Pantelis Pantelidis onstage, with a mountain of audience-thrown flowers. From www.mixanitouxronou.gr
Greek music fans are still shocked at the sudden death of Pantelis Pantelidis, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter who died in a car crash on the morning of February 18. But his death marked much more than a tragic end for a young and talented performer — it signified a prominent loss in the rare music industry commodity of Greek singer-songwriters.
Since the early 20th century, the creative business model used in the music world has remained largely unchanged: lyricists and composers wrote songs they sold to well-known singers to perform and record. Many artists hardly ever had any part in process of musical composition, and composers’ songs never succeeded as well without major name recognition behind them. The voice of a great singer and the compositions of an exceptional songwriter were soon found to be the perfect formula for a successful record.
Pantelidis was one of the rare exceptions to the rule — which makes his death so devastating to the music world.