Chariots Of Fire and Blade Runner composer Vangelis dies

Vangelis, composer of the Chariots Of Fire music – one of film’s most famous scores – has died aged 79.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted “Vangelis Papathanassiou is no longer among us”.

Media in the country said he had died on Wednesday in a French hospital.

Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, he also composed the music for many other films and TV shows, including Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

It was 1981’s Oscar-winning best film, Chariots Of Fire, that gave him his breakthrough.

He won best original score for the music that accompanies the famous slow-motion running sequences.

Its opening piano lines and use of the synthesizer are instantly recognisable to millions of movie fans.

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Vangelis had no formal music training and after playing with rock bands in Greece, he left for Paris at 25 in the wake of a coup in his home country.

He developed a passion for electronic synthesizers, which were new at the time, and used them to fashion the melodic sounds that became his trademark.

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