The Flowers of Romance (Greek band)
| The Flowers of Romance | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Athens, Greece |
| Genres | Rock, gothic rock, punk rock, post-punk |
| Years active | 1981–1998 |
| Labels | Wipe Out! Records, FM Records |
| Past members | Mike Pougounas Costas Venos Tasos Dimitriadis Achileas Geromoshos Haris Stavrakas George Venizelos Teo Botinis Platon Papadimitriou Michalis Tzavaras Aggelos Kakouratos |
The Flowers of Romance was a pioneering punk and gothic rock band of the underground Greek rock scene from 1981 to 1998. The band's energetic sound and combinations of several styles of rock led to their prevalence within the underground Greek rock scene for nearly two decades, and a belief by many that they were the top Greek gothic rock group in history.
Inspired by punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned and the Dead Boys, lead vocalist and frontman Mike Pougounas formed The Gift along with guitarist Costas Venos and bassist Tasos Dimitriadis in February 1981 in Athens. The name The Gift did not last, and the band later changed their name to The Flowers of Romance, as a tribute to punk legend Sid Vicious and one of his pre-Sex Pistols bands.
The Flowers of Romance quickly gained a cult status throughout the underground Greek rock scene by setting themselves apart with a unique punk sound that incorporated dozens of musical styles and English-language lyrics. Tasos Dimitriadis and Costas Venos left the group in 1984.
In replacing these vacancies with Achileas Geromoshos on guitar and Haris Stavrakas on bass, 1986 saw the release of The Flowers of Romance’s first tape, "Anovis". "Anovis" helped further cement the band’s status as a Greek rock mainstay, a status which led to their securing a contract with Wipe Out! Records in 1988. This new contract allowed for "Autumn Kids", one of the band's most popular songs, to be released on Wipe Out!'s 12 Raw Greek Groups punk rock compilation in 1988. The Flowers of Romance underwent more changes of its members as George Venizelos was replaced by drummer Babis Efthymiou, bassist Haris Stavrakas was replaced by Teo Botinis, and guitarist Platon Papadimitriou joined the band, turning The Flowers of Romance into a five-man band for the first time. Mike Pougounas remained as the lead vocalist, and by 1990, he was the only original member of the group.
Capitalizing on the exposure from Wipe Out!'s 12 Raw Greek Groups, The Flowers of Romance began work on their first album, Dorian Grey. Its tracks consisted of the band's songs between 1986 and 1989, including "Kashmir" and "There is Nothing We Can’t Solve Together". A cover of Marc Bolan's "Children of the Revolution" was a cult hit in Greece. The Dorian Grey LP also began to showcase an evolution in The Flowers of Romance’s sound, as they incorporated elements from other musical styles. The Dorian Grey LP was also the band’s first foray into the gothic rock style, making the band not only the first Greek gothic rock band, but making The Dorian Grey LP the first Greek gothic rock album to be distributed internationally.
...
Wikipedia