What made Xylouris a huge name and a hero to all Greeks was something that happened in 1973. At that time Greece was under a dictatorship led by Papadopoulos. Greek University students were protesting at the polytechnic university. The tanks were ordered in and there was a stand off. Xylouris put himself in much danger when one evening during the stand-off he climbed to the top of the wall surrounding the polytechnic played his lyra and sang "pote tha kani xasteria" (When will we have a starlit sky? ) a traditional Cretan revolutionary song.

His songs expressed the tense political climate of that period which led to the uprising of the Polytechnic students and the rebellion of the Greek people against the military junta that followed soon after.

He is notable for his commitment to Cretan music. In Iraklio, in 1967, he created ’Erotokritos’ the first original club where Cretan traditional music was heard. But apart from the traditional songs of Crete, the voice of Xylouris had also been identified with the contemporary works of celebrated composers. Through these choices, the folk music of Crete was meant to known and heard all over Greece, but it acquired a dynamic that all the great artists, singers and musicians who served this tradition before had not managed to lend it.

Nikos passed away in 1980. His absence marked a whole era and a particular understanding of Greek music. However it is possible that the oncoming decade can’t afford luxuries such as forceful expression, direct relation to the current social and political situations and the firm attachment to the local singing tradition.