Giannis Petridis Collection

Giannis Petridis did not just follow global music; he lived it, documented it, and narrated it. Meeting some of the biggest names in the world scene, from David Byrne and the Dire Straits to Ennio Morricone, Nick Cave, and Joe Cocker, and having served as director of record labels such as Virgin Records Greece, Petridis shaped one of the most impressive and comprehensive private collections ever assembled in the country, often influencing local musical trends himself. The collection includes more than 170,000 items, centered on vinyl records (33 and 45 rpm), CDs, films, video clips, and original audiovisual material on VHS, cassettes, DVDs, and Laser Discs, as well as memorabilia related to the music and film industry, his personal career, and rare music-related artifacts from the 1960s to today. A significant part of the collection consists of magazines such as "Rolling Stone", "New Musical Express" ("NME"), "Mojo", "Music Week", and "Billboard", along with Greek music publications like "Pop & Rock", which he co-created, and which covered both international and Greek music from 1978 to 2012. His collection is not simply a music archive. It is a cultural universe. A condensed memory that records, reconstructs, and interprets more than five decades of music, society, and aesthetics. Its geographic scope spans from the USA and the UK to France, Italy, and the rest of Europe, extending further to Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

The acquisition of the Giannis Petridis Collection by the Onassis Foundation will be paired with the creation of a dedicated space for listening, research, and enjoyment. At the same time, a new documentary is being developed on the personality, work, and record collection of Giannis Petridis, directed by Yorgos Teltzidis and based on research by Panagiotis Menegos.