Born on the idyllic island of Corfu in 1949, Vasiliki Papathanasiou, as the real name of Vicky Leandros is, became a renowned Greek singer who has enjoyed immense success both in her home country and internationally. With a career of nearly 60 years, the daughter of musician Leandros Papathanasiou, Vicky showed an astonishing singing talent from a young age.
Early Career and Eurovision Triumphs
Leandros began her fascinating professional career in the world of music as a teenager in the early 1960s.
In 1967, young Vicky was just 18 years old. Back then, she had the honour of representing Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest, some seven years before the first official Greek entry to the competition. Leandros participated with the song “L’amour est bleu,” making history as the first Greek artist to represent another country in this prestigious competition. Her powerful and emotional performance put her in the top five songs. Leandros earned 4th place and the song became instantly an international hit, as it actually sold millions of copies around the world.
Leandros did not stop there when it came to the Eurovision Song Contest though. She returned to Europe’s most beloved show in 1972, again representing Luxembourg. This time, Leandros emerged victorious and won first place for the tiny European state with the song “Après Toi”. The song was a global smash and a favourite of the Eurovision fans for decades. It topped charts around the world and turned Leandros into an international superstar almost overnight. Following the resounding success in the competition, Leandros recorded the song in seven more languages, in an attempt to conquer even more markets.
The multilingual repertoire of a Greek singer
One of the reasons for Leandros’ success -apart from her unbelievable talent- was her ability to perform in multiple languages as if she were a native speaker. From the start of her career fascinating, she recorded songs in Greek, French, English, German, Italian, and even Japanese, something that not many people in the history of music have ever been able to do. This stunning talent allowed her to connect profoundly with audiences in many different countries and establish a truly international fanbase that enjoyed her music in their own language.
By singing in Japanese, Leandros did something that not many other Western singers have done. She was able to connect profoundly with the local audience in the beautiful country of the rising sun. Her impressive Japanese language skills significantly boosted her career in the country too.
“Watashi no Sukina Chocolate” which is Japanese for ”The Chocolate That I Like” along with the “Yogiri No Naka De” (In the Foggy Night) became real successes in Japan in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. On top of the original Japanese songs, Leandros also recorded Japanese versions of several of her hits that became popular in Europe.
Over the decades, Leandros continued to release dozens of truly successful albums, most of which were specifically tailored to certain markets. This strategy included an astonishing 31 albums for the Japanese market alone, where no other Greek artist has ever had such success. Her willingness to embrace different languages and musical styles made her a unique phenomenon in the globalisation of pop music that followed in the coming decades.
Popularity that lasts for ever
This fascinating career of Vicky Leandros continued to flourish throughout the 1970s and 1980s, showing how deeply rooted her connection with the European and international music audiences was. Hit singles like “When Bouzoukis Played” and “Theo, wir fahr’n nach Lodz” topped charts in multiple countries during a time when Greek music was mainly confined within the borders of Greece and Cyprus. Leandros even hosted her own television specials that were broadcast across Europe, including on the BBC in the UK.
Despite the fact that in the world of music, trends shift quickly and people get forgotten in the course of time, Leandros remained a beloved figure for decades. She continued to record music and perform regularly. She also collaborated with other well-known artists like Demis Roussos, mixing unique elements of music that became iconic. Her albums and singles earned gold and platinum certifications in many countries showing how beloved she remained across the continent.
Now, after this truly fascinating and genuinely incredible career that spanned nearly six decades, Vicky Leandros announced in 2023 that she would retire from music. She has told fans that she will give a series of farewell concerts in her beloved Germany and Austria as a final gift to her devoted fans who have followed her career for years.
As it is understandable, the impact of Leandros on the world of music cannot be overstated enough. As one of the very first –and few– Greek artists to achieve massive international success, she paved the way for later artists and helped bring Greek music to a global audience that hadn’t heard of it before. Her spectacular Eurovision wins, multiplatinum sales and her popularity that lasted for so long across generations have made her a true icon of European music.
Although Leandros is now stepping back from the forefront of the music stage, she will remain Greece’s beloved ambassador to the world and will continue to inspire many Greek artists who dream of an international career.