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Mike Pougounas

Mike Pougounas
Genres Rock, gothic rock, post punk, industrial music
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, film director
Instruments Vocals, keyboard
Years active 1981–present
Labels Various
Associated acts The Flowers of Romance, New Zero God, Nexus
Website http://www.myspace.com/mike_poug

Mike Pougounas is a vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, record label owner, and independent filmmaker who is most notable for his contributions to Greek rock during his time as the frontman for Greek punk and gothic rock pioneers The Flowers Of Romance from 1981 to 1998. Following the breakup of The Flowers of Romance in 1998, Mike Pougounas would both found a new band Nexus, and in 2000, the Cyberdelia Record Label. After the end of Nexus and Cyberdelia in 2005, Mike Pougounas formed New Zero God.

Mike Pougounas' three-decade career has made him an influential and respected performing artist not only in Greece, but also within Europe as a whole.

Growing up in the poor Athenian neighborhood known as Tzitzifies-Kallithea, Mike Pougounas took an interest in Greek punk at the age of 13, and started playing live shows during that year as well.

In 1981, at the age of 16, Mike Pougounas would form The Gift, later renamed The Flowers Of Romance after a pre-Sex Pistols band in which Sid Vicious was the drummer. In his position as The Flowers Of Romance’s front man, Mike Pougounas would continue to hone his talents as a lead vocalist, songwriter, and keyboardist. Influenced by the many musical styles of the 1980s such as dark wave and punk, Mike Pougounas and the Flowers Of Romance would often incorporate these styles into their early work, which resulted in a unique punk sound that made them very popular in the underground Greek rock scene.

Mike Pougounas encountered international notoriety with the Flowers Of Romance’s Dorian Grey LP, and by this time the band’s style had evolved into gothic rock. As a result, Mike Pougounas was responsible for the first Greek gothic rock album to be released internationally.

The Flowers Of Romance’s sound would continue to evolve through the 1990s, though they never truly departed from their punk and gothic rock roots. In 1995, Mike Pougounas and The Mission frontman Wayne Hussey met and began collaborating on what would be the last album of the Flowers of Romance, Brilliant Mistakes. With Hussey's help ensuring that Brilliant Mistakes could reach a broader media market, 1996's Brilliant Mistakes became The Flowers of Romance's most successful offering.

Unfortunately, failure from the band's managers in promoting a long-planned European tour combined with Pougounas' growing discontent caused a great deal of friction between the Flowers of Romance; Mike Pougounas left the band in 1998, causing the group to disband. Pougounas had been the sole member of the band to stay through the entirety of their 18-year career.


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