Kostas Bigalis
Kostas Bigalis is a popular singer and musician who is known for represanting Greece in the ESC on 2 occasions: as a singer and composer in 1994 and as a composer in 1996.
Biography
Kostas was born in Athens and he started his career in 1975 after wining the first prize at a music contest for amateurs. He took part in many festivals, he played in the rock opera Jesus Christ Super Star, he entered the Song Festival of Thessaloniki where he was awarded the awards for Best Lyrics and Best Composition and in 1981 he recorded two songs for the soundtrack of the american film Next One. In 1982 he starred as Simon in a religious themed tv series, alongside Anthony Hopkins.In 1984 he formed the music duo Big Alice along with Mariana Efstratiou. They had a number one hit in Greece, entitled I Miss You and it was out to the music markets of 18 other european countries.
Kostas toured abroad for quite a long time and in 1989 he returned to Greece in order to launch a solo career. He had his first album the same year. His big hit came in 1992 with his second album that reached platinum sales.
Eurovision Song Contest
His first attempt to represent Greece in the ESC was in 1989, but his entry never made it to the finals. In 1994 ERT chose him to be the greek represant with the pop/folk song To Trehadiri. Accompanied by the music group Sea Lovers on stage, Kostas gave a fresh performance, though the results were not so good. He received 44 points and he was 14th out of 25 entries.
In 1996 he wrote music for a song performed by Mariana Efstratiou. The song made it to the eurovision finals but once more the results didn't satisfy him. The song gained 36 points and it was 15th out of 23.
In 2002 he tried once more. This time he penned a duett for him and young singer Mirella. The song made it to the greek selection night but it was not victorious. Bigalis was furious with ERT for the bad sound (as he was stating) and he made several tv appearances complaining and accusing ERT for not winning the event.
In 2005 he wrote the song The Light in our Soul for Helena Paparizou in order for her to compete to the greek selection for the ESC 2005. A few days before the event, his former colleague, Mirella stated that this particular song was performed by her and it was already in a cd that was issued a few months ago in Germany. The fact that the song was aired before the greek contest was against the rules and the song was disqualified.
Discography
| Year | Title | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Me ton Ilio stous Ihtheis | |
| 1992 | Tou Aigaiou ta Blues | platinum |
| 1993 | Mikri mou Melissa | platinum |
| 1994 | Mousiko Taxidi | gold |
| 1996 | Ilie moy, File moy | |
| 1997 | O Erotas sou Thalassa | |
| 1998 | Mithos | |
| 2000 | Pathos | |
| 2002 | Mia Stigmi sto Hrono | |
| 2005 | Galazio | |