Adrian Dimitri Andrew ZagoritisAdrian Zag
online biography., Discogs.com (born 27 September 1968) is a British songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, whose songs are published by Universal UK and EMI Germany. Primarily a pop dance writer working often with award-winning German electronica act

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

, he has also had success with ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' winners and pop artists in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain, France, and Japan.

Biography

Early life

Adrian Zagoritis started life in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

. Music took a back seat to sport at school in UK where he captained the Eton cricket 1st XICricket Archive
Eton College v Harrow School. and represented the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) XI as a goalkeeper against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, QPR and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

youth sides in 1986.

Career

Travelling from Kenya to the UK he worked with artists

Sybil Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece. Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to: Films * ''Sybil'' (1921 film) * ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field * ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...

Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Biography Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother. He began drumming at age 11 and had ...

from

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for " Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United S ...

and

Maxi Priest Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. He was one ...

. Although writing and arranging several tracks for Mel Gaynor's band 'The Fusion Project' in 1997, the album was never released as Gaynor rejoined

for a world tour instead.

Songwriting and production – 2000 to 2007

Zagoritis settled in the UK in the new millennium fully committed to a musical career. Collaborations with writers Geoffrey Williams, Rob Harris and Matt Johnson, both of

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in t ...

saw releases spawned with South African Popstars winners Jamali and Greek Popstars winners Hi-5. Hi-5 turned two Zagoritis singles 'M’ena Fili' and 'Gennithika Ksana' into Top 10 hits, the latter peaking at No. 5. Both albums achieved platinum status and Gennithika Ksana was nominated for an

Arion award Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of ...

. In 2004 Zagoritis began working with Torsten Stenzel, one half of the electronica act York whose second single, "On The Beach", which sampled

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...

's song of the same name, reached No. 4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 2000. One of the first of many releases of this partnership was the club hit " Iceflowers" which was supported by

Judge Jules Julius O'Riordan (born 1966), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which achieved glob ...

and

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

. Zagoritis and Stenzel wrote several tracks for the EMI-released York album ''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

'' which also contained their often-remixed song "Mercury Rising". In 2005, Dutch singer EliZe released his song "

Automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 electronic rock ...

" which charted in the Top 10 in several countries. He also co-wrote a song following

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has ...

's penalty shootout win in the

2004–05 UEFA Champions League The 2004–05 UEFA Champions League was the 50th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the 13th since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992. The competition was won by Liverpool, who beat Milan on penalti ...

final, performed by

The Trophy Boyz Jerzy Henryk Dudek (; born 23 March 1973) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful spells in the Netherlands and England, winning the ...

.Get down to the Jersey beat
on BBC Sport. Mainstream pop releases followed in 2006 with Holland's EMI act ROOOM charting with a Zagoritis/Geoffrey Williams single named "First Thing", reaching No. 33. In 2007 Germany's ''Popstars'' winners

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...

, and DSDS (Germany's ''X-factor'' equivalent) runner-up Linda Teodosiu (Sony), also chose his songs: "The Rhythm Of My Heart" was included on the former's album called ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although oft ...

'' which reached No. 4 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. Album Destiny by No Angels wit
chartpositions
M.acharts.us

2007 – 2010

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka N ...

ex-lead singer

Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half oc ...

included several Zag songs for her debut solo album ''

My Winter Storm ''My Winter Storm'' is the second solo album by Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, and the first to consist mainly of new and original songs specifically written by or for Turunen. The album was released by Universal Music on 19 November 2007 in Finl ...

''. Turunen had split acrimoniously from her band and her album contained many veiled references to these experiences, as well as a brooding darkness. Zagoritis's "Damned And Divine", "The Reign" and "Sunset" reflect this mood and demonstrated further ability away from mainstream pop or dance music. ''My Winter Storm'' took the No. 1 spot on the Finnish charts, and went platinum in Finland and double platinum in Russia, as well as reaching gold status in Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland. It reached No. 3 in Germany. In late 2007, Turunen was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer and an Emma for best Finnish artist. On Turunen's next album, ''

What Lies Beneath ''What Lies Beneath'' is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a couple who live in a haunted house. It was the first film by Zemeckis' production company ...

'', a title track composed by Zagoritis, Stenzel and Heldmann, he contributed "Naiad"The Album "What Lies Beneath"
by Tarja Turunen on AllMusic which he also wrote with Tarja. The album reached No. 4 in Germany and charted in eight other countries. As a melodician and lyricist his style naturally gravitates to pop music and so a return to such projects followed with several releases for Natalia, ''

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

'' star in Belgium. The Zagoritis song "Soul Divided" written with Madonna writer Greg Fitzgerald was released along with two other of his tunes on Natalia's 2009 album, '' Wise Girl''. which reached No. 1Album "Wise Girl"
by Natalia, chartpositions. for two weeks. The album achieved platinum status. "Soul Divided" was also covered in Japanese by Avex-signed artist Mihiro in 2010, renamed "Weekend".Weekend
by Mihiro on artists utamap. Universal Germany artist

Mihalis Mihalis is a Greek given name, equivalent to the English form Michael. It may refer to: People: * Mihalis Filopoulos (1985–2007), Greek football fan who was murdered in 2007 *Mihalis Hatzigiannis (born 1979), Greek-Cypriot singer and songwriter ...

took eight Zagoritis lyrics for his album recorded in 2009, simply named ''

''. Seven of the songs were translations of his past Greek hits. One original song, "Favourite Mistake", was written by Zagoritis and Grammy and Ivor Novello award-winner Rob Davis. Progressive house projects continued in 2009 tracks with "Tears on My Skin","Tears On My Skin"
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

also written with Davis and released on several albums including top-seller ''Dream Dance'', and ''Free The Night'' signed by renowned A+R Eddie O' Loughlin to his Next Plateau label, distributed by

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. ''Free The Night'' was well received but failed to chart.

Edurne Edurne García Almagro (; born 22 December 1985) is a Spanish singer, actress, and television presenter. She rose to fame in late 2005 when she took part in the Spanish casting show '' Operación Triunfo'' on TVE and finished in sixth place i ...

the Spanish pop singer released "Tan Artificial" written by Zagoritis on ''Nueva Piel'', a Sony BMG album that reached No. 16Tan Artificial
by

on acharts in March 2010.

Current

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...

, Robbins Entertainment

World Music Award The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world' ...

winner releases her album, ''

Electroshock Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...

'' in March 2012, the title track written by Zagoritis. It also contains his song "Walk to the Beat" penned with

Jukka Immonen Jukka Immonen (born 14 April 1978) is a Finnish musician, record producer and composer. Career beginnings Immonen started to develop an interest in music as a teenager when his parents bought him a computer. Although his family was not especially ...

. Zagoritis and Stenzel still work on songs for the latter's act York. "If Only I" was another collaboration which will also include featured vocals from Danish songstress Tanja Thulau from Danish electronica act Luke. Armada Music, record label of DJ

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...

released Zag's co-written singles "Top of the Universe" and "Breaking The Rules" in 2013. Also in 2013 in the mainstream pop world

Baptiste Giabiconi Baptiste Giabiconi (born 9 November 1989) is a French male model, singer, and muse of Karl Lagerfeld from Marignane, France. For many years, he was the male face of major fashion houses Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld. Beginnings Born in Mari ...

had a No.1 hit in France with the song "One Night In Paradise", co-written by Zagoritis and others. Giabiconi is a male model who had been discovered by

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 u ...

. In 2015, "Million Miles" co-written by Zagoritis and

Funkstar De Luxe Funkstar De Luxe (born Martin Aulkjær Ottesen in 1973) is a Danish house producer and remixer. He is best known for his million-selling reworking of Bob Marley's " Sun Is Shining". Work Funkstar was first exposed to Marley's music as a teen ...

was released in January by Lifted House/CO² Records and reached No. 8 in the British Dance Chart in April, spending 10 consecutive weeks in the Top 20. The song features vocals by

Geoffrey Williams Geoffrey Williams is an English singer and songwriter. Five of his singles charted on the UK Singles Chart in the 1990s. In the U.S., "It's Not a Love Thing", from his third album ''Bare'' (1992), reached No. 70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. D ...

who wrote Michael Jackson's "Whatever Happens". Funkstar De Luxe is renowned for his hit single " 'Sun Is Shining' (Bob Marley vs Funkstar De Luxe)" which reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 1 in the U.S Billboard chart. In 2017, Zagoritis and Funkstar formed a new group 'Mr. Anderson', a retro 1980s funk/RnB act featuring Xantoné Blacq, keyboardist and vocalist from

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A m ...

. The debut Mr. Anderson single "Cinderella" was released in early 2018.

Film and television work

His songs have appeared in several films, including the 2009 film ''Fire'' starring

Gary Dourdan Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin: December 11, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' Shazza Zulu on the television series '' A Different World'' a ...

, '' South Park'' the 2010 movie ''Burning Palms'' directed by Christopher Landon starring Rosamunde Pike, and in the film ''Electric''. His song "Sleepwalking" appears in the 2014 US-released movie ''The Right Kind of Wrong'' and "Unbreakable", co-written with Geoffrey Williams features in a pivotal scene of the 2016 film ''Showing Roots'', starring Elizabeth McGovern.

Discography (selected)

2003 * M'ena Fili – Hi-5 (Warner) 2004 * Iceflowers – York (EMI/Offshore) * Gennithika Ksana – Hi-5 (Warner) * Mercury Rising – York (EMI/Offshore) 2005 * Automatic – EliZe (Spinnin Rec) 2006 * First Thing – R.O.O.O.M. (EMI) * Get Up – R.O.O.O.M. (EMI) 2007 * Freeze The Frame – Panevino (Purple Music) * Love Automatic – Cassis (Pony Canyon) 2008 Naughty – AfricanTwins (EMI/Offshore) * I Spy – Spencer and Hill (Zooland) 2009 * So Invincible – Victoria (SoBeHo) * In Danger – MSTRSS (Ultra) 2010 * Free The Night – Aquene (Next Plateau) * Dirty Love – Risskee (Universal/AATW) 2011 * I Roam – Antillas (Plus 39) * I Spy – Spencer and Hill (Atlantic) 2012 * Electroshock – Kate Ryan (Universal) * System Addict – Blank & Jones (Kontor) * Top of the Universe – Antillas (Armada) 2013 * If Only I feat. Tanja Vesterdahl (Armada) * One Night in Paradise – Baptiste Giabiconi (Be1st Media) * So I'm Beautiful – Sweetbox (Sony Music) 2014 * The Reign - Tarja Turunen & Mike Terrana (Ear Music) 2015 * Million Miles feat. Geoffrey Williams - Funkstar Deluxe (CO² Music)

Charts and awards

Releases shown with chart position/territory/certification (where applicable)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagoritis, Adrian 1968 births Living people Writers from Nairobi People educated at Eton College English songwriters English people of Kenyan descent Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom