Vasilis Papakonstantinou was born in Vastas, outside of Megalopolis, Arcadia. In 1957 he moved to Athens along with his family. His adolescence was marked by the musical and social trends of the 1960s: Mikis Theodorakis, protest rock, international peace and liberation movements, while Greece was trying to quickly heal the wounds of the Greek Civil War. According to some interpretations, the Left sought to shelter itself and give a perspective to the shattered disappointment following the civil war by providing a sensitive and claiming culture. Vasilis Papakonstantinou became a follower of the left without ever becoming a member of a leftist party. In 1973, after having served in the Hellenic Army, fulfilling his national service obligations, he moved to West Germany and settled in Munich. There he participated in anti-dictatorship organisations, campaigning against the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 and singing in places with a considerable Greek student and immigrant population.