Hugo Raspoet (2 November 1940 – 3 October 2018) was a Flemish

kleinkunst Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

singer and guitarist. He is most famous for his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

" (1970) and the controversial song " Evviva Il Papa" (1969), which was banned from the radio for criticizing the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Life and career

Raspoet was born in

Ganshoren Ganshoren (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Jette, Koekelberg, and Sint-Agatha-Berchem, as well as the Flemish municipality of Asse. ...

. He studied Latin philology at the University of Leuven and became a translator at the Flemish public TV channel afterwards. He was a contestant during the musical talent show ''Ontdek de Ster'' in 1962, where he performed the song "Mijn Koningskind". He released a few EPs, but later, under influence of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

and

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

, changed his style to more introspective, poetic and socially conscious lyrics. In 1969, his song " Evviva Il Papa" caused controversy because it attacked both the

as well as the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. It was banned from radio and TV airplay and Raspoet was often forbidden to perform it on stage. When he ignored the ban and tried to perform it one time in

Borgerhout Borgerhout () is the smallest district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district houses 45,769 inhabitants on 3,93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography Borgerhout is divided ...

the police forced him to leave the stage.

Johan Anthierens Johan Anthierens (22 August 1937 – 20 March 2000) was a Belgian journalist, columnist, publicist, critic and writer. He became notorious because of his socially conscious columns, as well as his equally controversial opinions during interviews. ...

, who had a radio show about

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

, protested the ban by not playing the record on the air, but reading its lyrics for the listeners. He was still fired nevertheless. In 1970, Raspoet released his first and only album, ''Raspoet'', of which the song "

" became a hit. Despite his success, the singer still chose to end his musical career in 1973, and returned to his former profession as translator for the Flemish public TV channel. He died in 2018, in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

Discography

* ''Mijn Koningskind'' (EP, 1962) * ''Korenbloem'' (EP, 1963) * ''Zoals ik eenmaal beminde'' (EP) * ''Raspoet'' (LP, 1970) * "Dag Lief / De Zon" (single, 1971) * ''Alles van Hugo Raspoet'' (double LP)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raspoet, Hugo 20th-century Belgian male singers Belgian male guitarists Belgian folk singers Belgian translators Flemish translators 1940 births 2018 deaths Dutch-language singers of Belgium 20th-century translators People from Ganshoren