Aphrodite's Child

666

VG++/VG++/VG

US 1972

Vertigo Records - VEL 2-500

Demis Roussos (bass, vocals) and Lucas Sideros (drums) were both based in Athens, Greece and were in a band called The Beatnicks. The Greek music scene was changing with the influence of The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones. 

Evángelos Papathanassío, a (keyboards) musical prodigy had his own band, The Forminx, that had released several singles and was very popular. But Vangelis, as he was known, wanted to move on and found Demis and Lucas to form The Papathanassío Set. They added Argyris Koulouris (guitars). The first rehearsal’s took place at his home.

Songs were written and they heard about The Marquee Club in London. This prompted them to record some demo songs and send them to the Philips Record label in Greece. The demos were sent to London and they were encouraged to relocate to the UK. They traveled by boat without Argyris, due to military duties. But when they arrived, they were refused entry into the UK and had to settle in Paris, France.

Other songs were written and rehearsed but Philips in London bailed on the band. After a month of hoping and waiting they signed a contract with Philips in France for a meager 2% over 6 years. They were invited to an International Conference to provide the nights entertainment. Mercury Records president, Lou Riezner, is present and provided a new name for the band, Aphrodite's Child, based on a song from an album he produced by Dick Campbell.

Jean Pierre-Rawson became their manager and they went to Davout Studios to record "Rain and Tears b/w Don't Try to Catch a River". It was the last single recorded by the studio due to major protests happening and a shutdown of the studio. The single "Rain and Tears" shot up the charts selling one million copies in France alone.

The sudden success prompted a demand for public performances and they abided by playing at local clubs and branching outside of Paris and into Switzerland. Philips wanted them to record an album, but they had to renegotiate the original deal before anything happened and agreed to a 10% take of the profits. New equipment was purchased and the first album, End of the World, was recorded at Polydor Studios in Paris.

Their management office was now located above the L'Olympia Music Hall and they spent a month promoting the album to sold out crowds there. Performing all over Europe a second album, It's Five O'Clock, was recorded at Trident Studios in London. Italy discovered the band and they set up in Rome to perform at sea clubs along the coast in Naples, Messina, Palermo and traveled Europe to sold out crowds everywhere. 

The members lived well but separated to other living quarters. The bands popularity garnered much fame, but all the fortunes were going to Vangelis who was writing most of the music and reaping the royalties. Vangelis began writing film scores and working on other projects. Live performances dwindled as Vangelis preferred writing in the studio and experimenting with mellotron, piano, synthesizer and Hammond B3 organ.

The new project for the band, The Apocalypse of St John, became a concept LP about the Book of Revelations in the Bible. Argyris Koulouris (guitars) joined them for this project after he fulfilled his military duties. They went to Studio Europa Sonor in France to record their final album. Vangelis made sure that the studio proceedings were closed to any label reps for the entire undertaking. Georgio Gomelsky helped produce the sessions.

Vangelis, Lucas and Demis remastered the hours of tapes into a final product. Expectations were set up for an extravagant European tour promoting the album. But the Philips powers to be didn't get the concept after hearing the final product. They were expecting more pop songs and felt the material was blasphemous. The vocals from guest singer, Irene Papas, on the song "∞" (Infinity) sounded like a long orgasm, 39 minutes, and Philips wanted it completely removed, Vangelis refused and realized that the concept project was not going to happen.

He then refused to tour and took the master tapes home for fear that Philips would make alterations. Things got ugly between him and the others, who were planning on tour dollars for some financial stability. The band never recorded together again. However, Demis (lead vocals) and Lucas (drums) did perform with other players without Vangelis, hiring Dimitri Tambossis (guitars, vocals), Lakis Vlavianos (piano) and Haris Chalkitis (bass, sax) playing their old catalog.

A year after Apocalypse was completed, Vangelis went back to Europa Sonor with a cake and 1 candle to honor the birthday of his masterpiece. He invited a slurry of people including the current PR rep for Philips Records, Gérard Fallec. An agreement was made to add 666 to the album title and shorten the "Infinity" song to 5 minutes. The band was broke up but the last album was released in 1972 to critical acclaim.

Vangelis became a world star but was mostly known for his movie score winning an Oscar for the film Chariots of Fire. Demis Roussos became famous with his vocal solo career selling millions of albums and touring all over the world.

Long time buyer from E-bay and other record websites since the 90's.

Please bear with me. I'm selling off my entire record collection (about 40,000 LPs) listing them one at a time.

A long and arduous task. Lots of gems and rare stuff.

Check out the book I wrote called "THE PSYCHEDELIC DIGEST" only found at Amazon.com.

GRADING DETAILS - SHIPPING DETAILS - RETURNS - FEEDBACK - ETC.

Auctions are listed for 7 days.  

ITEMS PULLED FROM THE AUCTION LIST - Keep in mind that if I continue to relist auction items that have been sitting for weeks with NO ACTION and several watchers with NO BIDS, I may pull the record and sell it to my local buyer. This can occur before the auction ends. LPs will typically be discounted before this happens. So, please bid if you are at all interested. Bids can always be retracted for no reason.

All records are Graded to the best of my ability and are rated VINYL FIRST / THEN COVER. For Double LPs Vinyl / Vinyl / Cover. 

GRADING DETAILS – Everything I list will be at least VG+ or better, both visually and audibly, unless I state otherwise. 95% of what is offered and up for bid is very clean with maybe 1 or 2 minor flaws. If it’s very rare, it may be offered with obvious visual marks, scratches, warps and might make some low-level noise. But this would be a rare instance. I’ll describe any flaws as best I can. I ASK THAT YOU READ THE FULL DETAILS AS DESCRIBED BY ME ABOUT THE LOOKS AND SOUND OF THE RECORD. Don’t base everything on a simple grading rate M, EX, VG++, etc. I’m not that good at it.

AUDIBLE GRADING – All vinyl records are played before they are listed. Some records look bad and play good. Others look perfect but play badly. Any visual flaws that I see will be described and I will let you know if they make an audible noise. 95% of the records up for bid are very clean sounding. You may hear a minor tick or click as its spinning but typically light hairline scratches and sleeve marks Do Not Affect Play (DNAP) and should not detract from your overall listening pleasure.

VISUAL GRADING - PLEASE READ THIS!!!

COVERS - I'm a 73-year-old guy with Strabismus (an eye disorder). I try to visually describe every flaw that I can see, but sometimes I miss a small tear or a tiny seam split.

SHELF WEAR generally means that the cellophane was removed when the LP was new and it sat on a shelf or in a box without a plastic sleeve, before they were available, for several years, so there can be some rub blemishes, sticker residue if it was purchased used, tiny tears, slight seam splits and other defects.

EDGE WEAR usually means the picture wrap around the edge has been worn, sometimes into the cardboard itself. This usually happens on the top or bottom edge.

CORNER WEAR is the same as edge wear but sometimes there will be a dent or ding at the corner. All 4 sides are suspect for this occurrence.

RING WEAR occurs when a record was not stored in a protective sleeve for a very long time. Back in the day, plastic sleeves were not easily available. Most of us as teenagers, ripped off the cellophane and didn’t consider how the record cover was being stored. Most of the record covers laid on the floor or were stored in the closet or on a shelf for easy access. If they sat for a long time, earth movement, that nobody feels, causes vibration and the record sleeves would rub together and wear on the cover picture or illustration causing the ring wear and other flaws.

THE VINYL RECORD ITSELF - I will try to visually grade both sides of the vinyl record. There might be some sleeve rubs or marks on some of these. All of my records were played more than once, unless they are sealed. If I mention ticks and or clicks in the description, that means that you can visually see and sometimes hear the imperfection. Most of these Do Not Affect the Play (DNAP). I try my best to see any flaws but understand I don’t Inspect these LPs with a High Lumens Tactical Light and a Magnifying Glass. If the visual flaws are obvious or severe, I try and describe these as best as I can. If there are a lot of visual scratches, it won’t be listed. The exception is if the LP is very rare. I will list a rare record that looks bad but plays pretty good.

SPINDLE MARKS can be obvious if a record was popular and played a lot. The record label material and finish will determine if marks are visible. Most of the big labels don't have this problem because the finish is unusually pretty solid and durable. It's the small and private labels or a matted finish where most spindle marks will be noticed. I don't mention these for any of my listings but if that is a concern to you, ask me before you make a bid.

INNER SLEEVES - Most of the inner sleeves are simple paper sleeves and have slight splits, bends and tears on older LPs. If they’re really bad or split in half, I replace them with a newer paper or plastic sleeve. GENERIC means a blank paper sleeve.

WARPED RECORDS normally occur when they are stored near high heat. I will never send a warped record unless it is very slight and doesn't affect play. If you live somewhere in the world that has high temperatures that could affect package delivery. Insurance is a must to guarantee no loss on the item you bought. You are responsible for this request and there is an additional charge for insurance. Let me know. There is NO REFUND for a record that was sent not warped when packed but was delivered as warped and unplayable. I cannot put records on ice for delivery to high heat areas of the world. Buy package insurance so there won't be any $$$$$ loss in case this happens.

HIGH END RECORDS - There will be a few more pictures for any records that are high end items. I will give a more critical inspection and description of both cover and vinyl. Ask for more pictures if you need them and I can send them to you.

PACKAGING - LPs will be packaged in the proper corrugated cardboard box, we all know about, with extra cardboard pads. Each LP will have a clear plastic sleeve. The record itself will be removed and shipped within the inner sleeve, outside the cover or inside the fold of a gatefold cover all within a plastic outer sleeve to prevent any seam splits. All of the boxes I package records in are new and there are typically no problems. I can also ship in a Whiplash Box which protects the edges and corners. But I will only do this if you request it. 

SEALED RECORDS - The vinyl record will NOT be removed from a sealed LP purchase for shipping. I would advise you to add additional insurance for all sealed LPs that are being shipped to high heat areas due to possible heat warping. No obligation, but it safeguards against some potential problems.

PAYMENT - Payment is good only through E-Bay options, either PayPal or Credit Card, and is due within 7 days unless you let me know. I will send you at least three invoices with reminders to pay during the 7-day period. If payment has NOT been received within that 7-day payment period and you have NOT contacted me, the order will be canceled and the record will be offered to the second place bidder or will be relisted. 

I WILL SHIP WORLDWIDE, BUT INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IS DETERMINED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE PACKAGE. DO NOT MAKE A PAYMENT UNTIL I SEND YOU AN INVOICE.

INVOICES - E-Bay will always send you an invoice for each item ordered. If you ordered one item, there is no problem. Go ahead and make the payment. But, they DO NOT combine the shipping cost for multiple purchase orders. So, when they invoice you, the minimum shipping cost will multiply times that of however many items you won. Example: 5 items won will appear as 5 times the minimum postage rate. DO NOT PAY the separate E-Bay invoices you receive for multiple orders. Only I can discount the postage rate for two or more items ordered. So, wait for me to invoice you if you've won two or more items. I package them all together and send you an invoice with discounted postage costs.

PAYMENT EXTENTION - If you have won an auction and see another item that ends beyond the 7-day maximum payment period, let me know and I will hold your item until that bid period ends. This would be a special circumstance that would not typically extend beyond 10 days. I will invoice you for the full amount and expect payment at that point.

POSTAGE COST - Typically, the minimum cost for USPS Media mail in the USA would be 1-2 LPs $5.50 USD. Canada 1-2 LPs around $24.00 USD. Europe, Japan and other countries around the world, $33.00 USD for 1-2 LPs. Additional LPs as per total weight. I will send an invoice with the total postage cost. Everything is shipped via USPS. I don't use the E-Bay International shipping. 

TRACKING - Each package will be assigned a USPS tracking number. Tracking for International shipping only covers destinations within the USA and only gives Dates of Arrival for all countries outside of the USA. Customs delays can and do occur. Your package may have arrived in your country and/or city, but it is probably sitting at your customs depot. (Sometimes for weeks) It would be up to you to call them and provide the tracking number for details about your package.

POSTAGE DISCOUNT - I combine the shipping for multiple record purchases but will only send a maximum of 10-12 records per package. Additional postage will be determined by the total weight of the package. An invoice will be sent to you by me.

ADDITIONAL COSTS - Priority Mail, Insurance, etc. is available at additional costs. Let me know and I will send an invoice.

REFUNDS - I will Refund for any item purchased and received that was not fully as described. Grading is difficult and is the usual cause of concern. We're talking used and 30-60 years old. THERE ARE NO PERFECT RECORDS. Even sealed records can have visual and audible flaws, ticks, clicks, skips and heat warps. IF YOU OPEN A SEALED RECORD AND IT IS WARPED SO BADLY THAT IT DOESN'T PLAY, that usually means it was stored near or shipped in high heat. I have no way of knowing. All sealed records should be insured, just in case that happens. But with regard to a warped record that was sealed and is unplayable, contact me anyway, I will make it right. Any other flaws found on a sealed record that was opened by you, deems the LP non-refundable. If there is a concern, please contact me. We can always work things out.

DAMAGES DURING DELIVERY CAUSED BY THE POSTAL SERVICE - Any damages that are caused due to unfortunate circumstances during the delivery process, broken records, scrapes, heavy package dents caused by something heavy set on the box, warpage caused by excessive heat during delivery, etc. should be handled through E-Bay. They guarantee that packages arrive in the condition as described. If there are obvious damages to the package and the record is unplayable, email me with pictures of the record and the package as delivered and let me know. I mark all packages with "Fragile. Do Not Bend" notices marked in RED, so they should be careful. But $&#t happens. I will not be responsible for damages that were not incurred by me. But E-Bay can refund the transaction with proof. Pictures speak a thousand words.

Please message me through E-Bay to discuss any problems or concerns. ANY OBVIOUS MISTAKES I MADE IN THE DESCRIPTION OF AN ITEM PURCHASED WILL BE HONORED AND PARTIALLY OR FULLY REFUNDED. But email me through E-Bay to discuss the situation first. I'm always happy to work things out. Every customer is cherished.

Positive Feedback is happily accepted and reciprocated.