Spyros Bibilas: “What I loved in Mykonos and no longer exists, is carelessness”
From the frantic nights at Pierro's, to the paparazzi chase as soon as they realized the presence of the TV star of the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" Ridge Forrester, Spyros Bibilas shares with the Mykonos Post the wonderful moments he lived in Mykonos and reveals an unknown incident on the island of winds starring himself and Petros Filippidis.
Two months before the national elections, a group of friends decide to visit the island of Mykonos. It is August 1981. The musical performance “Pornography” by Manos Hadjidakis, in which he plays a geisha, has just been completed and together with some of his colleagues, they decide to go to Mykonos. The island of freedom. After all, they have heard so much about this island, that they are curious to see it with their own eyes. The liner from Piraeus raises the anchors and the journey of Spyros Bibilas and his company has just begun.
Middle: Spyros Bibilas and Kostas Kazakas pose for the camera in one of the alleys in Matogianya.
Right: George Krontiris, Alexis Stylios and Spyros Bibilas on the path to Paradise.
“We did not have a lot of money then, but we could go to Mykonos for a vacation, because the prices were ok. Rooms were cheap and life was not expensive”.
“I met a colored crowd”
He is only 25 years old and Mykonos in his blue eyes looks like an earthly paradise of freedom and colors. “What I remember is that I met a colored crowd. The clothes people wore were very fancy with open colorful shirts, shorts and sandals. Although, we had not booked rooms, as soon as we got off at the port, there were many who were holding “Rooms to let” signs and so we easily found a place to stay in Chora. These are my first pictures from the island. In fact, in the famous beaches of the island, such as Paraga and Super Paradise, we went either by boat or through some narrow dirt roads that were next to the rocks”, he confesses to the Mykonos Post. Spyros and his company stayed on the island for a week. A week full of laughter, fun, nudity and relaxation. “The truth is that I encountered a relaxed situation, which we liked. A gay situation, relaxed and liberated. Especially in the 1980s, the gay element was predominant. In fact, the inhabitants of the island were receptive and hospitable to the gay public, without a trace of racist mood. Which, in my opinion, is no longer the case. Also, in Mykonos of the 80s you do not need a lot of money to go. We did not have a lot of money then, but we could go to Mykonos for a vacation, because the prices were ok. Rooms were cheap and life was not expensive”, he says honestly.
“In 1989 I met in Matogiannia the actor Ronn Moss, who played Ridge Forrester in The Bold and the Beautiful. At that time, the series was at its best and the actors were very popular all over the world.
“As soon as the paparazzi realized the presence of Ronn Moss in Mykonos, the flashes caught fire”
Naturally, every 25-year-old, whose blood boils, wants intense night entertainment during his summer vacation. And in Mykonos, the nightlife was already intense and famous. “Pierro’s was overcrowded. We waited outside to empty a bit so as to be able to get inside. It was chaotic both inside and outside the shop. A shop that was full of young people, who were having fun wholeheartedly”, he explains. From 1981, which is his first trip to Mykonos, it will be eight years before he visits it for the second time. “In 1989 I met in Matogiannia the actor Ronn Moss, who played Ridge Forrester in The Bold and the Beautiful. At that time, the series was at its best and the actors were very popular all over the world. As you can understand, as soon as the paparazzi realized the presence of Ronn Moss in Mykonos, the flashes caught fire. On my second trip to Mykonos, I also met Makis Tselios and on the next one, Lakis Gavalas, with whom we are friends”, he describes in the Mykonos Post.
“During the shooting, in a scene where Petros Filippidis was throwing me into the sea, my lenses came out and fell into the water and we stopped shooting”.
“At the Autumn is a completely different island from what you see in July and August”
All the summers he spent in Mykonos were exclusively for holidays, except in the fall of 2001, when he was there for the filming of the TV series “Drosoulites”, which aired on Star Channel. “The shooting took place in October 2001. At that time, Mykonos was almost empty and had a wonderful weather. It was an amazing, without people and with almost empty beaches. The shooting on the island lasted two weeks, but apart from work, we enjoyed our baths in the sea and the beauties of Mykonos. At the Autumn is a completely different island from what you see in July and August”, he says honestly. Among the cast of actors were Petros Filippidis, Renia Louizidou, Maria Ioannidou, Giorgos Galitis and Hilda Iliopoulou. “In this series, I was playing Yamamoto, a Japanese cook. For the needs of the role, I wore black contact lenses. During the shooting, in a scene where Petros Filippidis was throwing me into the sea, my lenses came out and fell into the water and we stopped shooting because we were waiting for new black contact lenses to be brought to us from Athens”, he reveals in the Mykonos Post.
“One of the reasons I want to visit Mykonos is Delos”
Forty whole years have passed since the summer of 1981 until today. Spyros is no longer 25 years old and certainly the image of today’s Mykonos does not exude the same relaxed aura of the 80s. However, he still has strong ties with the island, as he has a close friendship with both the Mykonian painter Marina Petri and the writer Chrysiida Dimoulidou, who has a house on the island. “What I loved in Mykonos and no longer exists, is carelessness and recklessness. Now, everything is very fixed. Now, visitors to Mykonos are rich people from different countries of the world and the image of the island is completely different from the one I had met. Even the famous beaches of the island have nothing to do with the feeling they left you in those years. Now, the beaches are full of sunbeds, beach bars and loud music, something I do not like and it does not suit me at all. Also, in recent years, Mykonos has become an expensive island, which is not easily accessible by Greek tourists. The last time I went to the island was in the summer of 2017. The truth is that the northern part of the island remains wild and beautiful, with several beaches that are still trackless. Beaches that I hope and wish, do not become like the others. Each of my visits to Mykonos always includes an excursion to Delos. One of the reasons I want to visit Mykonos is Delos. It is an energy landscape and I really wonder when I hear that people have gone to Mykonos and have not book a ticket to go by boat to Delos. It is an ancient city with a wonderful history. Whenever I visited Mykonos, I also went to Delos. Because I wake up in the morning, I remember myself getting up, my friends all sleeping and I taking the boat and together with elderly American women, going to Delos. I’m obsessed with Delos”.