Savvopoulos Long Play - Season 1

First aired: 1/4/2026 6 episodes

Episodes

1. Fortigo

Aired: 1/4/2026

In the first episode, Dionysis Savvopoulos talks about his years in Thessaloniki, his admission to law school, his joining the Left and his decision to take a cousin's guitar, since he didn't have one of his own yet, and to hit the road to Athens.

2. To perivoli tou Trellou

Aired: 1/5/2026

In the 2nd episode, we watch Dionysis Savvopoulos being hosted at the house of Kostas Ferris to avoid arrest. Then he gains courage, goes out, and is arrested outside the offices of the LYRA record company. He is taken to Bouboulinas and tortured. He is released from prison, marries Aspa and with a forged passport leaves for Paris, where he will experience the great explosion of May 1968, which he describes with great vividness. From there to Milan, where he sings in the square, outside Brera. But Aspa is pregnant and they take the road back to Athens. He tries to return to Plaka, but the Security forbids him. He finds himself creating a new musical universe at Rodeo, on Heyden Street, uniting different groups, the young "giegiedes" of Fokionos Negri, the intellectuals and the old leftists of the 1-1-4 generation and the Lambrakis Youth.

3. O Ballos kai to Vromiko Psomi

Aired: 1/6/2026

The third episode covers the years of feverish creativity 1971-72, where Savvopoulos plays first at Rodeo and then at Kyttaros on Acharnon Street and records his most influential albums, perhaps for the development of Greek music. He confides for the first time about the sources of his inspiration, the paths through which legendary songs were born, such as "Ballos", "Zeibekiko" or "Mavri Thalassa". The performances, especially at Kyttaros, are a major artistic and social-political event in Athens at the time. Kyttaro becomes the first contemporary music scene in Athens with this unique program that began with Jimmy the Tiger, continued with Epirus clarinet and then the music was combined with the performances of Karagiozis by Evgenios Spatharis and the film scenes of Lakis Papastathis. Domna Samiou organized the Monday nights, while on Tuesdays, Elias Petropoulos presented the composers of rebetiko.

4. Apo ta Deka Hronia Kommatia os ti Rezerva

Aired: 1/7/2026

July 1974. The junta collapses, Karamanlis returns from Paris, a huge wave takes people out into the streets and fills the stadiums for the first political concerts of the post-dictatorship. Savvopoulos, however, follows a more solitary path. First song "For Cyprus", second "Politeftis". The album "Ten Years of Songs" is released, with songs he recorded with a tape recorder during the dictatorship. In the meantime, we follow the fever of the first post-dictatorship, the November elections, the referendum on the monarchy, the adoption of the new constitution and the trial of the leaders of the junta. In Savvopoulos' world, the next important stop comes in February 1976, when Karolos Koun called him to music and songs for Aristophanes' "Acharnians".

5. Trapezakia Exo eos to Kourema

Aired: 1/8/2026

The 5th episode covers the landmark decade of the 80s and Savvopoulos' dramatic journey from the apotheosis of the album "Tables Outside" to the harsh reactions caused by "The Haircut" in 1989, where a part of his loyal audience disapproves of him. We follow the carefree years of the festival, from the party in Vouliagmeni of Loukianos Kilaidonis to Savvopoulos' concert with the hot air balloon at the Olympic Stadium. We then find Savvopoulos in the ERT studio on his historic show "Long Live the Greek Song". But as the 80s are fading, Savvopoulos changes his mind. Thus was born "The Haircut", which when presented on Zoom in Plaka, caused reactions. We follow Savvopoulos to America, where he briefly takes refuge and plays in a bar in Manhattan, back to Athens where he returns and reconciles with his audience at Alexandra's "9/8", we share his sadness when his beloved house in Pelion catches fire and we meet him again at the great celebration of the closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympics.

6. Mi petaxeis tipota

Aired: 1/9/2026

The 6th episode begins during the period of the great demonstrations for the Macedonian and national fever, in which he himself participated. The songs for the album "Don't Throw Anything" were ready in February 1993, to be tested out to the public. We follow him on that legendary tour, in Plovdiv, his mother's city, in Sofia, where he met Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares outside the church of Alexander Nevsky, in Belgrade, where he broke the embargo, playing in front of 10,000 people, in Bucharest, in Nicosia on the Green Line and, finally, Kastra of Thessaloniki. Five years passed until the next album, "Chronopoios", was released on the eve of the first New Year of the new century. On the eve, a big concert was organized under the Acropolis, with Mikis conducting one of his works and immediately after, at the turn of the year, Savvopoulos took the stage and played a new song, "Proti tou 2000". The final episode ends with the with a dream of Dionysios Savvopoulos from the first episode.