Heddy Lester (born Heddy Affolter, 18 June 1950 – 29 January 2023) was a Dutch singer and actress, best known outside the Netherlands for her participation in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest.

Early career

Lester was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. Her professional career started with Gert Balke as the duo April Shower, who had a minor hit with "Railroad Song" in 1971. Her father ran a restaurant in Amsterdam, where she met singer

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 ...

, with whom she started touring. Lester launched her solo career in 1974.Muziek Centrum Nederland biography (Dutch)

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1977, Lester's song " De mallemolen" ("The Merry-Go-Round"), with music written by her brother Frank, was chosen by a celebrity panel as the winner in the Dutch Eurovision selection. Lester went forward to take part in the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest, held in London on 7 May. Although "De mallemolen" had been considered a strong contender prior to the contest, it could only manage a disappointing 12th-place finish of 18 entries.

Later career

After her Eurovision appearance, Lester worked in a variety of both musical and dramatic stage roles, including works by Lorca (''

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Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

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The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC duri ...

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Joshua Sobol Joshua Sobol ( he, יהושע סובול; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Joshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father's family imm ...

(''Ghetto''). In 2009, Lester, along with several other former Dutch Eurovision contestants, was a special guest on that year's Eurovision selection television programme.

Personal life and death

Lester died on 29 January 2023, at the age of 72, of

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

Discography

Singles

April Shower * 1971: "Mama Look Upon Me" * 1971: "Railroad Song" (#30) * 1972: "It's So Funny" * 1973: "Danny's Song"
Solo * 1974: "Friend of Mine" * 1977: "De mallemolen" (#28) * 1977: "Words Keep Turning" * 1978: "Samen"
Album * 1977: ''Deel van m'n bestaan''

References

External links

1977 page at Dingadong.nl (Dutch)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Heddy 1950 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Dutch actresses Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1977 Singers from Amsterdam Ariola Records artists Nationaal Songfestival contestants Dutch stage actresses