X Mandarina Duck

X Mandarina Duck emerged in Athens in 1984, during a period when the Greek independent scene was filling up with bands moving away from the older rock vocabulary and towards new wave, post-punk and sharper, more stripped-down sounds. The group was formed by Tommie Bouzianis, previously associated with Parthenogenesis and Stress, along with bassist Zacharias “Zack Antvark” Vrelianakis and drummer Chris “Mine” Stoligas. Stoligas was also responsible for the slightly strange name X Mandarina Duck. Bouzianis described the group as a particularly intense, hard-driving trio, and they became active on the Athens live circuit, appearing at places including Kyttaro, Rodeo, Pegasos, the Student Residence, Flisvos, the Freedom Park and the Propylaia. 

 
Tommie Bouzianis was the main songwriter and frontman, handling vocals and guitar, and his background already connected X Mandarina Duck to the rougher side of the early Greek punk and alternative scene. Their English-language material fitted naturally into the growing Athens new wave underground, while the group's live reputation seems to have been based largely on speed and energy rather than elaborate arrangements. 

 
The band began appearing on records in 1985. Their first documented release appearance was on the compilation 'Η Ανεξάρτητη Rock Σκηνή – Live', issued by Δικαίωμα Διάβασης, the label that later became Di Di Music. X Mandarina Duck contributed “Don't Pretend” and “Principles”. The same year they were included on 'Outsiders', another important document of the Greek independent scene, with “Television” and “Passengers”. Both tracks were written by Bouzianis and recorded at Mastersound Studios in Athens on October 1, 1985, with Chris “Snake” Manolitsis handling the engineering.

 
'Outsiders' was part of the broader network that was developing around the independent Athens scene in the mid-1980s. The compilation brought together groups such as X Mandarina Duck, Anti-Troppau Council, Villa 21 and Not 2 Without 3, and has subsequently been described as an important snapshot of the period. X Mandarina Duck travelled to Thessaloniki for its presentation at Cine Argo on November 22, 1985, sharing the bill with Anti-Troppau Council and Venericna Bolest.

 
Their live activity continued into 1986. On February 10 they played at Kyttaro Club in Athens with Low Noise, followed by the April 20 show at Rodeo Club with Αδιέξοδο and Panx Romana. The Rodeo appearance is also independently documented in contemporary Greek-rock archive material and in accounts of Panx Romana's concert history. Bouzianis later recalled another Athens appearance at the Propylaia in April 1986, sharing the bill with Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Dimitris Poulikakos, Nikolas Asimos and others, before the group left Greece for London in June.

 
Their only proper release was the extremely scarce 7-inch 'Non Stop (Sensations)', issued in 1986 by Wipe Out! Records. It contains “Non Stop (Sensations)” on the A-side and “Stuff No Bluff” and “Unconscious” on the B-side, with all three songs credited to Bouzianis. The record carries catalogue number W.O.R. 001 and was the very first release of Wipe Out!, a newly established independent label founded in early 1986 by Gregg Vaios and Thodoris Kritharis.

 
The circumstances around the single are closely tied to the early history of Wipe Out. Gregg Vaios recalled producing the X Mandarina Duck record himself, while bassist Zacharias Vrelianakis was already involved with the group. Vaios and Kritharis wanted Wipe Out to provide a home for independent Greek rock acts that had difficulty getting their recordings released, and X Mandarina Duck became the starting point for a catalogue that would later include Panx Romana, Villa 21, South of No North and many other artists. 

 
The band did not make it as far as an album. Shortly after the 7-inch appeared, Vrelianakis left and Winston Detleiv joined in his place. Rather than continue under the same name, Bouzianis renamed the group The Boycotts. This name change is therefore directly connected with the final phase of X Mandarina Duck rather than representing an unrelated project.

 
The Boycotts continued in London, where Bouzianis and Detleiv played at clubs including Gossips, Le Beat Route, The Crypt and the Rock Garden. In 1988 they appeared on the compilation 'Song and Legend' on Abstract Records with their version of “Julie” by Blue Birds. Bouzianis remained active in London for many years, playing with groups including Bad Karma Beckons and Dynamitte Inc. and also working as a session guitarist. His later activities included the album '13een Black' and, much later, the Astrodot project. Vrelianakis subsequently moved into record dealing and opened a second-hand record shop in Monastiraki, Athens.