André Hazes
Encyclopedia
André Gerardus Hazes was a Dutch
singer in a genre called levenslied
(song about life) which is a form of emotional folk music
about everyday life sung in the Dutch language
. André Hazes was one of the most successful singers in this genre. Hazes recorded 31 studio and live albums and he released 54 singles.
's De Pijp
-area. At the age of eight, he was discovered at the famous Albert Cuyp Market
by comedian Johnny Kraaykamp and made his television debut in AVRO's Weekendshow. A single, "Droomschip", was released and became a minor hit.
hoping that he would record it (as a possible sequel track to his crime-song "De Dievenwagen"); Alberti suggested that Hazes recorded it himself and helped him signing to Philips Records. "Eenzame Kerst", backed by a cover-version of "De Dievenwagen", became a No. 1 -hit by the end of the year.
An album was released in 1977 and reached top 20; extracted singles "Mama" and "De Vlieger" didn't chart although the latter became a Dutch evergreen (and a top 40 hit second time round) in years to come.
As fame ran out so did fortune, (faux) friends and fiance; to make matters worse Philips wanted him record a Dutch-language version of Little Drummer Boy
among other big plans. Hazes disagreed; he quit the label and resumed his bartending-activities in the village of Schalkwijk, Utrecht.
, and soon after that his career started to take off. "Een Vriend" ("A Friend") and "Een Beetje Verliefd" ("A Little In Love)" were both top ten hits in 1981, produced by his best friend Tim Griek.
In 1981 Hazes was awarded the Zilveren Harp
(Silver Harp) for his album Gewoon André (Just André) which sold 500,000 copies and was certified five times platinum in its first year of release and two more times two years later. 1982 was the year of his great concert in the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam. His biggest triumph however was the birth of his son Melvin, whom he named his production-company after.
During his heyday Hazes also had an acting-sideline; in 1982 he played a restaurant-owner in the Inspector General
-inspired movie De Boezemvriend ordering his namesake Andre van Duin
to pay the bill. In 1983 Hazes starred in comedy-series Zoals U Wenst Mevrouw (At Your Service Madam) as a down-and-out taking a gardening-job under false pretenses and singing new lyrics to recent hits. He also appeared in commercials for toasts (as an Italian singer) and custard (as the football-playing son of singer/actress Joke Bruijs who happens to be one year his junior). Meanwhile Hazes' backing-musicians at the time recorded a fun-taking medley for their notorious parody-project "Rubberen Robbie".
In 1986 Hazes released two albums; the first featured Italian covers (including Volare, Bueno Sera and a revisit of Piove which he first sang in his childhood days) and was dedicated to the memory of Willy Alberti
. The second featured translated versions of Peter Maffay
's Du
and Gloria Gaynor
's I Will Survive
.
In February 1988 record producer and best friend Tim Griek died in a car accident. Hazes dedicated the album Liefde, leven, geven to Griek's memory.
In 1988 he sang the song "Wij houden van Oranje
" ("We love Orange"—Orange being the national color of the Netherlands and also a nickname
for the Dutch national soccer team and in general all sport teams) for the football
championships. The song became very popular as the Netherlands
won the European Championship in the same year.
In 1989 his career was stalled after several years without record releases and to revive it record company EMI approached Hazes for a new album, asking him what he wanted to do next. EMI offered him a free hand and full control if he decided to revitalize his career. He responded by recording the bilingual album Dit is wat ik wil ("This is what I want"), a blues and rock 'n roll album featuring many contemporary rock artists like Herman Brood
and Jan Akkerman
. Extracted singles are "De Gokker" ("The Gambler") and "Jammer" ("Crying Time
", converted into an earth pollution-song); the latter was backed by "Working in a Coal Mine".
The same year Dutch-based US
-singer Joe Bourne recorded an English-language version of "Een Beetje Verliefd" for his tribute-album Bourne In Holland.
song "She Believes In Me". The film portrayed the singer as a tragic man of simple ways, a well-meaning but clueless father and lousy husband tormented by stage fright and a propensity towards drinking. Hazes had mixed feelings about the film, but most viewers saw a man who had remained true to his humble background and whose raw emotional songs were genuinely felt. It earned him something of a cult status outside of his loyal fan base, with the cultural establishment taking him in a somewhat uncomfortable embrace.
Hazes was known to live unhealthily, beer being his main vice. He himself once said: "If it wasn't for the fame, I'd be a full-blown alcoholic." In fact, he already was; he just managed to integrate this well into his life.
On September 23, 2004, Hazes died of cardiac arrest
. Eventually his lifestyle had caught up with him, and somehow he became bigger in death than he had ever been during his lifetime. Everybody identified with him, and in the months after his death André Hazes became public domain.
In an interview with de Volkskrant
, he made the remark that he knew as a child that when he died, he would make the television news. Not only did that happen, four days after he died, a startling crowd
of about 48,000 attended a memorial ceremony in his honour at the Amsterdam Arena
stadium. Over 6 million viewers followed the event, broadcast live on Dutch and Belgian television. Hazes was cremated the day after.
On September 29, 2004 the single "Zij Gelooft In Mij" was re-released and was his first #1 hit in the Dutch Top 40
.
In 2007, one of his songs, the hit "Blijf Bij Mij" ("Stay With Me"), reached the #1-position in the Dutch Top 40 again. This song was sung with Gerard Joling
. "Blijf Bij Mij" is a cover from the song "Forse" by the Italian singer Pupo
.
Exactly one year after his death, in accordance with his wishes, Hazes' remaining ashes were distributed over a couple of skyrocket
s, which were then launched into the sky by his surviving relatives. On the same day his statue was revealed in the Pijp, Amsterdam, near the singer's birthplace.
In 1981, Hazes married Ellen Wolf. She gave birth to a son, Melvin, in 1982. The couple divorced in 1990; Wolf later died of breast cancer
in 2005, at age 47.
In 1991, Hazes married his third wife, longtime girlfriend Rachel van Galen. Hazes was Van Galen's senior by nineteen years; she gave birth to his third and fourth child, daughter Roxeanne (1993) and son André "Dré" Jr. (1994). Hazes remained married to his third wife until his death in 2004.
After his death, a conflict arose between Hazes' first two children. They accused his third wife Rachel of commercially exploiting Hazes' death for her personal gain.
Hazes' youngest two children released a cover album, containing the most famous of Hazes' songs, in September 2010. The album was called "Voor Jou, Van Jou" (For You, From You).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
singer in a genre called levenslied
Levenslied
A levenslied is a highly sentimental Dutch-language sub-genre of pop music. Typical levenslied-lyrics are very sweet, highly sentimental and about subjects such as love, misery and far-away, sunny, exotic holiday places.A typical levenslied has catchy, simple rhythms and melodies, with many pop...
(song about life) which is a form of emotional folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
about everyday life sung in the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. André Hazes was one of the most successful singers in this genre. Hazes recorded 31 studio and live albums and he released 54 singles.
Early years
Hazes was born in 1951 in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
's De Pijp
Amsterdam Oud-Zuid
Oud-Zuid is a neighborhood and a former borough of Amsterdam. It was formed in 1998 by merging the former boroughs of Zuid and De Pijp. In 2010 the borough was merged with Zuideramstel to form the borough Amsterdam-Zuid. On January 1st 2005 the borough had a population of 83,696...
-area. At the age of eight, he was discovered at the famous Albert Cuyp Market
Albert Cuyp Market
The Albert Cuyp Market is a street market in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on the Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat, in the De Pijp area of the Oud-Zuid district of the city. The street and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a 17th century painter.The market began as an...
by comedian Johnny Kraaykamp and made his television debut in AVRO's Weekendshow. A single, "Droomschip", was released and became a minor hit.
The 1970s
Hazes pursued several odd-jobs before building up a reputation as a singing bartender in his hometown. In 1976 he wrote and demoed "Eenzame Kerst", a song about a prisoner's lonely Christmas, for singer Willy AlbertiWilly Alberti
Willy Alberti , born Carel Verbrugge, was a Dutch singer, who sang in Dutch and Italian. He was also an actor and a radio and TV personality....
hoping that he would record it (as a possible sequel track to his crime-song "De Dievenwagen"); Alberti suggested that Hazes recorded it himself and helped him signing to Philips Records. "Eenzame Kerst", backed by a cover-version of "De Dievenwagen", became a No. 1 -hit by the end of the year.
An album was released in 1977 and reached top 20; extracted singles "Mama" and "De Vlieger" didn't chart although the latter became a Dutch evergreen (and a top 40 hit second time round) in years to come.
As fame ran out so did fortune, (faux) friends and fiance; to make matters worse Philips wanted him record a Dutch-language version of Little Drummer Boy
Little Drummer Boy
"The Little Drummer Boy," originally known as "Carol of the Drum," is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer/teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. It was recorded 1955 by the Trapp Family Singers and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry...
among other big plans. Hazes disagreed; he quit the label and resumed his bartending-activities in the village of Schalkwijk, Utrecht.
The 1980s
In 1980 he signed a contract with EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, and soon after that his career started to take off. "Een Vriend" ("A Friend") and "Een Beetje Verliefd" ("A Little In Love)" were both top ten hits in 1981, produced by his best friend Tim Griek.
In 1981 Hazes was awarded the Zilveren Harp
Zilveren Harp
The Zilveren Harp is a Dutch award given annually to promising musical talent. The award is very prestigious and winners are chosen by a different jury each year...
(Silver Harp) for his album Gewoon André (Just André) which sold 500,000 copies and was certified five times platinum in its first year of release and two more times two years later. 1982 was the year of his great concert in the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
in Amsterdam. His biggest triumph however was the birth of his son Melvin, whom he named his production-company after.
During his heyday Hazes also had an acting-sideline; in 1982 he played a restaurant-owner in the Inspector General
The Inspector General (film)
The Inspector General is a 1949 musical comedy film. It stars Danny Kaye and was directed by Henry Koster. The film also stars Walter Slezak, Gene Lockhart, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Alan Hale Sr. and Rhys Williams. Original music by Sylvia Fine and Johnny Green.-Premise:The film is loosely...
-inspired movie De Boezemvriend ordering his namesake Andre van Duin
André van Duin
André van Duin is a Dutch actor , singer, writer and program creator.-Television, radio and theatre:...
to pay the bill. In 1983 Hazes starred in comedy-series Zoals U Wenst Mevrouw (At Your Service Madam) as a down-and-out taking a gardening-job under false pretenses and singing new lyrics to recent hits. He also appeared in commercials for toasts (as an Italian singer) and custard (as the football-playing son of singer/actress Joke Bruijs who happens to be one year his junior). Meanwhile Hazes' backing-musicians at the time recorded a fun-taking medley for their notorious parody-project "Rubberen Robbie".
In 1986 Hazes released two albums; the first featured Italian covers (including Volare, Bueno Sera and a revisit of Piove which he first sang in his childhood days) and was dedicated to the memory of Willy Alberti
Willy Alberti
Willy Alberti , born Carel Verbrugge, was a Dutch singer, who sang in Dutch and Italian. He was also an actor and a radio and TV personality....
. The second featured translated versions of Peter Maffay
Peter Maffay
Peter Alexander Makkay better known as Peter Maffay is a German musician.- Biography :Born in Brasov, Romania, the son of a German , he was 14 when his family relocated to his parents' Germany in 1963. In the same year, he started his first band, The Dukes...
's Du
Du (song)
Du is a song by Peter Maffay, which was the biggest German hit in 1970 and brought Maffay instant fame.The song was covered in 1986 by Dutch singer Andre Hazes as the title-track for his album Jij Bent Alles...
and Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
's I Will Survive
I Will Survive
"I Will Survive" is a song first performed by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978. It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris...
.
In February 1988 record producer and best friend Tim Griek died in a car accident. Hazes dedicated the album Liefde, leven, geven to Griek's memory.
In 1988 he sang the song "Wij houden van Oranje
Wij houden van Oranje
Wij houden van Oranje , is the title of a Dutch football chant, performed by the Dutch singer André Hazes and produced by Hans van Hemert. It is based on the melody of the well-known Scottish song Auld Lang Syne written by Robert Burns. Orange is the colour of the Dutch Royal family...
" ("We love Orange"—Orange being the national color of the Netherlands and also a nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for the Dutch national soccer team and in general all sport teams) for the football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
championships. The song became very popular as the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
won the European Championship in the same year.
In 1989 his career was stalled after several years without record releases and to revive it record company EMI approached Hazes for a new album, asking him what he wanted to do next. EMI offered him a free hand and full control if he decided to revitalize his career. He responded by recording the bilingual album Dit is wat ik wil ("This is what I want"), a blues and rock 'n roll album featuring many contemporary rock artists like Herman Brood
Herman Brood
Hermanus "Herman" Brood was a Dutch musician, painter and media personality. Initially a musician who achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and called "the Netherlands' greatest and only rock 'n' roll star," later in life he became a well-known painter.Known for his...
and Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. Akkerman is a distinctive guitarist, constantly experimenting with new equipment and guitars. Akkerman's distinctive guitar sound is characterised by his pioneering use of volume swells which produce a smooth, fluty, sustained tone, and other complex techniques...
. Extracted singles are "De Gokker" ("The Gambler") and "Jammer" ("Crying Time
Crying Time
"Crying Time" is a song from 1964 written by country music artist Buck Owens.Owens recorded a version of his song, but it failed to reach the music charts. A cover version of "Crying Time" was then recorded by R&B singer Ray Charles, and his version proved to be a hit...
", converted into an earth pollution-song); the latter was backed by "Working in a Coal Mine".
The same year Dutch-based US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-singer Joe Bourne recorded an English-language version of "Een Beetje Verliefd" for his tribute-album Bourne In Holland.
The 1990s
1999 saw the release of a hit documentary on Hazes, named Zij Gelooft In Mij ("She Believes In Me") after his translation of the Kenny RogersKenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
song "She Believes In Me". The film portrayed the singer as a tragic man of simple ways, a well-meaning but clueless father and lousy husband tormented by stage fright and a propensity towards drinking. Hazes had mixed feelings about the film, but most viewers saw a man who had remained true to his humble background and whose raw emotional songs were genuinely felt. It earned him something of a cult status outside of his loyal fan base, with the cultural establishment taking him in a somewhat uncomfortable embrace.
Hazes was known to live unhealthily, beer being his main vice. He himself once said: "If it wasn't for the fame, I'd be a full-blown alcoholic." In fact, he already was; he just managed to integrate this well into his life.
The 2000s
In May 2002 Hazes briefly entered local politics by getting elected into the city council of "de Ronde Venen" for the local political party "Ronde Venen Belang". He quickly became the focus of criticism because after a month he hadn't shown up yet for any meetings. After being criticized and ridiculed in national newspapers, Hazes did show for a council meeting in June 2002, but shortly before it started Hazes suffered a mental breakdown and was unable to attend. Four days later he announced his resignation and offered his seat to the party.On September 23, 2004, Hazes died of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
. Eventually his lifestyle had caught up with him, and somehow he became bigger in death than he had ever been during his lifetime. Everybody identified with him, and in the months after his death André Hazes became public domain.
In an interview with de Volkskrant
De Volkskrant
de Volkskrant is a national daily Dutch morning newspaper, the leading centre-left broadsheet, although now in tabloid size.-History:...
, he made the remark that he knew as a child that when he died, he would make the television news. Not only did that happen, four days after he died, a startling crowd
Crowd
A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...
of about 48,000 attended a memorial ceremony in his honour at the Amsterdam Arena
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events...
stadium. Over 6 million viewers followed the event, broadcast live on Dutch and Belgian television. Hazes was cremated the day after.
On September 29, 2004 the single "Zij Gelooft In Mij" was re-released and was his first #1 hit in the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
.
In 2007, one of his songs, the hit "Blijf Bij Mij" ("Stay With Me"), reached the #1-position in the Dutch Top 40 again. This song was sung with Gerard Joling
Gerard Joling
Gerard Jan Joling is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Known for his high tenor voice, he rose to fame in the late 80's and released a string of singles including "Ticket to the Tropics", "Love is in your Eyes", and his biggest hit, "No more boleros", a song that reached the top 10 in...
. "Blijf Bij Mij" is a cover from the song "Forse" by the Italian singer Pupo
Enzo Ghinazzi
Enzo Ghinazzi , best known as Pupo is an Italian singer and lyricist.-Biography:Enzo Ghinazzi was born in Ponticino, in the province of Arezzo....
.
Exactly one year after his death, in accordance with his wishes, Hazes' remaining ashes were distributed over a couple of skyrocket
Skyrocket
A skyrocket is a type of firework that uses a solid rocket motor to rise quickly into the sky. At the apex of its ascent, it is usual for a variety of effects to be emitted...
s, which were then launched into the sky by his surviving relatives. On the same day his statue was revealed in the Pijp, Amsterdam, near the singer's birthplace.
Personal life
Hazes married Annie Dijkstra in 1974. She had given birth to a daughter, Nathalie, in 1973. The couple divorced in 1979. After their divorce, Dijkstra and Hazes had a legal battle involving the rights to sell a biography of Hazes; Dijkstra lost the case.In 1981, Hazes married Ellen Wolf. She gave birth to a son, Melvin, in 1982. The couple divorced in 1990; Wolf later died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 2005, at age 47.
In 1991, Hazes married his third wife, longtime girlfriend Rachel van Galen. Hazes was Van Galen's senior by nineteen years; she gave birth to his third and fourth child, daughter Roxeanne (1993) and son André "Dré" Jr. (1994). Hazes remained married to his third wife until his death in 2004.
After his death, a conflict arose between Hazes' first two children. They accused his third wife Rachel of commercially exploiting Hazes' death for her personal gain.
Hazes' youngest two children released a cover album, containing the most famous of Hazes' songs, in September 2010. The album was called "Voor Jou, Van Jou" (For You, From You).