Ann Christy (born Christianne Leenaerts, 22 September 1945 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

– 7 August 1984 in

Meise Meise () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a ''deelgemeente''), and, several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/I ...

) was a Belgian singer who enjoyed success in her native country and is best known internationally for her participation in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Waterloo" by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...

Early career

Christy began a singing career with The Adams Orchestra, whose drummer, Marc Hoyois, she later married. Her first solo recordings met with little success. During this period she toured in Belgium and France with

Salvatore Adamo Salvatore Adamo (born November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual ...

. In 1968 she won the ''Knokke Cup'' singing contest.

Eurovision Song Contest

Christy's first attempt to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest came in 1970 with the song "Le temps, le vent" ("Time, Wind"), which failed to progress past the semi-final stage. She did better the following year, when "Dag vreemde man" ("Hello Stranger") finished in second place. A third attempt in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, when each of five chosen acts performed two songs, ended in third place for "Bye Bye". (Christy's other song, "Meeuwen" ("Seagulls"), was unplaced). Christy was finally successful in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, when " Gelukkig zijn" ("Being Happy") was chosen as Belgium's representative in the twentieth

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 ...

, which took place on 22 March in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Christy sang the first half of the song in Dutch and the second half in English, and although the song had been tipped to do well, it ended the evening in a very disappointing 15th place out of 19 entries.

Later career

In 1977 Christy played in 152 performances of a musical adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' in the town of

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 ...

. She had a major hit in Belgium in 1980 with "De Roos", a Dutch-language version of

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

's " The Rose". In 2008 this track topped a list of 1,000 classics voted for by the general public in a poll for Belgian radio channel, Radio 2. Compilations of Christy's work have been issued regularly in Belgium since her death, and recently these have included previously unreleased recordings.

Death

Christy was diagnosed with

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

in 1982, and died on 7 August 1984, aged 38.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Ann 1945 births 1984 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Belgium Deaths from cancer in Belgium Deaths from cervical cancer Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1975 Musicians from Antwerp 20th-century Belgian women singers Christy, Ann