Villa 21

Darkwave band formed in December 1981 by Costas Pothoulakis (Κώστας Ποθουλάκης, vocals / guitar) who was then a member of The Reporters (2) and had previously played in Παρθενογένεσις and Homicide, and his wife Anda Labara (keyboards / rhythm box), in Athens, Greece. In 11 Nov 1982 they made their first live appearance at Sofita club. In 1982, their first 7" single "I See No!" was released on Μπάμπης Δαλίδης' label Creep Records (2). Pothulakis' bandmate in the Reporters, Solon Stathopoulos, guested on bass, and Labara's friend Stelios Hatzikremilis (ex-Trash), guested on drums. Ανδρέας Παπαδόπουλος then joined the band on bass, and Babis Dalidis joined on percussion, releasing the single "Move" in 1983. Later that year, the band's debut album "A Ghost On The Move" was released. The next year, the band contributed a track on the ROIR compilation World Class Punk, and in 1985, second album "Men of Clay" was released. After "Men of Clay" the band's sound started to change to Garage Punk, first seen on their songs in 1987 Pegasus Records (4) compilation Cicadas. Their third album "Electric Poison" was also released the same year on Wipe Out! Records. The album got some attention in Europe, taking the No. 6 spot in the Austrian Indie chart. In 1988, the EP "House Of The Damned" was released, and it was followed by the band contributing two covers on compilations 12 Raw Greek Groups (with Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My") and Straight To Hellas (with The Stooges' "Real Cool Time"). In 1990, the band's fourth album, "Hellucinations", was released. After that Papadopoulos left the band, and although he was replaced with a couple of new members, Villa 21 disbanded in 1991. In 1993, Pothoulakis and Labara were involved in a motorcycle accident. Labara survived, but Pothulakis was killed. A concert was organized by 'Headquake' & 'Nonmandol' soon after, in his memory.