Greek singer Antonis Remos spoke about the sudden death of fellow singer Giorgos Mazonakis and about the major concert he is due to give on Saturday in Thessaloniki to mark 30 years of his career, in an interview with the programme Live News on Mega Channel.
Remos did not hide his emotion over the loss of Mazonakis, saying that what mattered most now was that the musical legacy he left behind should endure. On the ongoing inquiries into the circumstances of his death, Remos said justice should be allowed to do its job.
He said what happened was very abrupt and sudden, and that it was a great shame for such young people to depart so suddenly.
Remembering Mazonakis's legacy
Remos said what would remain was the whole legacy Mazonakis left behind, all the songs and all the wonderful moments that listeners, and those closest to him, had experienced.
He added, pointedly, that only those moments should remain, and that everything else, the why and the how of what happened, were, unfortunately, only sad and only ugly things.
Remos also addressed the investigation currently under way into the circumstances of Mazonakis's death. He said justice should do its work and reveal whatever needed to be revealed, and that if anyone was found responsible, they should be punished accordingly, though he noted that nothing could now be undone.
A concert marking 30 years
At the same time, Remos is preparing for what he described as a particularly significant moment in his career, as Thessaloniki hosts a major concert on Saturday marking 30 years of his presence in Greek music.
He said it was thirty years, the journey of an entire lifetime.
Remos spoke with emotion about the public response, noting that people had travelled to Thessaloniki from across Greece and from other parts of the Balkans to attend the events surrounding the concert. He said people had come from all over Greece, from many surrounding areas and from the Balkans, arriving over the course of the week and the weekend to see both an exhibition and his concert, which he called a great honour and something very beautiful.
He said he was setting aside whatever controversy had arisen around the concert, choosing instead to focus on the music and the public's affection, and that he was leaving aside anything that had been created around it.
"I want tomorrow to be only music"
Remos looked back on the most significant moments of his 30-year career, from performances in nightclubs and concerts in theatres to collaborations with major artists and songwriters.
He said he genuinely had unique and rare moments to remember from those thirty years, and that he would try to fit all of those experiences into the roughly three hours of the concert. He said they would try to condense everything into those three hours, three hours entirely of music.
Remos also had a message for the evening itself, saying he wanted music to be at its centre. He said he wanted Saturday to be only music, for the talking to stop and the words to end from everyone, so the music could begin, adding that on Monday things would return to their place.
"The statue is in its place"
Remos also addressed a controversy that had arisen over a statue at the concert venue, making clear that it had not undergone any alteration or construction work.
He said the statue was in its place and that no construction had touched it, stressing the point directly. He closed with a remark aimed squarely at the following night's event, saying that from that point on, any reactions would show themselves in the applause.
