ΤΕΤ-Α-ΤΕΤ | Τάσος Τρύφωνος & Αντώνης Ρέμος

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and friends, good evening to you. Tonight we meet one of the most beloved and successful singers of Greek song, on the occasion of his 30-year career and the big concert he will give at Dafrondavila in Nicosia on September 30th. We met exactly three decades ago when we were both still at the beginning. Today, as time allows, we will leaf through the book of his life and his success story. It is a great joy to close this year's TET season with the one and only Antonis Remos. My Antonis, good evening. Welcome >> My Taso, good evening. Thank you very, very much for the honor you are doing me. >> The honor is once again [clears throat] and it is September 30th, 30 years. It's two thirties together. September 30th and we reach your 30 years in Cyprus and September 12th in Thessaloniki. In Thessaloniki, correct? >> In your city. >> How long has it been since we spoke? >> It's been a full 11 years. >> 11 years >> since July 2015. >> I'll tell you the truth. I think it was three or four years ago. >> Now we're talking with the sea of Glyfada as a backdrop, the wonderful one and only sensation that hosts us. And since this is a special program for your 30 years, I wonder and say, "If I told you then in your dressing room at the beads, Antonis, in 30 years we'll be doing a show, the two of us, and we'll be talking about your 30 years in song. Would you tell me I'm crazy. What would you tell me? >> Okay, look, it's also a bit of a blessing >> that we managed to get where we got >> to 30 years, basically, to have had a 30-year career. It is, it is, it is quite a few years. Neither few nor many. I never forget, Marinella used to tell me that you've done it too, you've done it together with the conversations. I have to grow up your children. Your grandchildren will come to me and we'll chat. Time is perhaps the number 30, perhaps it's a number. Nevertheless, it is a journey of experiences and emotions. That is, time is the only thing you cannot buy. So, I am happy that after 30 years I am still here and still interesting to people and they listen to my songs, and some of my songs from that era have now become a bit classic. From that Antonis who started back then with dreams. What do you remember and what do you hold onto? >> I don't want to remember too much. >> Why not? Let me tell you something. Okay, it's nice to dive our thoughts into memories, but we don't do it often, as you see. Neither me nor you. I think we rarely sit down and take stock or think about what to remember. Surely, however, all those beautiful and difficult things I went through have brought me where I am today. So I have nothing to regret. I have nothing to think that I shouldn't have done something. Perhaps I've said it before, but my involvement in football is perhaps the only thing that if I could turn back time, I might avoid it. >> That was a big slap in the face. >> Yes. But even that, if I sit and think about it even more deeply, perhaps I wouldn't mind that either. I would leave that too, because it also gave me tremendous strength to be able to face the subsequent difficulties that life brings me. >> What has not changed at all about you all these 30 years? >> Appearance, I shouldn't say it, it's superfluous to say it. That is >> yes, I would say that your directness hasn't changed and >> and simplicity. back when you were 24-25 years old and now I see that you know, you are more or less the same. Despite, perhaps, my desire >> for the new, for my search, for music, for songs, for experiences, for collaborations. I believe that from the very first moment until now, it may have remained unchanged, and with the same intensity, I want to find my next collaboration, I want to find myself in my new acquaintance with a song. My search in music, my search in emotion, my search in experience. That remains the same. That is, with the same flame, I feel the same burning inside me. Is there anything you miss from your life before success? [sighs] I miss perhaps a little the more carefree moments. I'm not telling you if it's before or after success, but when you're a little younger, when you're a little smaller, there's certainly a greater freedom of thought. There's a carelessness within us that guides us and often, but this carelessness has a charm. When the years pass and you have a child, the child completes a person, I believe, you stop being so carefree. >> What kind of child were you in Germany? Were you extroverted? Were you extroverted? Were you social? I was always extroverted. I was always social. I was always the child who was the troublemaker in class, the mischievous one, let's say, in a good sense. >> Bullying a lot because there we were the little Greeks and in Greece we were the little Germans. It's a tough thing, but I never took it to heart, because even if it happened to me, because I had to face tough situations from a young age, family situations, difficult separations, and difficult separations, my parents divorced, they didn't divorce very nicely. So I had to deal with much more serious things. When you're a bit hardened by life, you don't see things as so serious. The difficulties of life, what makes us tougher, as they say, makes us more resilient. >> Did you long for your return to Greece? Did you want it? >> No. Yes. I was very young. That is, we used to come in the summers, we would return. We used to come by car. Now, we used to travel by car from Germany to Greece, passing through Yugoslavia. I remember such arduous moments, but I remember them. >> Did the separation happen in Greece or Germany? >> Here in Greece, after, that is, in '78 we returned for the first time, the big earthquake happened in Thessaloniki, we left for Germany again, and in '82 when we returned, after we returned, my parents separated, and I was very young, and the man of the house, I had to work, that is, at 13 years old. I worked two jobs, I went to school, I had to take care of bringing money to the family. My mother, my sister, worked. We all worked to get by. >> Did the separation affect you? Did you take it to heart? >> Well, look, the wounds that a couple leaves on their children. That's why we need to be careful, and whatever happens in the family, we must protect the children, especially at those ages, up to 12-15 years old, which are very critical ages. These wounds are indelible over time. You understand it then or now? >> No, you understand it later. You understand that the scars remain on your soul, they always remain when they are childhood scars. So I advise parents, and parents who don't get along and want to divorce, to make sure they keep it out of the environment. Yes. We're not saying put them in a glass case and isolate them psychologically, mentally, but you can't let the feelings of anger that a couple might have between them go unchecked, because the woman felt betrayed, because the man felt betrayed, for whatever reason, to inflict such psychological wounds on a child. It is unacceptable. Did you ask your parents why they were divorcing? Did you ask? My Taso, when you experience a difficult situation, you don't think about anything, you don't analyze anything. You just function. That is, when a person enters survival mode, let's say, survival mode, [clears throat] >> you don't think, you just act. >> So you don't get in the middle? You don't ask, and you don't >> get into one. You get in, and you just react at that moment. You react to how the next day will be. What will we do for my sister? How will we survive? How will we stand tall? How did father leave, I stayed with mother, what will we eat from now on, what about work? Go in the evening, go serve at the souvlaki shop, go wash dishes, go bring 100 drachmas home so we can pay for our food the next day. >> Was your mother the heroine of your life? Yes. Certainly, my mother is the heroine of my life, and she was the person who kept us standing and fought her life's battle to raise me and my sister. You know something that's a bit irrelevant, but because I knew we were doing the show, I was watching Eurovision and I was watching Greece's song, Akilas >> which had that bridge that says "Look, Mom." >> Look, Mom, look, Mom. Look what I've done for you and that, well >> that we were deprived of before, I feel like I will offer, so that we don't run out of anything, and my mind went to you. >> I thought that then, at 13 years old, and then at 17 when you started singing, maybe your thoughts were: "Look, Mom, I'll take care of it." >> You see that after so many years, these experiences of mine are from '81, '82, early '80s. So, now we're talking in 2026. Well, a child came out that some liked, some didn't. For some, he was a very progressive artist, for others, a caricature. For each of us, it was something different. Nevertheless, it had a truth. It had the truth that he said he felt the need that "Mom, I will do anything for you that we lost. I will try to give it to you with my success, earning money, to give you a breath, so you don't have to work so much, to get a house, a car. For me, that was very sweet. >> Did you recognize yourself in that? That is, was it >> I believe that many people identified, identify with that image and with that feeling. >> Did you see it at Eurovision? >> I saw it. Yes, I saw it. Everyone >> How did you find Akilas then? >> Look, there was a subversiveness to the whole thing that either >> he would come first or he wouldn't do so well. That is, I think he did much better than I might have expected. He had extremes. He did a performance that was extreme. Either loved or hated. >> Even though they expected him to win, he was the favorite. That's why I'm telling you that >> at some point everyone got carried away and thought it would happen. It's not. Look, I feel that Eurovision, my dear, is something different every year. One year it wants monsters, the next year it wants diversity, then it wants superpowers, then it wants darkness. Something happens every time. You don't know. And that's the magic, if you like, of Eurovision. It is, however, a very modern theme, a very modern thing. It's a celebration of music. As much as some may want to downplay it, I believe it is a very well-produced product in many ways. Indeed, I don't agree with many of the musical pieces that pass through and that I hear there, but nevertheless, it is a global event at this moment, and that is undeniable. You know that in Italy, the winner of Sanremo is always chosen to go to Eurovision. So, you, as Remos. >> As Remos. Well, >> you are entitled to go whenever you want. >> I must pass through Eurovision at some point as Remos too. No, I'm kidding. I don't know. Maybe, however, it was, and you saw now such a decent performance by the Italian, whom some considered the big favorite, as was the Australian's presence, which was also excellent. >> Australia's. Yes. Yes. >> Cyprus's too, the Cypriot one, which was a fresh thing. A young girl who was beautiful, with a very nice silhouette, very nice hair, a very nice dance. A nice song. I think it will be a success. Many of the songs that didn't do so well in the competition will be different from what does well in a competition and what ultimately becomes a success. >> And the award was won by your friend Kontopoulos. >> The award was won by Dimitris >> who did "Stigmes." One of your successes is "Stigmes." >> It's "Stigmes." The messages read and some other songs. How did you find Bulgaria's song? >> Well, you see that suddenly, no one expected it. No one, that is, everyone, no one, until Eurovision started, heard anyone say the Bulgarian song. >> Yes. >> She had a very big fire in her eyes, that girl. She had tremendous audacity. She had a nice voice, a nice stage presence, but she also had something that caught the eyes of everyone who saw it. The song had a change, it had a rhythm, it had a slogan, it had a word that you don't even know what "Bang" is, what do they call that >> Magaraka. Magaraka >> it's her own, her own. >> So this thing. >> Yes. For some reason, the universe aligned around her and brought her to receive such congratulations. >> Haris for Dimitris. I imagine >> he's been trying for so many years. >> Of course, Dimitris. Dimitris is a very important figure in Eurovision, let's say, for many years now, both with Russia >> and with Greece. >> And >> write him a song to go. >> Let him write [laughs] write songs for people. We write so we can communicate with Greeks, and from there, it doesn't matter. If it ever comes up, you never know what happens. >> Let's go then. If they do Eurovision, maybe I'll go for older. [laughs] 50 Plus. Let's go back to childhood. So, at 13 years old, you go out into the struggle, as we say. What gave you the impetus and the desire to grab life by the horns, as they say, because a child could get lost in various dark paths, lose their way? >> Yes. Taso, when some difficult things happen in a family, there are two paths you will follow. Either light or darkness. You open and you choose. Others choose darkness. What is darkness? Transgressions, substances. And that will lead you to prison, it will lead you to death, or effort, struggle again, again with yourself, again with your surroundings, again with your injustices, but it will lead you to light in the end. Do you remember missing a father figure, for example, at that age? >> No, but I remember missing living my age as a child. That is, I don't feel like I lived as a child. I lived as an adult from a very young age. >> You grew up suddenly? >> Yes. I was also one of those children who grew up really suddenly. [giggles] >> And you go to OAED. How do we say that? [giggles] OAED. >> Yes. And you start studying there. >> Yes. We went to start there, to do a bit of plumbing, as they say. >> But it didn't work out for me. >> It's true. >> Learn a trade and live. It didn't work out for me. >> That is, now, if something breaks in the house, you don't fix it. >> There's no chance. That is, I've flooded my house three times. And the water, especially when I'm in Thessaloniki with some friends who were staying with me. It reached my knee twice, really up to my knee. No joke. The whole house flooded. Is it true that you were in a boarding house there? >> No, no. Yes. We were in the first year. I stayed, I stayed locked in the school. >> That you sang when the lights went out and they told you to stop singing and things like that. >> No, but I did sing at the celebrations we had there. From there, it was my first start, essentially, the singing. That is, I had done a show here on one of the Greek channels, and we went to OAED then, and we went to the hall where, for the very first time, I sang, and it was moving. >> Do you remember which song? >> Then, the first song I sang in a venue was a song by Leonidas Vellis, written by Christos Nikolopoulos. >> With your mouth full of kisses, that one? >> No, "Love, all jealousy and all crying." And before that, I sang in that place, in the dormitory, let's call it, where I stayed at OAED. >> When did your mother first come to see you sing? >> She used to come from the very first moments, she used to come. Ah, she used to come. Yes. Yes. >> It wasn't like she didn't want this thing, and she didn't do it, and you know, and it was also from the weeks that they had given me, that is, okay, now I know many times parents, fathers, are more for their daughters than their sons, saying "I'll take him to the venue, I'll bring him, nothing will happen, if the child wants to do it, let's say, they will do it." So we must be sure that when they go out into the arena, we are there, competing, to face any difficulty the child has, but we must give them the freedom to do both the right and the wrong thing. >> Strict mother. >> Quite strict. >> She scolds you to this day, and I mean physical punishment. >> Yes. I understand. >> No physical punishment now. That is, like that. But, but our slippers, our drones flew, the slipper drones, [laughs] some spoons flew, some spoons broke. That whole package existed. >> Today, does she scold you? >> Continuously, still. And now, now we were inside with Kerasicha, and she called me. "Well, I've made food. You won't eat." >> Is she here with you in Athens now? >> Here, here, here. Yes. I have her here, and she also goes up to Thessaloniki. But I have to take care of her here because I have more here, at any moment if something is needed, because she is already 87, almost 88. She will need any medical monitoring. It's easier for me to have her here. So we're running, and we're coming to Athens. You're coming to Athens, rather. >> Yes. First of all, did someone bring you down, or did you take the train or car yourself and come? >> There had been an initial contact with an Athenian businessman, Kosmas Mennidiatis, one of the biggest and most serious and respectable businessmen, who made me the first offer, the first contact to come down. He had the imagination, he had big popular venues in Athens. >> I thank him. I told him I didn't feel ready to come down yet, and two years passed, and then Giannis Papatheoharis came and made me the offer to come down to Diogenis. And indeed, when I came down to talk, I came down and saw my great idol, my great teacher, Giannis Parios, in that show, and I was truly glued to his image and his voice all night. I was sitting with a friend. I came with a friend. We sat, two kids then, me at 25, 24-25. Yes. At a table for two. Diogenis Palace. Imagine now, a table with a tablecloth. Me in my jeans, you couldn't even enter those venues back then. To enter those venues, you had to be dressed appropriately. Don't look now at the venues you can enter. >> Yes, as it is. Back then, there was respect, and it was, it was, to enter, you had to be as you should be. Your attire, your demeanor, you had to be chic. And we were two kids who came there, sat in a corner, they brought us some small dishes with salmon and all that, and as soon as Parios came out. For me, it was the moment I absorbed his every breath, his every note. Giannis is, for me, he is truly my spiritual father and my mentor. >> But you started with Mitropanos there and got stuck. >> Yes. The winter I came >> Yes. >> It was Parios's lineup. At Easter, Parios's lineup closed, and Mitropanos came, whom I would have liked to be in that lineup. >> Another greatness. >> Dimitris Mitropanos. That's another experience, and that was my first experience collaborating with one of the biggest names in popular music. Generally, many legends of song came into your path quickly, and let's open the chapter on Marinella, with whom you are very identified, very with Marinella, because I think it's a relationship that >> goes beyond the professional. It is, it was a familial relationship. >> It was a relationship of a lifetime. Let's say it clearly. My beloved Marinella, with whom I had the great honor of accompanying her for the last 18 years of her life and the last 18 years of my career. That is, from '07 to '26, how much does that make? Almost 19 years, 20 years. >> But professionally, because our acquaintance goes back even further. Tell me about the first. The first encounter. >> Our first contact was in '94 in Thessaloniki. >> Before you came to Athens. >> Before I came down to Athens, where someone told her about a child. Because back then, Marinella, '94-'93 era, Aris Thessaloniki basketball, Kalli Giannakis, Marinella used to come up. Aliki, Lakis Lazopoulos, it was a group that used to go up to Athens. From Athens, they would go up to Thessaloniki, to Akroma, and magical, amazing nights would happen. So, during those nights, we were spectators and we would go and watch, observe. I would go to Akroma because they were friends and singers, and I would see these legends live before me. The 10 little legends that Lakis would say. So, that's where our first acquaintance happened. >> And after a year or two, she came to the venue to see me sing at Astra, and that's where we met at the table, that is, when I sang for her, she did me the great honor of singing, of singing a song as she used to do in the venues, and that's where she came down, and indeed, she told me the great line: "Don't you dare come down to the lounge again." We were sitting in the lounge and enjoying the show, and she told me, "I'll cut off your legs if you come down again." It's unthinkable for an artist who sings on stage in a venue to then come down. She said they used to do that in the past for other reasons. >> Marinella was always strict. >> She told me, "You're not, my friend, you want to do a photo op. It's not that, it's not allowed. When you are a serious artist, you must do that. Period. I never came down again. They would tell me, "Antonis, come down here." "Kids, I can't come down, I have a prohibition." >> Why do you think she loved you so much? I believe that Marinella felt, beyond my love, she also felt a sense of security next to me. That is, she felt that next to me she could lean on a person who, whatever I told her, was with her safety in mind, and I only wanted her good. And she trusted my judgment. She would ask me, we would discuss many things about her career, professional matters, about what she would do. I always gave her my opinion. She always wanted me to tell her how to do it, and she felt safe next to me. I believe that the combination of love and security makes a relationship very, very strong. >> And you never demythologized her. Even though you were so close. >> Never. And in moments when I have lived countless everyday moments, I tell you, Marinella, before we went on stage, I've said it before, she was a little girl who would come into my arms and bury herself in my arms, and as she buried herself, she would also pat her back a little, and she would grab it. It was a worked-out back, a back that had carried burdens, no joke. And she would say, "My Antonis, do my back a little, massage it a little." And as soon as we went up, suddenly my gaze would truly rise, because my gaze would reach up there, her energy was enormous. And yet, even in moments, another moment when it was a nice moment when we were singing at the Arena and we were on a walkway with lights below, and there was static electricity, and at some point she hadn't put on hairspray, obviously, and her hair stood up all around. You couldn't see it, but the hairs had stood up. And I told her, "My Marinella, your hair has stood up." "Yes, it's nothing." She goes inside, puts a little water. Splash, splash with the water. Nothing. But now, 2,000 people below. That was Marinella. She wasn't afraid to get messy. I wonder, Antonis, if you would have preferred not to be at the Odeon that night, or if you say to yourself, "Thank goodness I was there." >> Okay. Now, it is, it is a night that I remember and I don't want to remember, but it's impossible not to remember it, and it's impossible to change that. That is, the facts are specific. [sighs] [exhales] We were preparing this night with great love because it was a night for our Marinella. It was her entire repertoire, and I had chosen many songs that she hadn't sung. She hadn't sung them for many years, and it was the night we were both looking forward to very, very much. >> Note: a week or ten days before, I had seen her at the Odeon at the tribute to Marianna Martinogianni. We were together. >> Yes. >> So we were there. >> And she was, as Marinella always was. >> She was impeccable then. We even sang some duets. We sang my songs too. That is, we sang "We," and you know, she hadn't learned it well and she was anxious about how she would sing it with me. Everything was ready. We were, I mean, artistically, we were fully prepared. And if you want, I'll say it differently: everything was ready for this moment to come. What is the moment? The fateful moment, which is a fateful moment, but we were all there. All those who would have wanted her to have by her side. Her family, her friends, her loved ones, the beloved people were there. Perhaps I was misunderstood when I said that, in the end, many said around her that since the bad thing happened, she should have gone at that moment and not stayed for another year in the condition she experienced. That was misunderstood by some. But it was the perfect moment that if each of us can dream, because we talk about birth, about life, but because death is also the cycle of life, it is the closing of our life, so death is part of life, if we can imagine or have the ability to choose how we leave, Marinella would have chosen that at that moment. >> And >> it was, it was the moment when she had all her friends in the most beautiful theater in Greece and one of the most beautiful theaters in the world, with the most beautiful aesthetic. It was an understanding night, it was fantastic, everything was perfect in its place, the orchestra, the songs, everything was perfect. It was the moment, therefore, from the moment God or the universe decided, let's say, for the inevitable to happen, it should have happened there, and that is, the ideal would have been in a movie, it would have happened, she would have sung, she would have sung songs, and in the end, the artist disappears into the audience and falls. And so she survived, she gave us hope that she would be able to stand on her feet again, to get out of this problem. We were all by her side, trying, the doctors, her family, Georgina from the first moment, she didn't stop for a minute from doing everything, giving everything to give her, so that our Marinella could return. Finally, she didn't make it, and after about a year, the inevitable happened, and she left us about 50 days ago, almost two months now. But she doesn't leave us. She will never leave our souls. I constantly have the sound of her voice in my ears, and every time I hear it, it takes me back to a moment with her. What were the last words you two said? The last words were at the moment she came back backstage at the Odeon, and about 10 minutes later, when the incident happened, her doctor Elias Politakis, her daughter Georgina, her most beloved friend Zampela, Olga, who was her right hand, the nurses, and I also entered, and she told me, "Antonis, let's go out and sing one last song." And I said, "My love, look, we're not in that phase now. Sit down and rest. I have arranged with the people here at the Odeon, we have taken a date after 10 days, so we will do it again, don't worry." "No, let's go out and sing one more song, maybe the world, don't worry, the world is okay, they've been informed." That is, she expressed that she had left something unfulfilled. >> Did you realize it was serious? Was it something serious, or was it fainting? For example, I didn't have that feeling because there was, there was, but there was a normality. That is, I saw a person who was exhausted, so I don't. But her doctor, Elias, from the first moment told me, "Antonis, things are very serious." He told me it's a very serious stroke. I didn't have that perception. I didn't realize the magnitude of the evil that was about to come. >> What do you miss most about Marinella today? >> I miss her physical presence. I miss her physical touch, and what I will keep and remember are the words of Eleni, my daughter, who managed to live moments with her. That is, I have photos from when she was born, every little while she held her in her arms and sang to her, and she has sung with her, they have laughed together, and she tells me, "Dad, I miss her now, I mean, I miss not seeing her again." Such a clear answer, and it's true. For those of us who know her, who knew her personally, we certainly miss her physical presence every day. Because her music, her image, her sound, are always around us. Her physical presence, inevitably, cannot be. >> My Antonis, we will go for a short commercial break, and soon we will be back together, Tatat on A with Antonis Remos. We return to our last Tatat of the season tonight with Antonis Remos. Antonis, in your 30 years of career, your discography, Antonis, and in the night. Well, Marinella, Parios, as you said, Dalaras, Voskopoulos, Protopsalti. Is there a collaboration you dreamed of and never happened? >> Here, collaborations happened that I couldn't even dream of. That I found myself with Marinella all these years, that I found myself singing face to face with Giannis Parios. >> A name that managed to... There's nothing more to tell you. I'm happy. I'm happy >> that all these

that we sang together, I didn't choose them alone. They chose me too. That is, I want the world to understand that when some people collaborate, as George Kivelos says, for a miracle to happen, it takes two. With one, the miracle doesn't happen. So, all those you mentioned, just as I was happy for the collaboration with them, most of them, not to say all, but most of them, with very, truly very few exceptions, they enjoyed it very much too.

Did it upset you when someone stated that they didn't enjoy it much? >> No. >> Because George Dalaras is well-known. Let me tell you something. George also has his opinion. He is an artist who has left an enormous imprint on Greek music. I deeply appreciate and respect him. But beyond that, the fact that he didn't give the sweet with our appearance together has nothing to do with it. >> It was a matter of chemistry. >> It was a matter of the moment. Maybe it wasn't the right moment. But even when we met, and whenever we meet, I have infinite respect for him. Deep appreciation. Now, artistically, I wish we could meet again and under some other circumstances sing together again and for George to enjoy it too.

If I were to ask you who is the most defining composer of your career, who would you say now? >> It's a difficult question, I know, but >> I don't want to be unfair >> because I can't. Because, let me tell you something. >> Okay. Antonis Vardis is a part of my soul. It's not just music. George Theofanous is a part of my soul and of, that is, these two have played the biggest role. Please. >> I would say that Theofanous is it, and your weakness is Vardis. >> Well, that's why I told you about these two names. Right, but how can I dispute Kyriakos Papadopoulos, >> and Vasilis Gavrilidis, the younger composers who have entrusted me with songs, and Christos Nikolopoulos, with whom we've done some songs that weren't huge hits but wonderful songs, Stamatis Spanoudakis, guys, we're talking about people who are giants in Greek music. >> True. But Theofanous, Vardis, I think >> George and Antonis Vardis are >> perhaps the two most defining because I was also defining in their moment. Not so much with Antonis. Antonis was more defining in my moment. I was more defining in George's moment. Because the songs George entrusted to me were at a very crucial point in his life. Yes.

It was when he was coming out of his relationship with Evridiki, >> and I sang all these, this separation. I'm sorry to say it, my George and my Evridiki. So, you understand, it was a moment, it was a very difficult moment for you, but also on Monday, your last song was number one a few days before I came to Athens, and the show was called number one on AirPlay. >> Yes. Yes. Okay. Very good, and it's also the harbinger of the new. And so, with George, we continue and meet artistically, and with Nikos Moraitis. Of course, Nikos Moraitis, who is one of my most important collaborators.

Besides being a successful singer for three decades, you are also a singer who defined his era. That is, we are now talking about the "Remo-fication" of folk song. This term also exists. Great Greek artists come out and say, for example, Nikolopoulos said that all subsequent pop-folk singers copied Remos. Vitali said about Remos and the "Remakia" (little Remoses). That is, you break these. You understand your influence. >> Yes. Look, I'm glad I can be influential, especially within our work. Right, because all previous generations were similarly influential. Some wanted to resemble Marinella, some wanted to resemble Voscopoulos, some of us wanted to resemble Parios, some want to resemble Kazantzidis. So, this influence is healthy when you simply get inspired and learn from them. Yes. But you did this naturally. Normally. I don't think you thought, "I'll become influential."

And I remember, I remember many, many young people when Michalis Hatzigiannis first emerged, >> so I remember it from his first steps, I had come to a good place in Cyprus, and then the one who kept winning Eurovision was a persistent guest, >> Johnny Logan, Johnny Logan. >> Yes. >> And Johnny Logan sang there, and Michalis comes out as a more local star of that era and sings a song, and after that, Michalis created an entire school. >> That is, many young people were influenced. >> True, Michalis, so >> if I have also influenced some young people interpretively and vocally, because I can't influence them, I'm not a composer, nor do I write songs, I rather write things that I keep for myself and at some point I might, yes, >> so >> it's a great joy and honor for me, which means that many of these young people who theoretically say they "stepped on Remos" are basically very successful.

Yes. For example, Konstantinos Argyros, everyone, and Thodoris Oferis, and >> young people who have seen how I operate. Basically, it's not that they copied my voice or something like that. They copy the way they rather take, they see what Remos has done for the last 30 years and adapted it to their own reality, to their own psyche. >> Well, at first, until we got to know Konstantinos, we thought you were on the radio. >> Well, now I don't know, sometimes this came out a bit more, and George put his hand in this, and Theofanous also contributed so that his vocal timbre would sing in areas where I also sing. So, but after that, Konstantinos has now made his own path and is very successful, and may God keep him well.

And I see that all this that was given to you generously by the greats of the previous generation, you also have this paternalistic attitude with the new ones, that is, with Argyros, with Mastoras, with Pantelis, Pantelidis, with whom you were so close, and I don't know if this wound has healed, if it has been erased. And Pantelis was, was, was a wound inside me that >> it was very sad that such a young child left so suddenly and in such a way, and unfortunately, thousands of empty words and thousands of figments of imagination were involved and written, to put it that way. Pantelis was, is, and will be an entity that I certainly lived close to, as long as I lived the last four or five years of his life, in intense moments when we took our vacations together, and when we went to make a huge success in Australia, and we went to make, we would make some unique >> In May you would go, yes, we would go to make a unique, some unique concerts that would have never happened before, but unfortunately, fate played a very bad game with us, resulting in him leaving life as it happened, and leaving many unanswered questions, leaving our wounds unhealed, mainly for his family first of all, and then for his friends, all his friends.

Were you tormented at all by guilt in relation to, ah, Pantelis's death? That is, if you could have done something to prevent it, to avert it, because you were very close, you said he was like your little brother. >> So I told you, he was truly like my little brother. That night was a night when, rather, a few nights before, what had happened with Cyprus had happened, since we're talking about Cyprus, >> with the "komaka" (mistress) that came out, they came out and stoned him, they pelted him with stones because he talked about the song with the mistress, with the occupied territories, and all that, and I was the one who sat down and wrote a, we wrote a statement that he later added his own things to and made it mixed. Two days later, a statement was released to explain this whole incident, and he was already very stressed. So, that night, because it was just before his premiere. That night, we spoke at some point early on the phone. Yes, we'll talk, brother. I'm going to lie down because I'm exhausted. This "I'm going to lie down" eventually turned into him talking to his friends, and he says, from what I learned later, that he was going to have a drink, to have a drink, and the night unfolded as it did.

Did he ask you for your car? >> He asked for this car about a month before. Not that night. Well, he asked me for it, and because he was like my little brother, we didn't do any paperwork, nothing, just "take it," and I didn't take any money. Let's say he wanted to buy it, he liked it, and I wanted to change it because I wanted to get another one. And anyway, with the trust a person shows to another person, that's why sometimes it's good, especially in such cases, to keep, to formally, to have to do formal procedures from the beginning. Beyond that, all the other myths came out. All this crazy worldview that circulated came out. But I want to tell you that I couldn't, that is, when I woke up in the morning, they woke me up, and I saw my car overturned, and that there was a dead person and a dead singer, because at that time, imagine, they hadn't even said his name yet, and my sister and my mother were calling to see if it was me or not because it hadn't been released. >> So that's why there was such a big fuss then. Let's stick to the fact that Pantelis for me is and will always be in my soul. I wish this hadn't happened. I wish we could have prevented it in some way. I wish we could turn back time. But we take what life brings us as a given.

Did you ever worry you might lose the "folk child" within you? No. Because the "folk child" is always there. That is, you see, even now, I will go out, I will go to places where people often live. I don't choose to go somewhere where I'm alone. When I go out, I have no inhibition to go to the most frequented place on the street, to the most frequented place in a shop. I will go wherever my friends go. I have no problem with that. Right. So I still feel that inside me there is the "boy next door." There is Antonis, whom you all loved, and that, what you loved, continues to exist.

When you first heard the word "Remo-loan" used in everyday speech, what did you feel? I don't know now. That was back then, times when people were a bit intoxicated by excess, and obviously, they were intoxicated then too. He wasn't intoxicated himself, because the banks intoxicated him, the whole system intoxicated him, and they put people. Do you want to drink, to go on a trip, take a loan. Do you want to go for a stroll at the bouzoukia, take a bouzouki-loan, take a Remo-loan. >> So they put people in the trap that easy money is here. Take it and don't worry. >> Yes. But it again showed your influence. It wasn't a Visso-loan, it was the era of the loan. Rem was the era of Rem, of Remos. So, accordingly, after that, now we came to, then came the era of Notis, then came the era of Zana, then, well, there's always such a thing when there's an over-information around a name.

Do you miss Notis Sfakianakis from the nightlife and song? >> Notis is generally missing from Greek music. I wish he could find himself and return to where he belongs, in the hearts of the people. Well, beyond that, he has already left an enormous imprint with amazing songs, a wonderful repertoire. >> Have your relations been restored? >> They weren't. Our relations were never strained. And again, because of Pantelidis, we played a game, we made a joke, so to speak, which then evolved into a misunderstanding, to put it that way. That is, when at some point he came out and spoke on a show and said that he heard a singer and they told him it was me, and "come on," and such, and that he felt a bit strange that they compared him, that they confused Pantelidis with Notis, and we made a joke, and I uploaded a photo on social media with Pantelis and him, like "Notis, calm down," but then you, the good journalists, developed this and turned it into a sharp conflict. Then they put more words in his mouth than they should have. He responded because Notis, the fiery one, didn't have a big problem responding. And then the chain dance continued year after year. There was never really any dispute with Notis.

But he brought him to a show where we, and we once had a very nice conversation on a radio show. I was glad to see him then, and that we talked and shared those moments of ours. Surely everyone has their own opinion. Well, but beyond that, I accept him as he is, and he also accepted me, accepts me as I am.

Tell me your perspective. How do you see all this that's happening in recent years with Anna Vissi? You were together in 2013 at the Pantheon theater. >> Or none. >> Yes. The one, none. >> The one took one and I took none. [laughter] We shared them nicely. >> Three times "kalimarmaro." Now, Akka. How do you have it? >> My child, listen now. It's, it's, I, I rejoice as if I'm living it myself. Such is my joy that I truly admire her. May God give health first of all to her, to her family, to her friends. And I truly admire that she has reached the point after so many years to be where she is and to do what she is doing right now. It's very important. I wish that I too, after 20 years, because I'm at 30, Anna the year before last completed 50 years. >> The 50. Yes. We did a show for her 50 years the year before last. >> Then I say, I wish that I too, in 20, in 50 years, in my 50 years of career, would exist and exist as Anna exists. It's the most beautiful and most honorable thing to have made this entire journey and to reach, after 50 years, to be at the top and truly number one without a number two.

What do you remember from your collaboration in '13, was there chemistry there? >> With Anna, there's always chemistry. It was simply the venue. It wasn't perhaps what we would have wanted. That is, because she has such an open character and is so open-hearted and so "rascal-hearted," as her song says, we were a bit more, that, we saw, I found you at a moment when we had to do a theatrical, a musical. It was a bit >> stylized. >> Yes. It was a bit, I don't know what it was we did. It wasn't a play, nor a theatrical performance, nor a musical performance. It was a mixture. Why didn't you say, "Let's do what again?" It was the moment when the venue, the space, was thus transformed into a music stage slash theater. They said to do something more classical. But in the end, we also had a party at the end where everyone stood up from their seats.

That is, from the whole evening, this is what I keep. The last quarter, the last 20 minutes, when we were throwing fire, throwing oil on the fire, and the people were getting up and an explosion was happening. That is, there it was also evident how much our touch with Anna was. And I hope that at some point we will find ourselves in conditions as we feel them, our folk, our real, our night evenings, and have an evening, have some evenings together where we will make the people explode and live magical moments.

Let's go to the family chapter then. Family man Antonis Remos. How did you realize that Ivoni would be the woman of your life and the woman with whom you would have a child? >> Ivoni is the most important person in my life, but these things you don't predispose and you don't plan. So we started with Ivoni a relationship of the moment, that we would meet today, a lightning-bolt love, a love so marked that this love has lasted 16 and years. >> Was it a lightning-bolt love as soon as you saw her? >> Yes, yes, it was from the beginning, but it was, okay, she's such a fantastic person, and Ivoni is a beautiful creature, but beyond her beauty, she also has a spark and she can be grumpy. Ivoni is not a kitten. Ivoni is a panther. So she intrigued me to tame a panther, but I haven't tamed her yet, you know. I haven't succeeded after so many years.

If I tell you what my question is about the first date. >> What? >> Ivoni said she came with a friend of hers who was in love with a friend of yours. >> Correct. >> What happened to those two? >> Nothing, they've been lost, not even, that is, nothing. They've disappeared. The girl had started a family. As far as I know, my friend continues to be active, but now he's in a relationship with such, but no relation. >> So all this happened for you two to meet. >> All this happened for me and Ivoni to meet.

And what language did you speak at first? She didn't speak >> German. >> Ah, you see, your German came in handy. >> Of course. [cough] >> Yes. No, I know. I'm saying Ivoni didn't speak Greek then. >> She spoke English, German. >> I, we spoke German, but mainly English. But, but then, as Ivoni entered my life more and more, and she came and we met more often, and then at some point we started living together, she started getting closer to my circle, to my friends, and she slowly started learning Greek. That is, she learned it through my buddies and through the, no, what was it called back then, the Translator.

Did she know who you were when you met? >> Yes, of course she knew. Okay. While she knew songs, she also knew the simple fact that you are a singer. >> Yes. We said that with Ivoni, we knew each other before we met. >> That is, >> that is, >> Ivoni had come with her then-partner to the arena two years before we met, before we got together, before this date. And I saw her and truly, I had a lightning-bolt shock, but before I could find a way to communicate and all that, obviously the other person understood. No, I'm kidding, her boyfriend at the time. They left, that is, he took her and they left because it was a group, and they left, and I hadn't seen her again for two years. And after two years, when we met, she tells me, "Yes, you say I've seen you before, you say I had come to the arena," and when she told me she came to the arena, the image flashed back that she came then, and I say, "Was it you who came up?" She says, "Yes."

So, timing is very important in love, Antonis, in all things in life. Our life is a, that is, we must always have the time code in our lives for everything. It's the beginning of life. >> That's right. Timing plays an important role in everything. Because I had read that you said Ivoni came into your life like a sunbeam in a time of storm. In a time when a storm was basically starting. Oh, yes. At the most important moment of my life when I was entering the battle. I was entering the battle to face all those demons that had been created around me and I had to fight them. So, at that point, the right person came, Ivoni came and supported me and was truly my life partner.

Our previous meeting, we said, was in 2015, three years before your wedding. Okay. >> Was your wedding, Antonis, as you wanted it, or due to obligations, due to various situations? You might have wanted something simpler, with fewer people, etc., but it happened without being exactly what you wanted. >> Our wedding was the most ideal wedding we could have imagined, >> as you wanted it. >> It was exactly that, and even more. It was ideal in every aspect, in the guests, in the organization, in how the people who came honored us, our friends, we enjoyed it uniquely. It was a celebration, we enjoyed it very, very much, and truly, I wish everyone, when it's time to get married, for it to be like our wedding was. That is, emotionally, what we felt was liberation, we didn't feel for a single moment what we had to do, everything was in its place.

Hello, we heard that estate burned down. >> Yes. It burned down later because after a year there were some fires in Attica, in Varibombi, >> in Varibombi and all that, and unfortunately, because it didn't have many, it was a forest in there and it was fantastic, and basically the whole mountain burned down. And unfortunately, it also suffered great damage. >> I imagine what a shock you and Ivoni had when you >> Well, I'm telling you, it was, it was, because it belonged to >> the best man >> one of my best men, who was Dimitris Kontomis. >> Yes. >> A lovely person, an amazing person, and he granted us his estate. It was the >> it also had a small pond inside, I remember, and >> it was ideal. I'm telling you, I wish everyone, as they imagine it, because we, as we imagined and designed it, that's how we depicted it and that's how we made it happen.

Anyway, I feel that as a couple, you don't have tensions. You're not a couple that might fight, might shout. We have, we have. We don't have tensions, but okay, to the level that, first of all, okay, nothing gets out, but it never even reaches Eleni, and that's what I'm telling you, the most important thing that moved our conversation. >> Yes. While you had never reached the point of saying, "We have a crisis in our marriage" in that sense. >> Yes. For now. Thank God, so far we haven't reached that level.

And Eleni arrived on February 14th. >> She could have been Eleni Valentina. >> So, Eleni Valentine. Seriously, she is. She is our Valentine. She is truly the fruit of love and she is a wonderful child. She is a blessing in my life and she is a blessing generally to all who know her and all who know her from our close circle. I truly admire with how much love and how much longing and how much, well, how much affection they speak about this child.

Tell me, when Grandma Eleni Paschalidi meets granddaughter Eleni Paschalidi, what happens? >> Okay, Grandma is in love with her, so is little Eleni, because my mom is, is her whole life. Beyond that, you know, and Eleni is still at an age where she spends many, many days with her grandma because, why? Because she lives right below us. >> She's 12 now. >> Now she's 11. >> Ah, 11. >> 11. >> Does she speak German? >> No, but she speaks English and Greek very well. She understands German up to a point. But I'm sure that in a few years, when she does her German, it will be very easy for her to learn it in a very short period of time.

What do you remember from the day of her birth? >> Everything. I remember every single moment of that day. I remember her every breath. I remember every sound. >> Had you prepared, let's say, the sound that our doctor, our beloved Kyriakos, told me. He tells me, "Get up," he says, "to make you a father." I had just finished from the club. I go to, next to her room, there was a space with a bed, and I said, "I'll sleep for an hour." As soon as sleep was about to take me. Kyriakos Mitsakos tells me, "Wake up." I say, "What? We're going to make you a father." I go down as such, to go downstairs. I went into the room where Ivoni was ready for the birth, and the miracle happened before our eyes. But the moment she came out and I heard that sound, her first cry, I was shocked because I heard a sound that was familiar to my ears, and I can't explain this because it's a sound I had never heard before, and yet it was very familiar to my ears, and this is where it comes, how much people are energetically connected. That is, a creature emerged from the creation of two people. And this made a sound that I, at least, and Ivoni told me afterwards, felt was something familiar to me. Not unknown. Even though it was a sound we were hearing for a first time.

So then. >> Is your life before Eleni and your life after Eleni? >> Yes. This happens to all of us who have children. Children are a very crucial point in a person's life. >> What, what degree >> it is for a man. It is the moment when a man goes from being a child to being a man. That is, a man, no matter how old he gets, remains a child and stops being a child only when he becomes a father, because then he feels the real responsibilities.

What grade do you give yourself as a father? >> Well, now I don't want to be, nor to over-analyze. Eleni will give me the grade when she grows up. All these years, let's say, you changed her diapers, you fed her, you put her to sleep, all that. >> You'll hear these, they sound a bit descriptive, but it's not the moment to change on top. That is, I still put her to sleep, I'll put her to bed. >> Do you sing to her? >> No, but she comes to my concerts now and she starts to like it, that she doesn't come to my concerts and >> I start too. That is, I get nervous when Eleni comes to one of my concerts, I sweat as if there are 100 prime ministers below. of the world, but it's a unique feeling to have Eleni below and to sing. And I tell you again, what, what did you have in Thessaloniki, you don't feel, you don't get panic, something super. >> Yes. No, that I brought her up because I saw she was anxious, and I brought her up to get rid of that, that thing, and I tell her, "Come," I say, "to see," I say, "it's nothing." She tells me, "Well, you don't get," I say, "panic." She says, "Aren't you afraid with so many people?" And I told her that you only get afraid when there are even a few, if it's bad. That's when you should be afraid and sad. When there are thousands, like today, but there is love, you have nothing to fear.

Do you remember the first moment you heard, the first time you heard the word "Dad"? >> Yes. I remember everything. I'm telling you, we had gone to Lagkadas, to my mother's house, my ancestral home, and there we were playing with a, I have it on video too. We're playing with a light fixture, and she goes "ma ma" and kisses me here, like this, on the cheek and neck, and "ba bam ba," and what did you say? And she told me there, the very first time she gave me a kiss and, that is, she gave me a kiss knowing what she was doing, and she said the word "Dad" knowing the meaning of the word, that is, feeling this emotion of "Dad," shall I say? When did you realize that Eleni understood who her dad is? >> Okay, as a child grows now and thus acquires character and consciousness, she has a sense of what's happening around her. Eleni knows who her dad and mom are, but she doesn't appropriate it. She doesn't feel that he is her dad. She feels it descriptively around her. She feels that, oh, Dad, when we go out somewhere and some people come, or some people, and ask me to take a photo or tell me something.

Does it bother her? >> No, you know. No, it's not, I haven't shown her that it bothers me. >> That is [cough] >> everything starts from the parents. If I had reacted differently at that moment, if I had reacted a bit aggressively, a bit as if I was offended, that way, the child would surely perceive that this is something bad. I have never shown her that it is bad. I show her in a charming way that it is a reaction where someone wants to express their love to me, to express their sympathy for the fact that I sing all these songs of mine. And they have identified their moments with me. Everything starts from us. Children are blank pages.

She doesn't feel like she's sharing you with strangers. >> No, she doesn't have that. She hasn't entered such a process. She hasn't gotten into thinking that someone is stealing something from her, stealing love from her. We give her a lot of love. All of us give her our love, and she knows that what we give to the world, what we give to the world, is a different kind of love. It's as I've explained to her, that when you have one child, you give 100% of your love to it. When you have a second child, the 100% isn't divided and becomes 50. The 100% becomes 200. It multiplies. So, I have also made her understand that my love for my friends, for whom I've been singing for so many years and who have connected me with their lives, is completely different from the love I have for Eleni.

What frightens you most as a father? >> Fear. There is no greater fear than for your child to suffer something, and I'm telling you that the responsibilities when you have a child, the beauties are incredible, but the weight of responsibility is enormous, you don't want to think about it. >> Are you overprotective or do you play it cool? >> No, we are truly, both Ivoni and I, within very reasonable limits, that is, we try to live with a logic, with a logic to protect her, with a logic to limit her, and to, with a logic to educate her for her future.

If in a few years she tells you she wants to get involved with singing, what will you do? >> Very gladly I will tell her no. [laughter] Well, listen, whatever she wants. I will be with her. We are with her. As long as she has it, though. Seriously, if she doesn't have it, I will show her to understand that to do singing, you must first of all have a talent. It's like me saying now, "Great, I'll go become a footballer." Well, I can't. There are some things in life where you need to have talent. An actor is this, an artist you are, a singer you are, you write a wall.

Yes. But even more difficult is that she will have a renowned singer as a father. It's not just about that. If she has it, very gladly I will be by her side and support her. >> I saw that Amazona is involved with riding as a sport. Amazona is involved with her great love. >> Do you want to see her in the Olympics? >> I want to see her happy. I don't care where she reaches. First of all, when I see her on the horse, my soul goes to Koulouri. Both Ivoni and I sweat. We don't have a good time at all, basically. Well, but beyond that, when we see that she is happy, and thank God so far, she has had some falls that were very controlled and very...

So painless. So no God-forbid accident has happened. So I have seen my child fall off the horse. I even have a video of the moment my legs gave out. But it's okay. We know the degree of danger. She knows it too. >> She wasn't scared. She returned again. >> Of course, at that moment, her coach took her and put her back on, and we rode the horse again. >> Did she ask you to go by herself? >> It was also a bit of encouragement from Ivoni because Ivoni was old with equestrianism, with dressage, and she did equestrianism in Germany for many years. Antonis, how do you explain this relationship you have with Cyprus and the Cypriot audience? It's not what artists always say, "I love Cyprus," "This came to Cyprus and it's a hit." I don't know if it's because of Andriana Orphanidou, who has been with you for how many years? I've been with her for 30 years, yes, which I think is now a sisterly relationship, completely, completely. That's how it is, it's a part of my life. >> And I love her and I support her and I'm always by her side. I remember one time in '96 in Larnaca in a basement club. The first time she presented my song there, and since then, every year the audience honors me with their presence. I've had my biggest concerts in Cyprus. That is, unique concerts have taken place in Gastoupi and in the other stadiums, in Limassol and in Larnaca. So I have had such great experiences, such great moments that are forever etched in my heart. They honor me every time we sing in Athens, that in all these years, Cypriots come and every winter they fill the venue. So for me, it's a great honor that we continue and this love and support exists. >> Do you believe that an artist has an age at which they should retire? >> No. One retires only when they truly can no longer do what they know how to do well. >> That's why I was telling Marinella >> You will never stop singing. I want you to have at least one concert next year, but please, you will never stop because you can. Not because you have to. Because everyone says, "Ah, because some guys come out and say, 'Ah, Parios says I've gotten old.' Ah, because he's still singing. Marinella has gotten old." They do it because they can. When you can't, then you say, "Guys, I can't anymore. I can't. My voice isn't coming out." Like that. Haroula had the mental fortitude, the mental strength to say, "I don't feel like I can sing the way I know how to sing." So, I'm stopping. And she triumphs elsewhere now. >> Yes. But I want to tell you that only then does an artist stop. If you saw Antonis from 1996 today >> Yes. >> In his dressing room, in the beads. What would you tell him? I would tell him, "Eat well and get strong because very difficult nights are coming. Prepare for war. But never give up because you will have the mental, the mental strength to endure because you were born to endure such nights." I mean, difficult moments that will come to me. My Antonis, thank you very much for today's meeting. Thank you also for the honor you gave me to close this year's season of the show "A Kypros" together. You are the best finale. And as we finish, I just want to say that I am truly waiting for all our friends on September 30th in [Xerovihas]. >> And it will be a unique concert because many beloved friends, fellow artists from Greece, will honor me, and of course, on September 12th, when I will have my first concert for my 30 years in my beloved Thessaloniki, and there with very special collaborators and very special friends who will come to me, both from Greece and from abroad, for a unique evening. >> So, see you on September 30th at Tafrodrava in Nicosia. We will magnificently celebrate Antonis Remos' 30 years in the music industry. My Antonis, thank you again. We'll talk on September 30th in Cyprus. >> Thank you very much. >> I would like to warmly thank the One and Only Grand Hotel in Glyfada for their hospitality. Thank you to Xeno Travel for their valuable help this season in organizing the trips, because as you know, most of the shows are filmed in Athens. Thanks to the entire team of the show, to Andreas Saplaouras and Last Productions, to Giorgos Paschalidis for editing the show, to Maria Tavlantaki and Dimitris Kikas, and of course, to A Kypros. The biggest thanks to you who were with us again this year for another television season. I want to believe that for another year we managed to have distinguished personalities who have something important to say, and see you in October for the new season on A. Have a great summer everyone. Good evening.