'Blade Runner' & 'Chariots Of Fire' Composer, Vangelis, Dead At 79

Acclaimed Greek musical composer Vangelis has passed away at the age of 79. He was most known for scoring the films Chariots Of Fire and Blade Runner.

The Guardian reports he passed away in a French hospital where he was being treated for complications related to COVID.

Vangelis was born in the coastal town of Magnesia, Thessaly in Greece, and began to compose music as a child. After self-teaching composition, at the age of 20 he formed his first rock band with friends and a few years later began scoring films.

It wasn't long until he achieved his first fully-fledged hit, Rain And Tears, which was released under prog-rock group Aphrodite's Child and reached #1 in France and Belgium and the top 30 across Europe.

After leaving the band in 1972, he went on to release two solo records, Heaven And Hell and Albedo, the first of which was used to soundtrack Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Then his career took off, soundtracking Olympic drama Chariots Of Fire, which eventually won four Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Picture. It was immediately followed by Blade Runner in 1982 whose score was nominated for awards at the BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards.

He also scored the Japanese drama Antarctica, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Alexander, and scored the 2000 Olympic Games, the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea and the 2004 Olympics in Athens.