“Your absence weighed heavily on me” rang out from the loudspeakers as everyone sang along loudly on Sunday afternoon in Nikaia, waiting for George Mazonakis “to return to his old neighbourhood”, “to the bench where he had written down his dreams”… And on this final return, he was surrounded by thousands of people who had hurried to return the love he had so generously given them for more than three decades through his melodies, performances, moments, memories and care.

In a curious way, the atmosphere in the grounds of Agia Triada, the parish church of his childhood home, which stands directly opposite and where he sang hymns as a child, was different from the farewells we have witnessed for other popular artists in the past. Yes, there was emotion, but somehow it also resembled a celebration. A celebration of love for a talented, born star who, despite his artistic ascent to the heights of fame, remained humble and approachable, never forgetting either who he was or where he had come from.

@protothema.gr 💔 Εκατοντάδες άνθρωποι συρρέουν στον Ιερό Ναό Αγίας Τριάδας στη Νίκαια, για να αποτίσουν τον ύστατο φόρο τιμής στον Γιώργο Μαζωνάκη που έφυγε από τη ζωή την Τετάρτη 9 Σεπτεμβρίου από ανακοπή καρδιάς στο ιδιωτικό ιατρείο Stem Cell. #protothema #news #greektiktok #tiktokgreece ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος – protothema.gr

And it was this sincerity, this truthfulness, which he expressed primarily through song, in his own unique and instantly recognisable way, that secured him an important place in the hearts of people of every age. Because Mazonakis, thanks to his talent but above all to his authenticity, managed to resonate with many people for different reasons: he was the child of the western suburbs who was not afraid to believe in his abilities and pursue his dreams; the ultimate entertainer who for three whole decades became part of their youth, their celebrations, their all-night partying, their drunken nights, their lovesickness, but also their disappointments, betrayals, dead ends, passions and mistakes; the rock star of the live music circuit, who could try anything, even the most extreme things, without causing offence; but also a sensitive and lonely man who thirsted for love and therefore gave it generously to anyone he felt was in need of it.

In this way, completely without affectation, he managed to become an inseparable part of Greece’s collective memory and popular sentiment. That is why the grief over his premature and unjust death was so deep and so unexpectedly widespread.

@protothema.gr ❗️Βίντεο από ψηλά με τους φίλους του τραγουδιστή να τραγουδούν ακόμα και από τα μπαλκόνια «Είσαι το Λάθος μου το Τελευταίο» #protothema #news #mazonakis #greektiktok #tiktokgreece @Marinos Aleiferis 🪼 ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος – protothema.gr

Those who had singled him out and loved him, for all these reasons, came to bid him farewell. Not in the morning or at midday, as is customary in such circumstances, but from sunset until the early hours of the morning, just as when they used to leave the nightclubs where he performed.

And it was this sincerity, this truthfulness, which he expressed primarily through song, in his own unique and instantly recognisable way, that secured him an important place in the hearts of people of every age. Because Mazonakis, thanks to his talent but above all to his authenticity, managed to resonate with many people for different reasons: he was the child of the western suburbs who was not afraid to believe in his abilities and pursue his dreams; the ultimate entertainer who for three whole decades became part of their youth, their celebrations, their all-night partying, their drunken nights, their lovesickness, but also their disappointments, betrayals, dead ends, passions and mistakes; the rock star of the live music circuit, who could try anything, even the most extreme things, without causing offence; but also a sensitive and lonely man who thirsted for love and therefore gave it generously to anyone he felt was in need of it.

@protothema.gr 💔Σε κλίμα βαθιάς συγκίνησης με τον κόσμο να πετάει λουλούδια φτάνει η σορός του Γιώργου Μαζωνάκη στην εκκλησία #protothema #news #mazonakis #greektiktok #tiktokgreece ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος – protothema.gr

In this way, completely without affectation, he managed to become an inseparable part of Greece’s collective memory and popular sentiment. That is why the grief over his premature and unjust death was so deep and so unexpectedly widespread.

Those who had singled him out and loved him, for all these reasons, came to bid him farewell. Not in the morning or at midday, as is customary in such circumstances, but from sunset until the early hours of the morning, just as when they used to leave the nightclubs where he performed.

@protothema.gr ❗️Πλήθος κόσμου τραγουδά τις μεγαλες επιτυχίες του Γιώργου Μαζωνάκη έξω από το ναό #protothema #news #mazonakis #greektiktok #greektiktok ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος – protothema.gr

Undoubtedly, the popular vigil was more fitting for the “Child of the Night”, who, with “his records and his whisky that he wanted to drown himself in”, wrote his own chapter in the history of modern Greek music. Its audience not only embraced him wholeheartedly but also admired and loved him. Perhaps because, through his presence, character and work, he always sought to bring people together rather than divide them.

Yesterday, Sunday, George Mazonakis brought us together in our old neighbourhood, where we started out. The old schoolmates we had not seen for years; the friends who once played basketball and volleyball at “Platon”, watched football together at Proodeftiki’s stadium and hung Olympiacos flags from their balconies; those with whom we drank frappés and spirits in Korydallos, at “Aigli” in Eleftherias Square, or at “Koukos” and “Nefeli” in Memou Square; with whom we ate souvlaki at “Aganaktisi”; with whom we danced until we dropped to his first hits at “Vareládiko” in Piraeus, proud of our own boy; and who, after the έντεχνα programmes at Athens’ music venues, would invariably go for a Mazonakis performance to round off the evening nicely…

Among the fifty-somethings who had travelled through life alongside him, in the suffocatingly crowded narrow streets and the illuminated balconies of Nikaia’s apartment blocks, were their parents too, now elderly people who saw in George Mazonakis’s clear gaze the straightforward boy who had never forgotten that he had started from humble beginnings, who would quietly rush to help whenever he realised there was a need, who, until two years ago, would come to his family home every Sunday for a meal, but who had also gone astray, been hurt and been disappointed. And with them were their grandchildren, from babies to teenagers, who, strangely enough, know by heart the songs he released when they had not yet even been born. And this bringing together of different generations, different social classes and different tastes was Mazonakis’s greatest achievement.

Even several hours after midnight, the roads leading to Agia Triada remained gridlocked. On Lambraki Avenue and Petrou Ralli Street, cars and coaches arriving from the provinces were moving at a crawl. In many of them, his songs were being played at full volume, while the passengers’ faces reflected the difficulty of coming to terms with the end. Perhaps that is why, when they welcomed him yesterday afternoon, they did not shout “goodbye” but “we love you”.

Nikaia remained awake all night yesterday. George Mazonakis’s songs played until morning as crowds gradually entered the church to bid him farewell, leave him a flower and keep him company on his final night.

His funeral has been scheduled for 1pm today, a few streets away, at the Third Cemetery. His family has expressed a wish for the ceremony to be held privately, among close family members, something that appears quite difficult in practice, as all those who followed him for years and who, as he himself used to say, were his strength, will certainly want to accompany him on his final journey as well.