Louis Neefs (born Ludwig Adèle Maria Jozef Neefs, 8 August 1937,

Gierle Gierle is a village of about 4,428 inhabitants in the Antwerp Province in Flanders, Belgium. It is part of the municipality of Lille, Belgium, Lille. Characterised by its 19th-century village centre, which has an unusual circular shape, it is more ...

– 25 December 1980, Lier) was a Belgian singer and presenter, known for his participation in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

s of 1967 and 1969.

Early career

Neefs was training for a career in technical drawing at college in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

when he joined the college choir and started learning to play guitar. At first his musical activities were purely recreational, but by the late 1950s he had become a member of a group called Sun Spot. Via performances and talent competitions, Neefs' distinctive singing voice came to the notice of famous musical talent scout Jacques Kluger, who had also discovered, among others, Bobbejaan Schoepen. Kluger and Schoepen brought Neefs to the attention of record companies, and he was signed to a contract in 1958, releasing his first album in 1960. He achieved several top 20 singles in the Flemish chart, and a modicum of success in the Netherlands.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1967, Neefs was chosen, with the song " Ik heb zorgen" ("I Have Worries"), as the Belgian representative in the 12th

, which took place on 8 April in Vienna. "Ik heb zorgen" finished in seventh place of 17 entrants. In 1969, Neefs was again selected to represent Belgium, with the song " Jennifer Jennings" in the 14th

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, held in Madrid on 29 March. This resulted in another seventh-place finish, of 16 entrants.

Later career

Neefs continued to enjoy recording success, with the biggest hit of his career, "Margrietje", reaching No. 4 in 1972. He was also the " voice" of Thomas O'Malley in the Dutch-language version of Disney's '' The Aristocats''. In tandem with his musical career, Neefs was a presenter of television and radio shows for Flemish broadcaster VRT. He also became politically active, standing as a councillor in Mechelen.

Death

Neefs was killed in a road accident in Lier on 25 December 1980, aged 43. His wife Liliane also died in the accident. They had two sons, and ; the latter is now also a well-known singer in Belgium. On 5 August 2007, a bust of Neefs was unveiled in his hometown of Gierle to honour what would have been his 70th birthday."Gierle onthult zondag borstbeeld van zanger Louis Neefs"
''Gazet van Antwerpen'' (in Dutch) Asteroid

38018 Louisneefs 38 may refer to: *38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938, 2038 *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges **.38 Special, a revolver cartridge *'' Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Transfor ...

, discovered by Eric Elst at La Silla Observatory in 1998, was named in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neefs, Louis 1937 births 1980 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Belgium 20th-century Belgian male singers Belgian pop singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1967 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1969 People from Antwerp Province Road incident deaths in Belgium