Nikolas Asimos

Nikolas Asimos (; 20 August 1949 – 17 March 1988) was a Greek composer, singer and performance artist. His real surname was Asimopoulos (Ασημόπουλος). Asimos was a very special case of a counter-culture artist, mostly because of his lifestyle. His behavior and songs were often received as provocative by the general public. He was a person with strong political opinions. Ideologically, he could be categorized as an anarchist but he never accepted being put in a specific political ideology. Early life Nikolas Asimos was born in Thessaloniki and grew up, in Kozani, where his parents were from. In 1967, he enrolled in the Philosophical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. During his college years, he was often involved with theater and the performing arts whilst writing songs and singing in various boîtes of Thessaloniki. He often had problems with the police, particularly during the period of military rule — junta — in Greece and the consequent restriction on civil liberties, i.e., freedom of expression. Career In 1973, he moved to Athens from Thessaloniki; there he continued to be involved in theatre studies and graduated from a private theatre school. He wrote songs that were not recorded officially, but rather privately and on tapes that he would then sell on the streets of Athens. He performed in boîtes around Plaka along with Yannis Zouganelis and Sakis Boulas, among others. His first official recording effort was in 1974 with the single Romios – Michanismos (Ρωμιός – Μηχανισμός). In 1976, he had a daughter with Lillian Charitaki with whom he was not married.