Vangelis, Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire composer, dies aged 79

Vangelis, the Greek composer whose rousing electronic theme music for the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire became one of the most loved movie scores, has died at the age of 79. 

The law firm representing the composer said he died late on Tuesday, without giving a cause of death. The composer also scored music for films like Blade Runner and Alexander over a decades-long career.

Vangelis won the Oscar for his Chariots of Fire score in 1982 and was revered globally as one of the pioneers of electronic music. 

Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou in 1943, the young Vangelis developed an early interest in music and experiments with sounds produced by banging pots and pans or fixing nails, glasses and other objects to the strings of his parents' piano.