Silver

Silver is the metallic element with the atomic number 47. Its symbol is Ag, from the Latin argentum, from a PIE root reconstructed as *h₂erǵ-, "grey" or "shining". A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it possesses the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal occurs naturally in its pure, free form (native silver), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.

Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. More abundant than gold, silver metal has functioned in many premodern monetary systems as coinable specie, sometimes even alongside gold. Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". In addition, silver has numerous applications beyond currency, such as in solar panels, water filtration, jewelry and ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term silverware), and also as an investment in the forms of coins and bullion. Silver is used industrially in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings and in catalysis of chemical reactions. Its compounds are used in photographic film and X-rays. Dilute silver nitrate solutions and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides (oligodynamic effect), added to bandages and wound-dressings, catheters and other medical instruments.

Aphrodite's Child

Aphrodite's Child was a Greek progressive rock band formed in 1967, by Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards), Demis Roussos (bass guitar and vocals), Loukas Sideras (drums and vocals), and Silver Koulouris (guitar).

History

Origins

Papathanassiou and Roussos had already been successful in Greece (playing in the bands Formynx and Idols respectively) when they got together with Sideras and Koulouris (born 26 January 1947, Piraeus, Greece) to form a new band. Their band's name was derived from the title of a track from another Mercury act, Dick Campbell, from his Sings Where It's At album.

Their first recording as a band was for George Romanos' album In Concert and in Studio where they played on four songs and were credited as "Vangelis and his Orchestra". In the same year they recorded a two-song demo and submitted it to Philips Records. It was probably Vangelis' idea that the still-anonymous band should be relocated to London, which would be a more suitable environment for their music, as their country had entered a right-wing dictatorship in 1967. This decision, however, was not problem-free. Koulouris had to stay in Greece to fulfill his military service, while the band, on their way to London, got stuck in Paris partly because they did not have the correct work permits and partly because of the strikes associated with the May 1968 events.

Demis Roussos

Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos (Greek: Αρτέμιος "Ντέμης" Βεντούρης-Ρούσσος, 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek singer and performer who had international hit records as a solo performer in the 1970s after having been a member of Aphrodite's Child, a progressive rock group that also included Vangelis.

Roussos sold over 60 million albums worldwide and became "an unlikely kaftan-wearing sex symbol".

Early life

Roussos was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, in a Greek family where his father George (Yorgos Roussos) was a classical guitarist and an engineer and his mother Olga was a singer; her family originally came from Greece. As a child, he studied music and joined the Greek Church byzantine choir in Alexandria. His formative years in the ancient port city's cosmopolitan atmosphere were influenced by jazz, but also traditional Arab and Greek Orthodox music. His parents lost their possessions during the Suez Crisis and consequently decided to move to Greece.

Early musical career

Silver Koulouris

Silver Koulouris (born 26 January 1947) is a Greek musician best known for his membership in the band Aphrodite's Child, in which he played lead guitar. He has also performed session work on a plethora of albums by other artists, including those of his former Aphrodite's Child bandmates, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and in recent decades he has released solo recordings under his own name.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Born in Piraeus, Greece, Koulouris acquired the nickname "Silver" due to his birth name's similarity to the Greek word for the element silver. In converting his given name from the Greek alphabet, many different spellings of his name have emerged, such as Anargyros, Argyris, Argiris, Anarchyris, Anachyros, and Agyrilos.

In his late teenage years, Koulouris met Demis Roussos, who played bass guitar, and Lucas Sideras, a drummer, with whom he went on to play guitar in a band called The Idols in and around Athens, Greece. Because he was in the Greek Army at the time, Koulouris was able to play with The Idols only occasionally, but he maintained a connection with Roussos and Sideras that would prove to be key to his future musical career.