Popular Rembetika singer Agathonas Iakovidis, passed away on Wednesday aged 65, after suffering a heart attack.
Agathonas Iakovadis was born in Evangelismos, Lagada province, Thessaloniki, to refugee parents from Asia Minor.
His love for music led him to not only learn how to play the bouzouki, but also the guitar, baglamas, oud, bouzouki, tzoura, mandola and mandolin. His music was rich and had a strong aroma of Asia Minor.
In 2013, he represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest together with Koza Mostra, with the song 'Alcohol is free'.
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Agathonas Iakovidies was one of main personalities in the rembetiko, as he dedicated his life to the preservation and spread of this particular musical genre, even managing to raise it to the stage of Eurovision.
He also collaborated with a number of Greek musicians including Costas Papadopoulos, George Koros, Vassilis Soukas, Lazaros Koutalidis, Nikos Filippidis and Nikos Hatzopoulos.
*The 2013 Greek Eurovision entry still warms the hearts of fans:
