George Mazonakis, the 54-year-old Greek singer who died on Wednesday from cardiac arrest, had no health problems, according to his lawyer and close friend, Charalambos Lykoudis, speaking a few hours after the singer’s death. Mazonakis had been transferred to Elpis Hospital from a private clinic in Kolonaki, an upmarket district of central Athens, where he was pronounced dead.

Speaking this morning on ANT1’s breakfast programme “Kalimera Ellada” (“Good Morning Greece”), Lykoudis said he had met the well-known singer a few days before his death and had noticed no sign that he was suffering from any health issue.

“I met with George about a week ago. He had no health problems whatsoever,” the lawyer said, adding that a fuller picture would be held by Mazonakis’s personal doctor, Mr Zafeiriou, who was also a family friend and koumbaros (a role similar to a best man in Greek tradition) and had known him for many years.

Responding to a related question, Lykoudis added that, as far as he was aware, the singer had no cardiac problems.

“I will be in contact with the family today”

Lykoudis also addressed the steps Mazonakis’s family might take following his death. As he explained, it is his relatives who have the right to decide on the next legal steps, including the appointment of a technical adviser, an independent expert who assists in the investigation.

“The procedural rights can be exercised by the family. I will be in contact with them today. I don’t know whether they will respect George’s choice of me as his lawyer, or whether they will opt for a different legal representative,” Lykoudis said.

He added: “It is the family who will be able to appoint a technical adviser and take all the steps necessary to clarify, and shed full light on, the circumstances under which George Mazonakis lost his life […] We must not leave any responsibilities uninvestigated.”

Mazonakis, one of Greece’s most popular contemporary singers with a career spanning three decades, had been due to headline an anniversary concert in Athens on 20 September marking 33 years in music.