Public:Giorgos Kourelis
Giorgos Kourelis | |
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| Born | |
| Nationality |
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| Other names |
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | ca. 2005 – unknown |
| Known for | The Fat Men |
| Relatives | Stefanos Kourelis (brother) |
Giorgos Kourelis (Greek: Γιώργος Κουρέλης Giōrgos Kourelīs), first name also spelled Jiorgos (Greek pronunciation: [ˈjoɾɣos̺ kuˈɾelis̺]), is a Dutch–Greek Greek nationalist, alleged terrorist fugitive, chemist, and former musician. Between 2005 and 2009, he was a member of The Fat Men. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Biography
Early life
Kourelis, son of a Greek father and a Dutch mother, grew up in the Bos en Lommer neighbourhood of Amsterdam. He has a younger brother, Stefanos. The brothers often played video games together, during which they frequently verbally abused each other. Giorgos also built up a sizeable collection of dragon figurines.
Secondary education and career
Kourelis attended the Cartesius Lyceum in Amsterdam between 2002 and 2008, where he met Watson Waterstone, Yasja de Miranda and other future members of what was to become The Fat Men. During his time at this school, he was known for taking a keen interest in chemistry, particularly how to make explosives such as bombs. Kourelis openly espoused Greek nationalism, claiming to reject his Dutch nationality and consider himself only Greek. However, he is not known to have ever formally rescinded his Dutch nationality. He was vocal in his criticism of certain aspects of Dutch society, most notably Dutch politician Geert Wilders. He regularly mentioned plans for terrorist attacks on Dutch targets, although it is no longer known with certainty which targets those were. At one point, he was rumored to have access to The Terrorist’s Handbook, a manual with instructions on how to commit terrorist acts and create weapons such as molotov cocktails. Together with Ahmed El Jappaoui, he wrote an instruction manual for how to create and use a potato cannon, which was given to Waterstone for his birthday.
Music
Körälli | |
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 Körälli as seen in a The Fat Men intro video. | |
| Background information | |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | ca. 2005 – 2007 |
| Labels | Katmadron Records |
| Associated acts | The Fat Men |
While recording of The Fat Men’s first (and, as it would later turn out, only) album The Fat Man’s Diary, Kourelis joined the band under the stage name Körälli. This was a nickname given to him by his friends, a mispronunciation of his surname (he also went by the nickname Corky, given to him by de Miranda). He performed the song “The Blender Song”, a frequently off-key acappella mash-up of contemporary pop hits, levensliederen, and Greek folk music, solo. In addition, he was a main vocalist on “Het Gesticht (Cartesius Lyceum)”, and contributed to the lyrics of the titular song “The Fat Man’s Diary”, as well as the text of “De Dikke Man Hem Ze Nieuws”.
Kourelis later performed backing vocals on The Fat Men’s single “Terrortubbies”, although by that time his stage name had been replaced by the text Naam uit privacyoverwegingen weggelaten (‘Name withheld for reasons of privacy’). This may have been an allusion to his alleged terrorist plans or activities.
He was also a member of the The Fat Men football team.
Motorsports
| Giorgos Kourelis | |
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| Nationality |  Greek |
| Top 40 Rally | |
| Years active | 2005 – 2009 |
| Teams |
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| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Last updated on: 14 September 2021. | |
Together with his brother, Kourelis competed in the Top 40 Rally from 2005 through 2009 for the family team, known first as Hakan’s Döner Kebap and later as Leeman Döner. In the 2005 and 2006 editions, his first name appeared on the entry list as Jiorgos.
Partial Hakan’s Döner/Leeman Döner Top 40 Rally results
| Year | Team name | Manufacturer | No. | Drivers | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Hakan’s Döner Kebap | Jiorgos Kourelis | ||||
| Stefanos Kourelis | ||||||
| 2006 | Hakan’s Döner Kebap | Opel | 8. | Jiorgos Kourelis | 25 | |
| 9. | Stefanos Kourelis | 27 | ||||
| 2007 | Giorgos Kourelis | |||||
| Stefanos Kourelis | ||||||
| 2008 | Leeman Döner | Fiat | 4. | Giorgos Kourelis | ||
| 5. | Stefanos Kourelis | |||||
| 2009 | Leeman Döner | Giorgos Kourelis | not held | |||
| Stefanos Kourelis | ||||||
Later life
After graduating from high school, Kourelis was known to continue taking an interest in chemistry, possibly enrolling in a chemistry degree at some point. However, he later disappeared and further details about his life are very vague, leading to speculation that he may have been involved in terrorist activity and gone in hiding from authorities. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Personal life
Kourelis speaks Greek, Dutch and English. He taught Greek to El Jappaoui and Waterstone while in school, which often caused a nuisance to their Greek teacher when they recited Classical Greek texts in Modern Greek pronunciation.
Kourelis is a supporter of Greek football club Olympiakos.
His family on his father’s side hails from a village called Marmara, near the city of Larissa. The inhabitants of this village are known to pronounce the word τσεκούρι tsekouri ‘axe’ (Standard Modern Greek pronunciation: [t͡seˈkuɾi]) as “τσακούρι” tsakouri [t͡sɑˈkuɾi], which Kourelis himself also did.
Discography
Singles
With The Fat Men
- “Terrortubbies” (2007, digital release only)
Albums
With The Fat Men
- The Fat Man’s Diary (2006)
Songwriting credits
Lyrics
- “The Fat Man’s Diary” by The Fat Men (with Ben Cleerdin, Trent Easton, Ahmed El Jappaoui, Thomas Haertlein, Bos Nooij, Reinier van Velzen, and Watson Waterstone)
- “De Dikke Man Hem Ze Nieuws” (also credited on blooper reel) by Toman The Great (with Ben Cleerdin, Trent Easton, Ahmed El Jappaoui, Thomas Haertlein, Bos Nooij, Reinier van Velzen, and Watson Waterstone)