"From Souvenirs to Souvenirs" is a song by Greek singer

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; el, Αρτέμιος "Ντέμης" Βεντούρης-Ρούσσος, ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member he is best remembered for his work in ...

from his 1975 album ''

Souvenirs A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

''. It was also released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(in 1975 on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

Background and writing

The song was written by the Greek composers Alec R. Costandinos and

Stélios Vlavianós Stylianós Vlavianós ( el, Στυλιανός Βλαβιανός), often called Stélios Vlavianós, (born 7 July 1947) is a Greek composer, musical arranger, a member of the Sacem and the SACD, among others. Biography Vlavianós was born ...

. The recording was produced by

. In 1975, the same year Roussos released the song, it was performed in Greek by Greek singer

Marinella Marinella ( el, Μαρινέλλα) (born 20 May 1938, Thessaloniki) is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has release ...

, but her version went unnoticed.

Popularity in the Soviet Union

In the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, "From Souvenirs to Souvenirs" was the most popular of all of Demis Roussos's songs. According to radio presenter , Roussos didn't consider "From Souvenirs to Souvenirs" an international hit and before one of his first concerts in the USSR in the 1990s Balabanov had to explain to him that the audience would not let him leave the stage without singing "From Souvenirs to Souvenirs".

Russian cover versions

There were several Russian-language covers of the song. A year after the release of Demis Roussos' original, the song was covered by

Zhanna Bichevskaya Zhanna Vladimirovna Bichevskaya ( en, Jeanne Bichevskaya; russian: Жанна Владимировна Бичевская; born June 17, 1944) is a prominent Russian singer and folk musician. She was born in Moscow. In 1971 she graduated from th ...

. Her version, with lyrics by Andrey Bogoslovsky, was titled "Risuyut Malchiki Voynu" ("Рисуют мальчики войну", "Boys Draw War"). In 1977 "From Souvenirs to Souvenirs" was covered by the band . Their version was called "First Love" and became immensely popular. It was played at discos everywhere and became one of popular songs to sing with a guitar. In 1995 "First Love" was covered by the band Russkiy Razmer. The new version was much heavier. The Russian rock band

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

also performed "First Love" at their concerts.

Other versions

Roussos recorded a German version of this song (titled "Mein Leben ist ein Souvenir") on his 1976 German-language album ''

Die Nacht und der Wein ''Die Nacht und der Wein'' is a German-language studio album by Greek singer Demis Roussos, released in 1976 on Philips Records. Commercial performance The album reached no. 34 in Germany. Track listing All tracks produced by Leo Leandros, ...

''.

Track listing

7" single Philips 6009 632 (1975, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.)
7" single RTB / Philips S 53856 (1975, Yugoslavia) : A. "From Souvenirs To Souvenirs" (2:35) : B. "Sing an Ode to Love" (4:08)

References

External links

Demis Roussos — "From Souvenirs to Souvenirs"
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* Alec R. Costandinos *

St%C3%A9lios Vlavian%C3%B3s Stylianós Vlavianós ( el, Στυλιανός Βλαβιανός), often called Stélios Vlavianós, (born 7 July 1947) is a Greek composer, musical arranger, a member of the Sacem and the SACD, among others. Biography Vlavianós was born ...

{{authority control 1975 songs 1975 singles Demis Roussos songs Philips Records singles Songs written by Alec R. Costandinos Song recordings produced by Demis Roussos Songs written by Stélios Vlavianós