Vangelis composed the Academy Award-winning original score for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
The Greek composer, whose full name was Evangelos Odesseysséas Papathanassíou, created a synthesizer-led score that sounded strikingly modern for a period drama. Its main theme became one of the most recognizable pieces of film music of the 1980s.
Vangelis won the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 54th Academy Awards. The soundtrack’s success also brought electronic instrumental music to a much wider popular audience and helped define the film’s public identity.
The score is often mistakenly attributed to John Williams because Williams also dominated film music during this period. Williams composed scores such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, but not Chariots of Fire.