Κουμπότρυπες Α.Ε.

Koubotripes A.E. (Buttonholes S.A.) were a Post-Punk group from Athens, Greece, formed in April 1979. The original members of the band were Michalis Koumbios (vocals, keyboards), Nikos Zilakos (bass), Nikos Moschos (keyboards), Nikos Barbounis (guitar), Nikitas Barbounis (drums) and Nikos Houlis. Six restless high-school friends who were drawn to a broad range of music, with their real passion focusing in acts such as Joy Division, Public Image Ltd, Virgin Prunes, Tuxedomoon and Bauhaus. The band's name was proposed by Nikos Moschos. A few days later, they bought their first cheap instruments and started rehearsing at Nikos Barbounis' house in Hatzikiriakio, Piraeus (a working class neighbourhood in the city's port) through the initiative of Koubios. In 1982, Koubios managed to get a deal with indie label / record store Happening Records, to release a 7" single. The rest of the band members did not agree though, since they believed that a punk band cannot cooperate with a commercial company. So, Koubios was forced to use other musicians for the recording which were: Panagiotis Zygouris (guitar), Yorgos Spanos (bass) and Michalis Brezas (drums). The two tracks (both written by Koumbios) were recorded in December 1982. The first, "Η Καινούργια Επανάσταση" had lyrics written by Christos Tsiogas, and the second, "Καθημερινές Καταστάσεις", by Koubios' younger brother, Tasos Koubios. In 1983, the single was released (one of the earliest of the country with greek lyrics) and had their first radio interview by Αργύρης Ζήλος on National Broadcasting. In 1984 they released a demo cassette titled "Πρόθεση", and in 1985 a second single titled Τ' Αστείο Του Υπόγειου Σιδηροδρόμου. They disbanded in 1986, and reformed for one more album in 1998.