Chris Demetriou, known as Chris Dee, born in

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, is a British songwriter, musician, and record producer. A cover of a song he co-wrote with

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big hit ...

, "

He's Gonna Step On You Again "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and ...

" (which later became "

Step On "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and ...

" by the

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure ...

band

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...

), appears in '' Q magazine's'' top hundred singles of all time.

Music career

Demetriou began his professional music career as a teenager, playing keyboards for the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

R&B group, John E Sharpe & the Squires. He appeared on the group's most successful singles, including covers of

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

' "

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" and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

's "

I Am A Rock "I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon as the opening track on his album ''The Paul Simon Songbook'' which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and Art Ga ...

", as well as their ''Maybelline'' album. Demetriou left South Africa for London with fellow musician

and the pair formed the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

group, Floribunda Rose. However, the band soon changed its name to Scrugg and recorded a number of singles on the Pye label, with producer

John Schroder John Michael Schroder Sr. (born February 23, 1961) is an American businessman from Covington, Louisiana, Covington, Louisiana who served as Louisiana State Treasurer, state treasurer from 2017 to 2024. He was formerly a Republican Party (United S ...

and new drummer,

Henry Spinetti Enrico Antonio Giorgio Spinetti (born 31 March 1951) is a Welsh session drummer whose playing has featured on many prominent rock and pop albums. Career Spinetti was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales.) His first band, aged abou ...

. Scrugg enjoyed limited success, with their double A-side "One Way Street" and "Linda Loves Linda" receiving significant airplay but failing to perform well in the charts. The songwriting partnership of Kongos/Demetriou proved to be more successful than the groups they were in – with two songs reaching the top five in the UK Singles Chart and another, sung by Bond girl

Daliah Lavi Daliah Lavi (born Daliah Lewinbuk or Levenbuch, ; 12 October 1942 – 3 May 2017) was an Israeli actress, singer, and model. Early life Daliah Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch) was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her mother Ru ...

, reaching number one in Germany and Switzerland. Some of their early work, including recordings by Floribunda Rose and Scrugg, were released on the compilation ''Lavender Popcorn'' in 2001. They also wrote the music for the British cult film '' A Promise of Bed'' directed by

Derek Ford Derek Ford (6 September 1932, Essex – 19 May 1995) was an English film director and writer, most famous for sexploitation films such as ''The Wife Swappers'' (1970), ''Suburban Wives'' (1971), ''Commuter Husbands'' (1972), ''Keep It Up, Jack ...

and starring John Bird,

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his fifty-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

and

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder (TV series), Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the ...

. Demetriou's most notable songwriting credit is for "

He's Gonna Step on You Again "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and ...

", along with Kongos. The original version was released by Kongos and made it into the UK Singles Chart for 14 weeks – reaching No. 4 in May 1971. The song was notably covered by the

(retitled as "

") and this version was listed at number 77 in "The Top 100 Greatest Singles of All Time", published in the February 1999 edition of ''Q'' magazine. Demetriou again collaborated with Kongos on his follow-up single, "Great White Lady" but it did not enter the top twenty of the UK chart. In 1970, Demetriou started to work with Tony Defries at Gem Productions and then with MainMan on

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's material. Demetriou changed direction in 1972 and became a full-time record producer. One of his first recordings was a single with the group Milkwood. After quitting the

New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music woul ...

, Laurie Heath, Chris Barrington and Sally Graham formed Milkwood and they released three singles for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, two of which Demetriou produced.Barry Krost signed the young record producer to BKN Management and Demetriou started working with

Mike d'Abo Michael David d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs " Handbags and Gladrags" and " Build Me Up Bu ...

, formerly of

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, producing ''Down at Rachael's Place'' and ''Little MissUnderstood''. As a result of being signed to the same management company, Demetriou collaborated with

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

in the recording of the album ''

Buddha and the Chocolate Box ''Buddha and the Chocolate Box'' is the eighth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in February 1974. The single "Ready" charted on 30 November 1974 and reached number 20 in Canada. Track listing All tracks composed by Cat Stevens ;Side One # ...

''. During these early years, Demetriou produced ten albums and over a dozen singles, including five albums for

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

(see Discography). By the mid-1970s, Demetriou had become an A&R manager / record producer for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, during which time he signed and recorded Robert Campbell, whose album ''Living in the Shadow'' was put forward by Decca for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination. Between the years 1984 and 1988, ACTS International (his South African record label, distributed by MFP), released three top five singles and one top twenty album — all of which were produced by Demetriou. In 2015, Demetriou ventured back into the music business and started a new record label, Red Letter Music.

Discography

;Production credits * "The Lady Wants More" / Hayden Wood (7" Single) NEMS 1969 * "House Beside the Mine" / Hayden Wood (7" Single) NEMS 1969 * ''Down At Rachel's Place'' / Mike d'Abo (12" LP) A&M Records 1972 * "About Your Love" / Milkwood (7" Single) Warner Bros 1972 * "I'm a Song (Sing Me)" / Milkwood (7" Single) Warner Bros June 1972 * ''Lookin' Through'' / Demick & Armstrong (12" LP) A&M Records 1972 * ''Travis'' / Travis (12" LP) A&M Records 1972 * ''Shine On Me'' / Paul Travis (12" LP) A&M Records 1973 * ''Buddha and the Chocolate Box'' / Cat Stevens (12" LP) Island Records 1974 * ''Return Of The Native'' / Paul Travis (12" LP) A&M Records 1975 * "Higher Than Heaven" / Buggati & Musker (Demo) Decca 1976 * ''Living In The Shadow'' / Robert Campbell (12" LP) Decca Records 1977 * ''Crawler'' / Crawler / (12" LP) CBS 1977 * ''Straight From The Hip'' / Liar (12" LP) Decca Records 1977 * "Looking Kinda Rock & Roll" / Darling (7" Single) Charisma 1978 * "Ain't No Water" / Linday Hayes (7" Single) Charisma 1978 * "I'll Be Your Rock & Roll Slave" / Lynda Hayes (7" Single) 1978 * "Fast at Seventeen" / Lee Fardon (7" Single) Arista 1978 * ''Come Holy Spirit'' / Vinesong (12" LP) WEA 1984 * "Champions of Love" / Tom Inglis (7" Single) ACTS 1985 * "Destined to Win" / Tom Inglis (7" Single) ACTS 1985 * "What Have We Done To The World" (7" Single) ACTS 1985 * ''Jubillee Africa'' / Friends First (12" LP) 1986 * "Wild World" / Pierre de Charmoy (7" Single) EMI 1987 ;Artist credits: * ''Maybelline'', John E Sharpe & the Squires (12" LP) RPM 1965 * "

", John E Sharpe & the Squires (7" Single) * "I Am A Rock", John E Sharpe & the Squires (7" Single) RPM Records 1965 * "I'll Explain" / "Yours For The Picking" / "Monkey Shine", Savage Sounds of Africa, Beat Records 1965 * "One Way Street"/ "Linda Loves Linda" – Floribunda Rose (7" Single) Pye Records 1967 * "Lavender Popcorn", Scrugg (7" Single) Pye Records 1968 * "Everyone Can See", Scrugg (7" Single) Pye Records 1968 * "I Wish I Was Five", Scrugg (7" Single) Pye Records 1969 ;Songwriting credits: * "The House Beside The Mine" / Hayden Wood (7" Single) NEMS 1969 * "Deserts Of Mountains Of Men" (LP) ''Confusions About A Goldfish'' / John Kongos / Dawn Records 1969 * "Seat By The Window" (LP) ''Confusions About A Goldfish'' / John Kongos / Dawn Records 1969 * "Coming Back To You" (LP) ''Confusions About A Goldfish'' / John Kongos / Dawn Records 1969 * "

" with John Kongos (12" Single) Fly Records 1971; * "Gold" /

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

(LP track) EMI 1972; * "Inside Your Shadow" / Espanola (Comp) Essex 1972; * "Let The Love Grow (In Your Heart)", Daliah Lavi (Single) Polydor 1973; * "Blaze of Glory" / "He's Gonna Step on You Again" /

Exploding White Mice Exploding White Mice were an Australian punk-pop band from Adelaide which formed in 1983 with Paul Gilchrist on vocals, Andy MacQueen on bass guitar, Gerry Barrett on guitar, Craig Rodda on drums and Giles Barrow on rhythm guitar. In 1984 Barr ...

(7", Single B-side only)

Greasy Pop Records Greasy Pop Records was an Australian independent record label established by Doug Thomas (musician with The Dagoes and with The Spikes) in 1980 in Adelaide. Greasy Pop Records predominantly signed South Australian artists including Exploding Whi ...

1987 * "He's Gonna Step on You Again",

Chantoozies The Chantoozies are an Australian pop group, formed in 1986. The group featured four female vocalists: Eve von Bibra, Angie La Bozzetta, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith, and four male musicians: Brett Goldsmith (bass guitars, keyboards, progr ...

(Single and Album) Mushroom Records 1989 * "Pills 'N Thrills And Bellyaches" (LP) ''Step On'', London Records 1990 * "Lavender Popcorn", with Floribunda Rose & Scrugg (Comp CD) 2001 * "Kongos" / John Kongos (Comp CD)

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois-based record label and retailer of music on CD. Originally the company was primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally re ...

2001 * "(He's Gonna) Step on You" (''Have A Little Faith'' – CD/Album) John Swan, Liberation Music 2007

References

* Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 306. . * Berry, Mark "Bez" (1998). Freaky Dancin', 1st, London: Pan, p. 285. . *
Floribunda Rose and Scrugg , Garage Hangover

Christos Demetriou - hitparade.ch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetriou, Christos Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British male songwriters British record producers People from Paphos