Edward Reekers (born 24 May 1957, in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Popu ...

) is a Dutch singer and voice actor. Most notable is his work as lead singer for Dutch

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

. Having been a fan of the band for years, Reekers joined Kayak in 1978. He replaced

Max Werner Max Werner (born 29 December 1953 in Hilversum) is a Dutch vocalist, musician, and drummer. He was the lead singer, drummer, and percussionist of the progressive art rock band Kayak. In 1972, Werner co-founded the band along with keyboard ...

, who became the band's drummer. With Reekers as the new lead singer, Kayak immediately scored their biggest European hit single: "Ruthless Queen". The accompanying album

Phantom of the Night Phantom of the Night is the sixth studio album by Dutch Progressive rock band Kayak. "Ruthless Queen" was released as a single, becoming the band's biggest hit, nearing the top of the charts in the Netherlands. In the United States, the LP (with ...

reached gold in the Netherlands. Reekers was with Kayak from 1978 until the split in 1982. He sang on three studio albums, and on the live-album "Eyewitness". During live concerts he played occasional keyboards and electric guitar. He was not involved in the 1999 reunion of the band, but he did make guest appearances at some concerts in 2003. He even replaced

Bert Heerink Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

(Kayak's singer at that time) for an entire concert in 2003, when Heerink had other commitments. In 2005, Reekers re-joined Kayak as one of the singers on their "Nostradamus"-project. When Bert Heerink left the band after the Nostradamus-tour, Reekers was the band's male lead singer again. By this time, female singer

Cindy Oudshoorn Cindy may refer to: People *Cindy (given name), a list of people named Cindy, Cindi, Cyndi or Cyndy *Tugiyati Cindy (born 1985), Indonesian footballer Music * ''Cindy'' (musical), an off-Broadway production in 1964 and 1965 * "Cindy" (folk song ...

was also in the band. During the "Kayakoustic" tour of 2006/2007, Reekers also played recorder, kazoo and various percussion instruments. Apart from his work with Kayak, Reekers sings backing vocals on many albums from Dutch and Belgian artists. He also lends his voice to commercials, radio jingles and cartoon movies. Reekers is a part-time actor and film director, specializing in the Dutch lip-synchronisation of famous films (incl. the Harry Potter films and some Disney cartoons). He sings lead vocals -along with many other singers- on some albums by

Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electro ...

, a project of Dutch musician

Arjen Anthony Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...

. Edward Reekers has released 3 solo albums: "The Last Forest" (1981), "Stages" (1993) and "Child of the Water" (2008). On "The Last Forest" Reekers was helped by ex-Kayak members

and

Johan Slager Johan Slager (born 8 June 1946, Amsterdam) is a Dutch musician best known as the original guitarist of rock band Kayak. He co-founded the band along with Ton Scherpenzeel, Pim Koopman, and Max Werner in 1972. He left the band in 1982 after ni ...

. In Brazil he had a huge hit with "The words to say I love you" in 1983, released in the original soundtrack of the soap opera "Pão pão beijo beijo". He has released many solo singles in English, German and Dutch.

Discography

Solo albums

*'' The Last Forest'' (1981) *''

Stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

'' (1993) *'' Child of the Water'' (2008)

With Kayak

*''

'' (1979) *''

Periscope Life ''Periscope Life'' is the seventh album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, originally released on LP in 1980. The first CD issue (1993) had 2 bonus tracks. In 1998, the album (without the bonus tracks) was part of the Double CD ''3 Origina ...

'' (1980) *''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' (1981) *'' Eyewitness'' (1981) *''

Nostradamus - The Fate of Man Kayak is a Dutch rock band formed by Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman in Hilversum in 1972. In 1973, their debut album '' See See the Sun'' was released, including three hit singles. Their popularity was mainly in the Netherlands, with their to ...

'' (2005) *'' Kayakoustic'' (Live - 2007) *''

Coming Up For Air ''Coming Up for Air'' is the seventh book by English writer George Orwell, published in June 1939 by Victor Gollancz. It was written between 1938 and 1939 while Orwell spent time recuperating from illness in French Morocco, mainly in Marrakesh. ...

'' (2008) *'' The Anniversary Concert'' / '' The Anniversary Box'' (Live - 2008) *'' Letters From Utopia'' (2009) *'' Anywhere But Here'' (2011)

With Ayreon

*''

The Final Experiment ''The Final Experiment'' (originally ''Ayreon: The Final Experiment'') is the debut studio album by the Dutch progressive metal project Ayreon, released in 1995. Originally with no artist noted, at the suggestion of the record label the subject wa ...

'' (1995) *''

Actual Fantasy ''Actual Fantasy'' is an album released in 1996 by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen A. Lucassen and is the second album of his Ayreon project. It is the only Ayreon release that does not feature a single overarching story concept, but instead dr ...

'' (1996) *''

Into the Electric Castle ''Into the Electric Castle – A Space Opera'' is the third album of the progressive metal project Ayreon by Dutch songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Released in 1998, it was the band's first double al ...

'' (1998) *'' Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer'' (2000) *''

Ayreonauts Only ''Ayreonauts Only'' is the first compilation album by Dutch progressive metal project Ayreon by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released in 2000. Although categorized as a compilation album, it consists only of previously unreleased material, with alterna ...

'' (2000) *'' Ayreon Universe'' (2018) *'' Electric Castle Live and Other Tales'' (2020)

External links

Official website (in Dutch)Kayak official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reekers, Edward 1957 births Living people Dutch male singers Dutch male voice actors People from Hengelo Kayak (band) members