'Chariots of Fire' composer Vangelis dies

Vangelis, the Greek composer of soundtracks for "Blade Runner" and "Chariots of Fire", has died aged 79.

A pioneer of electronic music, he found inspiration in space exploration, nature, futuristic architecture, and the student movement of May 1968.

His soundtrack for "Chariots of Fire" won an Oscar, defeating John Williams' score for the first Indiana Jones film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1982.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that the great Greek Vangelis Papathanassiou passed away late on the night of Tuesday, May 17," his lawyer was quoted as saying by the ANA news agency.

According to several Greek media outlets, Vangelis died of the coronavirus in France where he live part-time, along with London and Athens.

Among the dozen original scores he has composed include those from the Costa-Gavras film "Missing", Roman Polanski's "Bitter Moon" and Oliver Stone's "Alexander".