Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945 in

Voorburg Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 peo ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) is a Dutch

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

award-winning

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Mouth & MacNeal Mouth and MacNeal was a Dutch pop duo that enjoyed some commercial success in the 1970s. They are best known for their million selling recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972, which topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit, also reaching ...

and

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Rhodesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada ...

are among the pop acts he produced. He also composed three

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s for 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 ...

Biography

His debut

He started his career in 1965 when he worked at

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the nam ...

and his relationship with this record company lasted until 1979. He produced and co-wrote songs for Q65, The Motions, Ro-d-ys,

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

, Group 1850, Big Wheel, Somerset,

Ramses Shaffy Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Samm ...

and

Liesbeth List Elisabeth Dorathea List, generally known as Liesbeth List (December 12, 1941 – March 25, 2020) was a Dutch singer, stage actress and television personality. She became popular during the 1960s and frequently collaborated with Ramses Shaffy. Sh ...

, Sandra & Andres,

Kamahl Kandiah Kamalesvaran ( ta, கந்தையா கமலேஸ்வரன்; born 13 November 1934), better known by his stage name Kamahl, is a Malaysian-born Australian singer and recording artist. His highest charting Australian single, ...

, American Gypsy and Vulcano.

Mouth & MacNeal

Among the bands Van Hemert worked with:

. This duo scored big hits not only in their homeland but also abroad between 1971 and 1974: * "Hey You Love" (a Dutch Top 5 single in 1971). * " How Do You Do" (this single was a Dutch #1 hit in 1971 but also a German Top 5 hit and US Top 10 Hit in 1972 when it peaked at #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.) This song sold two million copies worldwide. * "Hello-a" (a #1 hit in the Netherlands and Germany in 1972). * "Ik Zie Een Ster" / "

I See A Star "I See a Star" (original Dutch title: "Ik zie een ster") was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, performed in English (the first time the Dutch entry was not entirely in Dutch) by Mouth & MacNeal. The song was composed by Hans van Heme ...

" (a Dutch and English Top 10 hit, this song was chosen to represent the Netherlands at the

in 1974 (the year

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

won it) where it finished in third place.

Luv'

(1977–present) is a female pop trio he formed with the help from

Piet Souer Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Souer (born 29 March 1948, Eindhoven) is a Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger. His collaboration with acts (such as Luv', Mouth & MacNeal, Liesbeth List, Ramses Shaffy, American Gypsy, and Champagne) made him g ...

and a manager, Han Meijer (later replaced by Pim Ter Linde). This girl group had popular hit records in large part of Continental Europe,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Among their hit singles were: " U.O.Me", "

You're the Greatest Lover "You're the Greatest Lover" is a single by the Dutch girl group Luv'. It was first released in July 1978 by Philips/Phonogram Records. It appears on the 1978 debut album With Luv' and on compilations ( Luv' Gold, 25 Jaar Na Waldolala, Complete ...

", "

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

", "

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

" and " Ooh, Yes I Do". This formation sold seven million records.

Eurovision Song Contest

In addition to Mouth & MacNeal, he wrote two other Eurovision songs: " Als het om de liefde gaat" by Sandra & Andres (#4 in 1972) and " The Party's Over" by Sandra Reemer (#9 in 1976).

Later career

Van Hemert composed and produced "

Wij houden van Oranje "Wij houden van Oranje" (; stylized "Wij ♥ Oranje"; Dutch: ''We Love Orange'') is a 1988 Dutch song (and football chant) performed by the Dutch ''levenslied'' singer André Hazes and produced by Hans van Hemert. It is based on the melody of th ...

", a football song performed by

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 - 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in t ...

to support the Netherlands national soccer team at the

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...

. The same year, he wrote a track recorded by Yann Andersen for a

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

campaign. In the late 1990s, he created an independent music production company (Hans van Hemert Productions) that still licenses his hits to labels for 1970s nostalgia compilations. In addition to

, he produced other girl groups: * in 1981: Babe (this pop act was formed by

Peter Koelewijn Peter Koelewijn (born 29 December 1940 in Eindhoven) is a founding father of Dutch-language rock and roll. Koelewijn is also a successful producer and songwriter for other Dutch artists. His most famous song is "Kom van dat dak af". Biography Pe ...

). * in 1994-1995: Lily Marlene (this manufactured trio was one of his brainchild). * in 1997: Patty Cash (whose members were chosen by

Patty Brard A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world. In British and American Eng ...

). * in 2005-2006: Bling Inc. (also created by him). However, none of these groups reached

s level of success. In April 2005, the

ladies made a surprise showcase at his 40-year business anniversary and 60th birthday. In the spring of 2006, his production team remixed "

" (which was included in the box set ''

Completely In Luv' ''Completely in Luv is a four-CD boxed set of four studio albums, ''With Luv (1978), ''Lots of Luv (1979), '' True Luv (1979) and '' Forever Yours'' (1980) recorded by Dutch girl group Luv' during their heyday in the late 1970s and earl ...

'' (released by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Netherlands). Two years later, he produced and wrote a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

for

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

and

Father's day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...

, "De allerliefste mama en papa" performed by his daughter Hannah and his granddaughter Britt. In recent years, some of his compositions have been utilised by contemporary artists from the

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

scene. * "How Do You Do" was

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by Party Animals in 2006 and by Scooter one year later for his European hit " The Question Is What Is the Question?" (a Top 5 hit in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, reaching the Top 20 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the Top 50 in the Netherlands and UK). * "

" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by: **

Loona Loona (commonly stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; ja, 今月の少女, Kongetsu no Shōjo, Girl of the Month) is a South Korean girl group formed by Blockberry Creative. The group was introduced to the public through a pre-debut project t ...

with a version in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

("Latino Lover") that was a Top 10 hit single in German speaking countries in 2000. ** Massiv in Mensch with an

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

version in 2004. **Swoop, whose dance rendition peaked at #25 on the Flemish

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...

chart. * "

" was sampled by Sheffield Jumpers for their

jumpstyle Jumpstyle is an electronic dance style and music genre popular in Western Europe, originally in Belgium. Jumpstyling is often referred to as "Jumpen": a combination of the English word 'Jump' and the Dutch and German suffix '-en' (meaning "to j ...

single, "Jump With Me" (a minor hit on the German

Media Control Charts Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass ...

) in 2008.

The eight #1 hits on the Dutch Top 40

Eight of his productions/compositions were #1 hits in the Netherlands (some of them world hits too): * "Hair" by Zen (1968) * "Mijn Gebed" by DC Lewis (1970) * "How Do You Do" and "Hello-a" by

(1972) * "

The Elephant Song ''The Elephant Song'' is a Canadian stage play by Nicolas Billon, first presented in 2002 and since performed across Canada and around the world. There is also a film adaptation of the play, released in 2014. History ''The Elephant Song'', by C ...

" by

(1975) * "

" and "

" by

(1978) * "Shine Up" by Doris D & The Pins (1980)

Awards

Among the awards he received were: * two Conamus Export Prizes (for his collaboration with the best Dutch export music acts): in 1972 (with

) and in 1979 (with

). * a

Gouden Harp The Golden Harp ''(Dutch: Gouden Harp)'' is awarded annually to Dutch musicians for their entire oeuvre. Golden Harps have been awarded 42 times. 149 different persons or (musical) groups have had the honour of receiving the award which is conside ...

(Golden Harp) in 1974 for his talents as a producer. * an

award in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for the song "How Do You Do" by

. * Forty gold and platinum records.

References

Bibliography

*"500 Nr.1 Hits uit de Top 40", book by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Becht Publishing, 1997 *"Top 40 Hitdossier 1956-2005 (9e editie)", book by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Bech Publishing, 2006 *"50 jaar nummer-1-hits 1956-2006", book by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Uitgevers Groep, 2006 *"Albumdossier 1969-2002", book by Johan van Slooten, Becht's Uitgevers, 2002

External links

*
Hans Van Hemert official site
utchbr>Van Hemert's chart performances in the Netherlands on the DutchCharts.nl portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemert, Hans Van 1945 births Living people Dutch music managers Dutch record producers People from Voorburg Dutch songwriters