Nikolas Asimos ( el, Νικόλας Άσιμος; 20 August 1949 – 17 March 1988) was a Greek composer, singer and performance artist.Σαν σήμερα (17-3-1988), Εφυγε από τη ζωή ο Νικόλας Ασιμος
To Vima newspaper, 16 March 2010. His real surname was Asimopoulos (Ασημόπουλος). Asimos was a very special case of a

counter-culture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

artist, mostly because of his lifestyle. His behaviour and songs were often received as provocative by the general public. He was a person with strong

political opinions Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...

. Ideologically, he could be categorised as an anarchist but he never accepted being put in a specific political ideology.

Early life

Nikolas Asimos was born in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. Both his parents were from

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

. In 1967 he enrolled in the Philosophical School of the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

. During his college years he was often involved with theater and the performing arts whilst writing songs and singing in various boîtes of Thessaloniki. He often had problems with the police, particularly during the period of military rule —

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

— in Greece and the consequent restriction on civil liberties, i.e.,

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

Career

In 1973, he moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from Thessaloniki; there he continued to be involved in theatre studies and graduated from a private theatre school. He wrote songs which were not recorded officially, but rather privately and on tapes that he would then sell on the streets of

. He performed in boîtes around

Plaka Pláka ( el, Πλάκα) is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residenti ...

along with

Yannis Zouganelis Yannis, Yiannis, or Giannis (Γιάννης) is a common Greek given name, a variant of ''John'' (Hebrew) meaning "God is gracious." In formal Greek (e.g. all government documents and birth certificates) the name exists only as Ioannis (Ιωάνν� ...

and Sakis Boulas, among others. His first official recording effort was in 1974 with the single ''Romios – Michanismos'' (Ρωμιός – Μηχανισμός). In 1976, he had a daughter with Lillian Charitaki with whom he was not married. In 1977, he was temporarily imprisoned along with five other editors and writers. They were all released after an initiative by

Dionysis Savvopoulos Dionysis Savvopoulos ( el, Διονύσης Σαββόπουλος) (born 2 December 1944) is a prominent Greek singer-songwriter. Career Savvopoulos was born in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece (December 1944) in a middle-class family. He pass ...

. In 1978 he was drafted into the Greek army but did not serve as he was relieved of duty for psychological reasons. He wrote a book titled ''Anazitontas Krokantropous'' (Αναζητώντας Κροκανθρώπους "Looking for Yolk-men") which was never officially published, but was circulated by him in

photocopies A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

. In his later years and after his death, the book was also made available by a publishing house. In 1982, he released his long play record titled ''O Ksanapes'' (Ο Ξαναπές), "The Say-It-Again Man". In 1987, he was accused of raping an ex-girlfriend and was forcibly placed in a mental institution. Shortly after he was sent to

Korydallos Prison Korydallos Prison Complex is Greece's largest jail and contains the country's main maximum-security prison (Type B), housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in Korydallos, Piraeus. Famous detainees include members of the anarc ...

for

pre-trial detention Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...

, during which his ex-girlfriend withdrew her accusations and tried to drop the charges against him. The prosecutor, however, denied dropping the charges and Asimos stayed in Korydallos until he was bailed out at the end of June. After being released, he never managed to overcome his bitterness over this charge. The outstanding trial along with other personal problems affected his psychological state profoundly. After two failed attempts, he committed suicide by hanging on 17 March 1988 in his house which he used to call "preparation area". It is rumored that he kept a diary during the last 15 days of his life in which he describes his efforts to find something worth living for in his life. He marked the pages with an "X" which meant that he had not found anything worth living for. The 15th day was also marked with an "X" which is the day he hanged himself.

Production

His ''Paranomes Kassetes'' (illegal tapes), as Asimos liked to call his early work due to its lyrical content, were recorded in friends' houses and other more or less inappropriate (concerning a recording session) locations, with several musicians accompanying him. The tapes had an underground distribution by Asimos himself or his friends, because he wanted to avoid his work being exploited by Record Labels. Apart from the tapes, he produced during his lifetime a 45rpm single with two songs and a full-length LP, as well as five compositions for a

Vasilis Papakonstantinou Vasilis Papakonstantinou (Βασίλης Παπακωνσταντίνου) (born 21 June 1950) is a Greek singer known mostly for his work in Greek rock. Most of his songs have gained considerable popularity, mainly in Greece and Cyprus. Early ...

record. The rest of his work was released after he died.

Discography

*1974 – ''Romios – Michanismos'' (Ρωμιός – Μηχανισμός), single *1978 – ''Kasseta me to Vareli pou gia na Vgei to Spaei'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000001'' (Kασσέτα με το Βαρέλι που για να Βγει το Σπάει – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000001) *1979 – ''Eimai Palianthropos'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000002'' (Είμαι Παλιάνθρωπος – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000002) :part A of trilogy ''Tripli Kasseta Mpela me Horis Tampela'' (Τριπλή Κασσέτα Μπελα με Χωρίς Ταμπέλα) *1979 – ''Giati Foras Klouvi'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000003'' (Γιατί Φοράς Κλουβί – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000003) :part Β of trilogy ''Tripli Kasseta Mpela me Horis Tampela'' (Τριπλή Κασσέτα Μπελα με Χωρίς Ταμπέλα) *1979 – ''Klaste Eleftheros'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000004'' (Κλάστε Ελεύθερος – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000004) :part C of trilogy ''Tripli Kasseta Mpela me Horis Tampela'' (Τριπλή Κασσέτα Μπελα με Χωρίς Ταμπέλα) *1982 – ''O Ksanapes'' (Ο Ξαναπές). (

and Haris Aleksiou participated). *1986 – ''O Saliagkas'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000005'' (Ο Σάλιαγκας – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000005) *1986 – ''H Zavolia'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000006'' (Η Ζαβολιά – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000006) *1986 – ''Pali stin Kseftila'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000007'' (Πάλι στην Ξεφτίλα – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000007) *1987 – ''To Fanari tou Diogeni'' – ''Paranomi Kasseta No.000008'' (Το Φανάρι του Διογένη – Παράνομη Κασσέτα No.000008) :This record was re-released in 1989 after Asimos' death, where some songs were excluded due to intervention by the record company. Sotiria Leonardou participated in the record. *1987 – Asimos contributed 5 songs in ''Heretismata'' (Χαιρετίσματα) by

. *1992 – ''Sto Falimento tou Kosmou'' (Στο Φαλημέντο του Κόσμου) Includes a selection from his ''Paranomes Kassetes''.

participated. *2002 – ''Viomichania tou Pezodromiou'' (Βιομηχανία του Πεζοδρομίου) Double CD compilation with songs from Asimos' ''Paranomes Kassetes''.

Covers

*1997 – The

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 ...

band Magic de Spell released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of ''Mpataria'' (Μπαταρία) in their CD single ''O Fovos Ehi Onoma'' (Ο Φόβος Έχει Όνομα). *1997 –

used five Asimos songs in his album ''Pes mou Ena Psema n' Apokoimitho'' (Πες μου Ένα Ψέμα ν' Αποκοιμηθώ). *2000 – The Greek rock band Endelecheia released a

of ''Mpagasas'' (Μπαγάσας) in their CD single ''Kathreftis'' (Καθρέφτης).

Books

*''Anazitontas Krokanthropous'' (Αναζητώντας Κροκανθρώπους), 2000, Vivliopelagos Publications, , 380pp.

References

External links

The most comprehensive site dedicated to Nikolas Asimos with loads of info
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090601155509/http://www.nikolasasimos.info/ Website where you can listen to and/or download the songs from the self-produced tapes of Nikolas Asimos {{DEFAULTSORT:Asimos, Nikolas 1949 births 1988 suicides Greek composers 20th-century Greek male singers Musicians from Thessaloniki Greek rock singers Greek prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Greece Suicides by hanging in Greece 20th-century composers