The Flowers of Romance was a pioneering punk and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band of the underground

Greek rock Rock and roll entered Greece in the middle of the 1960s. Greek rock performers in the field include Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Dimitris Poulikakos. Greek rock bands well known globally are Aphrodite's Child, Socrates Drank the Conium and The Las ...

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.

Career

Punk era:1981–1990

Inspired by punk bands such as

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

, 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 John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

and one of his pre-

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

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 Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

'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. ''Dorian Grey''s release in Greece and across Europe resulted in the album becoming an underground hit for The Flowers of Romance that led to their national exposure and appearances on Greek national television in 1990. Similar to the band's later albums, ''Dorian Grey'' was considered one of the 50 best Greek rock albums of all time.

Gothic rock era:1990–1998

In 1992, The Flowers of Romance capitalized on their cult success with the release of the ''Love Means Death'' EP and ''The Flowers Of Romance…The Story So Far''. During the recording of the ''Love Means Death'' EP, the band's lineup again changed as guitarist Dimitris Beis replaced Plato Papadimitriou and Achileas Geromoshos. Following the release of ''Love Means Death'', Harry Stavrakas returned to the band full-time to replace Teo Botinis. 1992 also saw the release of ''The Flowers Of Romance…The Story So Far''. Primarily a compilation of previously unreleased material, it was a tape released solely within the UK, adding to The Flowers of Romance's string of internationally released music. The November 1993 release of the band's ''The Pleasure and the Pain'' LP revealed the band's versatility; this new album showcased a style more in line with gothic rock and featured Mike Pougounas on keyboards as well as the vocals. The 7" single, "The Pleasure and the Pain"/"Winter Waltz" was released prior to the arrival of the new album, with "Winter Waltz" becoming one of the band's most acclaimed songs since "Love Means Death". Whereas the Greek release of ''The Pleasure and the Pain'' LP was vinyl, the German edition was in CD form and featured four bonus tracks, including "Island on the Moon". ''The Pleasure and the Pain'' was another success for the band, but following production of the album, the band underwent changes in membership: drummer Michalis Tzavaras and guitarist Dimitris Beis left the band and were replaced by Dimitris Koukas and guitar player Aggelos Kakouratos, though Kakouratos only stayed with the band for a few months, with Averkios Hadjiandoniadis then replacing him. Mike Pougounas and The Mission frontman

Wayne Hussey 250px, Hussey performing at the M'era Luna Festival in 2004. Jerry Wayne Hussey (born 26 May 1958) is an English musician who was born in Bristol, England. He is best known as the lead singer of The Mission, and the guitarist with The Sisters ...

met in 1995, and by this time The Flowers of Romance were already amidst the pre-production of their next album, ''Brilliant Mistakes''. Wayne Hussey's keen interest in The Flowers of Romance resulted in a full collaboration. In addition to producing the album and allowing the band to record in The Mission's Bristol studio, Wayne Hussey collaborated on several songs and was able to introduce The Flowers of Romance to a broader media market. ''Brilliant Mistakes'' was released in late 1996 and became The Flowers of Romance's greatest success, with the tracks "Channel Z" and "In a Vacant Place" reaching No. 5 and No. 12 respectively on the Greek music charts. In 1997, ''Brilliant Mistakes'' had limited release in the US and UK, as well as a release in Germany under the Hyperium record label.

Split

Although The Flowers of Romance were planning a full European tour, managers of the band moved slowly in finding promoters for it.Tribe4mian: Brilliant Mistakes (2009.)(http://tribe4mian.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/the-flowers-of-romance-brilliant-mistakes/) Though a breakup was never officially announced, mounting personal problems within the band caused frontman Mike Pougounas to leave the band. He founded the industrial band Nexus in 1998, and session guitarist Strouggaris decided to follow his footsteps and join Nexus. In March 2000, Pougounas founded the Cyberdelia record label.

Discography

*1990 - ''Dorian Grey'' (vinyl only – released in Greece) *1992 - ''Love Means Death'' (12" EP - released only in Greece) *1993 - "Pleasure and the Pain"/"Winter Waltz" (7" - released only in Greece) *1993 - ''Pleasure and the Pain'' (vinyl release in Greece/CD with 4 bonus tracks in Germany) *1996 - ''Brilliant Mistakes'' (CD Release - Greece and Germany) *1997 - "Channel Z" (CD single - released only in Germany)

References