Vicky Leandros

Born on August 23, 1952, in Palaiokastritsa on the Greek island of Corfu, Vicky Leandros entered the world as Vassiliki Papathanasiou, daughter of composer Leandros Papathanasiou. After her family relocated to Germany in the late 1950s, she adopted the name Vicky. At age 13 she issued her debut single, “Messer, Gabel, Schere, Licht,” in 1965. The track scored across northern Europe and prompted an invitation to represent Luxembourg at the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest, where she placed fourth with “L’Amour Est Bleu,” a vocal adaptation of the well-known instrumental “Love Is Blue.” The recording itself became a substantial European success, and once her father assumed managerial duties—frequently contributing songs as well—her trajectory accelerated sharply.

Issued simply as Vicky, subsequent singles appeared in as many as eight languages to broaden their reach, a strategy that positioned her among the earliest pan-European superstars. Her German television program Ich Bien aired in 13 nations and earned third place at the 1971 Montreux Television Awards, while her audience expanded into Japan, South Africa, the Middle East, and Canada. For an extended period her Japanese sales stood unmatched, fueled by releases such as “Watashi No Sukina Chocolate” (I Like Chocolate) and interpretations of “My Sweet Lord” and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.” By then she had incorporated the Leandros surname into her professional identity. In 1972 her profile rose further in Britain when “Après Toi,” issued there as “Come What May,” captured Eurovision and climbed to number two on the U.K. chart. She later hosted her own BBC series, Music My Way. Although later continental successes—“Ich Hab’ die Liebe Geseh’n,” “When Bouzoukis Played,” and “Theo Wir Fahr’n Nach Lodz” among them—proved less dominant, she maintained visibility in those markets. Efforts to penetrate the American audience yielded limited results, even though her U.S. debut album, the country-rock set Across the Water, garnered strong notices and she collaborated in the studio with Kim Fowley.

Activity tapered in the late 1970s, prompting speculation that her prominence had begun to wane. Regular album releases continued nonetheless, among them 1979’s Wie Am Allerersten Tag and 1981’s Love Is Alive, which included duets with Demis Roussos, Johnny Hallyday, and American actor/singer David Soul, demonstrating that the slowdown had been temporary. During 1982–1983 the singles “Verlorenes Paradies” and “Ver Van Het Leven” ranked among Benelux best-sellers. A French-language rendering of the latter, “À l’Est d’Éden,” reached number two in France and revived interest in Canada, where 1985’s Vicky album produced three major hits. In 1986 Leandros declared a hiatus to focus on family; she resumed in 1989 with the Greek album Piretos Tou Erota. Over the ensuing years she rebuilt momentum, scoring hits with 1991’s “Prosexe,” 1993’s “Andres,” 1994’s “Du Bist Mein Schoenster Gedanke,” and the 1995 duet “We’re Gonna Stay Together” with Tony Christie. A German-language adaptation of “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic soundtrack also achieved substantial sales.

Throughout the 2000s Leandros sustained a strong presence. Her output encompassed the self-produced Jetz album, featuring a duet with Chris de Burgh, and Tragoudi Alliotiko, recorded with songwriter Mikis Theodorakis. She returned to the Eurovision arena in 2006, performing her recent single “Don’t Break My Heart” at the national finals, though the song was not chosen for the international contest.