Kazantizidis

A rebetiko sensation with a laika heart

Apostolos Nikolaidis started working in construction at the age of 13, singing as he climbed the scaffolding. "Give us another song," the other workmen would shout when he stopped. As a teenager in Thessaloniki, he sang along to the bouzouki played by other boys in the neighborhood, before sneaking off to Athens with dreams of becoming a professional singer.