1977

🇧🇪 Luc Smets (Dream Express) passed away

Today, the sad news came to us that Luc Smets, member of the group Dream Express, passed away. Luc Smets was born in Steendorp, Belgium, in 1947. When he was 19, he joined the band The Pebbles. He played the keyboard in the band. They had a couple of hits in Belgium, of which “Seven horses in the sky” and “Mackintosh” were the biggest. However, Smets had to leave the band. He started a new band, Shampoo. They started working with the Hearts Of Soul, a Dutch group. In the end, Luc joined the girls of the Hearts Of Soul, and together they started a new group: Dream Express. In 1977 they won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “A million in 1, 2, 3”. Despite being among the favourites, the four reached a 7th place. In 1981, one of the girls left the group, the others continued under the name LBS. Smets also co-wrote the 1982 Eurovision song “Si tu aimes ma musique” for Stella. He also wrote numerous songs for Belgian national finals. Subsequently, Luc made significant contributions to the music industry as a composer, arranger, and producer. His talents graced children’s TV shows. In late 2002, he joined forces with some familiar faces, including Marcel De Cauwer, a former member of the Pebbles, to create the cover band “No Joke.” Luc was the go-to arranger and leader for the Strato-Vani orchestra, renowned for their fresh renditions of classic and popular tunes. Tragically, after battling an illness, Luc departed on August 20, 2023, at 76 years old.

Heddy Lester passed away

Heddy Lester At the age of 72, Dutch singer and actress Heddy Lester passed away. Heddy Lester is especially known in The Netherlands for representing the Netherlands in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. Carreer pre-eurovision Heddy Lester started her carreer in 1971, when she had a huge hit in The Netherlands with the “Railroad song” as half of the duo April Shower. The duo also toured throughout the USA. Since 1974 Heddy performed solo and in 1977 she won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. De Mallemolen “De mallemolen” was composed by Heddy’s brother Frank Affolter. After the Eurovision Song Contest Heddy has been seen especially in theatres. The last role she played was in the Dutch movie “Groeten van Gerri”, where she played the role of a mother. There have been times when she didn’t want to sing “De mallemolen”. She wanted to concentrate on other things in her carreer. The last few years she embraced the song again. In The Netherlands it became a Eurovision classic.

Heddy Lester

Name : Heddy Affolter Born : 18-6-1950 Deceased 29-1-2023 Nationality : Dutch National Finals : Nationaal Songfestival 1977 ESC Entries : De mallemolen Website : Facebook Biography Heddy Lester is a Dutch singer and actress. Lester’s professional career started with Gert Balke as the duo April Shower, who had a minor hit with “Railroad Song” in 1971. Her father ran a restaurant in Amsterdam, where she met singer Ramses Shaffy, with whom she started touring. Lester launched her solo career in 1974, and released the single ” Friend of mine”. Since her Eurovision appearance, Lester has worked steadily in a variety of both musical and dramatic stage roles. Heddy Lester passed away in January 2023. Entries Country : The Netherlands Year : 1977 Language : Dutch Artist : Heddy Lester Song : De mallemolen Lyrics : Wim Hogenkamp Composer(s) : Frank Affolter Conductor : Harry van Hoof Backings : Wanda StellaardLaetitia Dekker Carmen Affolter Results Points : 35 Position : 12 Running order : 3 https://youtu.be/B27TwLxbWms