Biography

A romantic poet who refuses to give in to the cynicism of his time. Songwriter, singer and guitarist, one of the best-loved voices of the Greek alternative scene.

Pavlos Pavlidis was born in Bremen, then West Germany, to immigrant parents and grew up in Veria, changing towns almost every school year. «You become a bit of a wild animal without wanting to», he would later say. At 13 he discovered poetry in the Veria public library, and at 17 he picked up his first guitar. He played in Mora sti Fotia (1984–1988) and then lived in Paris, where, with the help of Nikos Kantaris, he built the home studio that recorded the first Xylina Spathia album.

Xylina Spathia (1993–2003) became one of the biggest Greek rock bands of the '90s, with songs such as «Rita», «Fotia sto limani» and «Pare me mazi sou». «Pera ap' tis poleis tis asfaltou» went platinum and «Mia matia san vrochi» gold. For him, those years were «something like my dream meeting reality».

After the split he began a solo path with «Afou loipon xechastika» (2004) and for fifteen years recorded and toured as Pavlos Pavlidis & B-Movies. Then came Hotel Alaska («To Mavro Kouti», 2021), his reading of Giannis Markopoulos («Pera apo ti thalassa», 2023) and Brancaleone (2024, Fine! Records), which many consider his best album. He lives in Athens; his new album «Panselinos», produced with Hristos Lainas, is out on 27 November 2026.