Louis Neefs
Louis Neefs (born August 8, 1937 in Gierle , † December 25, 1980 in Lier ; actually Ludwig Neefs ) was a Belgian singer and presenter .
Life
Neefs trained as a technical draftsman at the University of Mechelen when he joined the local choir and learned to play the guitar. His musical activities were initially only for leisure purposes until he became a member of the group "Sun Spot" in the late 1950s. His distinctive voice caught the eye of the famous talent scout Jacques Kluger , who had already discovered some great singers, such as Bobbejaan Schoepen, through performances and talent competitions . Kluger and Schoepen drew the attention of record companies to Neefs and Neefs signed a record deal in 1958, which was followed by the first album in 1960. He made it into the Flemish charts with several songs and was also known in the Netherlands .
In 1967 Neefs was selected to represent Belgium with the song Ik heb zorgen at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna . He reached seventh place there. In 1969 he was allowed to represent his home country again at the Eurovision Song Contest, this time in Madrid . His song was called Jennifer Jennings . Again he placed seventh.
Neefs could continue to celebrate successes; his biggest hit was his song Margrietje , which he released in 1972. Other well-known songs by him are Mijn Vriend Benjamin , Aan het strand van Oostende , Martine and Laat Ons Een Bloem . Neefs also worked as a voice actor, lending his voice to Thomas O'Malley in the Dutch version of Disney's Aristocats . He also moderated numerous television programs. Radio broadcasts for the Flemish broadcaster VRT . He was also politically active and became a city councilor in Mechelen.
On Christmas Day 1980, Louis Neefs and his wife Liliane had an accident in a car in Lier. The couple had two sons, Ludwig and Günther . The latter is now a well-known singer in Belgium.
On August 5, 2007, a bust was unveiled in Neef's hometown of Gierle on the occasion of the artist's 70th birthday, which the artist would have celebrated this year.
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
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1998 | Face to face | - |
BE F15 (10 weeks) BE F |
Split album with ten songs by Neefs and ten songs by Ann Christy
|
2005 | Het best van | - |
BE F15 (26 weeks) BE F |
Best of album
|
2017 | Louis Neefs 80 | - |
BE F5 (31 weeks) BE F |
Double CD
|
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1960 | Forever |
- | - |
BE F16 (1 month) BE F |
|
Mijn dorpje in de Kempen A small compliment |
- | - |
BE F20 (1 month) BE F |
||
1963 | Ik lees in je ogen Louis Neefs |
- | - |
BE F10 (2 months) BE F |
|
Sixteen Tons Louis Neefs |
- | - |
BE F20 (2 months) BE F |
Original: Tennessee Ernie Ford
|
|
1964 | Een gitaar in de Nacht Louis Neefs |
- | - |
BE F13 (2 months) BE F |
|
1966 | Wat een leven Louis Neefs |
- | - |
BE F10 (11 weeks) BE F |
Co-Writer / Producer: Rocco Granata
|
1967 | I am worried |
- | - |
BE F7 (10 weeks) BE F |
7th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967
|
1969 | Jennifer Jennings |
- |
BE W46 (3 weeks) BE W |
BE F13 (5 weeks) BE F |
7th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969
|
1970 | Laat ons een bloem Louis Neefs |
- | - |
BE F25 (2 weeks) BE F |
Dutch version of Leave Them a Flower by Wally Whyton
|
1972 | Margrietje (De rozen zullen bloeien) |
NL10 (9 weeks) NL |
- |
BE F4 (13 weeks) BE F |
|
1973 | Omdat ik van je hou |
- | - |
BE F22 (4 weeks) BE F |
Dutch version of L'amore è un attimo by Massimo Ranieri
|
1979 | Martine Nooit zonder jou |
- | - |
BE F30 (1 week) BE F |
|
1981 | Susa-Nina |
- | - |
BE F25 (3 weeks) BE F |
|
1991 | Daughter ever grandma |
- | - |
BE F19 (4 weeks) BE F |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
swell
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Belgium Flanders / Wallonia / Netherlands (Top 40)
Web links
- Official website
- Louis Neefs in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Louis Neefs at Discogs (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Neefs, Louis |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Neefs, Ludwig (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 8, 1937 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Gierle , Belgium |
DATE OF DEATH | December 25, 1980 |
Place of death | Lier , Belgium |