Stella Maessen | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 6 August 1953 Zandvoort, Netherlands |
| Origin | Harderwijk and Veghel Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation | Singer |
Stella Maessen (born 6 August 1953 in Zandvoort, North Holland) is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1970, 1977 and 1982.
In 1969 Maessen and her older sisters Patricia and Bianca formed a group, calling themselves Hearts of Soul. Following several single releases, and a No. 11 chart hit with "Fat Jack", [1] they took part in the 1970 Dutch Eurovision selection, where their song "Waterman" ("Aquarius") earned a narrow victory, qualifying them for the 15th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 21 March on home ground in Amsterdam. [2] Technically, groups of more than two singers were still barred from Eurovision at that time, so to get around this they billed themselves as 'Patricia and the Hearts of Soul', implying that Stella and Bianca were backing singers to Patricia's lead. In a small field of 12, "Waterman" placed seventh. [3]
In 1973, the Maessens moved to Belgium, where they became in-demand backing vocalists. Bianca had married a Belgian singer, Luc Smets, and the four decided to form a group called Dream Express, enjoying immediate success with a single, also called "Dream Express", which reached No. 2 on the Flemish chart in 1976. In 1977, Dream Express entered, and won, the Belgian Eurovision selection with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three". [4] Sung in English, it was a very contemporary track which was widely regarded as one of the favourites for that year's Eurovision, held in London on 7 May. Its seventh-place finish of 17 entrants was therefore considered something of a disappointment. [5] Patricia left Dream Express soon afterwards, and the others carried on as LBS before disbanding in 1981.
In 1981, now billed simply as Stella, Maessen participated in the Belgian selection as a solo artist with the song "Veel te veel" ("Much Too Many"), which reached the final but failed to win. [6] She returned in 1982 with the French language song "Si tu aimes ma musique" ("If You Like My Music"), which was successful and went on to the 27th Eurovision in Harrogate, England on 24 April. [7] Although that year's contest proved to be a one-horse race (with a runaway German victory), Maessen managed a creditable fourth place of 18 entries, also achieving the rare distinction of receiving points from every other participating country. [8]
Maessen continued performing and recording until 1988, when her last single, "Flashlight", was released.
In November 2010 Stella released a new single with her two sisters Bianca and Doreen Maessen as Hearts of Soul: "Suddenly You".
Eurovision: You Decide is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Songs (1957), Eurovision Song Contest British Final (1959–1960), The Great British Song Contest (1996–1999), Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004–2007), Eurovision: Your Decision (2008), and Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–2010), but was known, for most of its history, as A Song for Europe.
"L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" is a song recording by French singer Marie Myriam with music composed by Jean-Paul Cara and French lyrics written by Joe Gracy. It represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 held in London, resulting in the country's last win to date at the contest.
The Hearts of Soul, also known as Dream Express and LBS, were a Dutch-Belgian musical group that originally consisted of the Indonesian-born Dutch sisters Bianca, Patricia and Stella Maessen. Belgian singer and composer Luc Smets joined the group in 1975. The group is known for representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 and Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977.
"Knock, Knock Who's There?" is a song written and composed by John Carter and Geoff Stephens, released on Apple Records. It was originally sung and recorded by the Welsh singer Mary Hopkin and was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, where it came second. The single version was produced by Mickie Most and reached No. 2 on the UK charts.
Lize Marke is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest.
Hoffmann & Hoffmann were a German singing duo consisting of brothers Michael Hoffmann and Günter Hoffmann. They had several hits in Germany and are known for their participation in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest.
Ben Cramer is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest.
Linda Williams is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.
Maribelle is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest.
Jean-Luc Potaux, known as Joël Prévost, is a French singer, best known for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978.
Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, began in 1960, the year of Norway's debut in the contest. It has been held almost every year since.
Atlantis 2000 was a short-lived German musical group, set up in Munich in 1990 by producer and singer Alfons Weindorf and composer Helmut Frey, for the purpose of entering the German Eurovision Song Contest selection in 1991. The group consisted of Weindorf and Frey with Jutta Niedhardt, Eberhard Wilhelm, Klaus Pröpper and Clemens Weindorf.
Re-union was a short-lived Dutch musical duo, known for representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You". It consisted of Dutch singer Paul de Corte and Italian-born Belgian singer and guitarist Fabrizio Pennisi.
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three", written by Luc Smets, and performed by Dream Express. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final.
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Gelukkig zijn", written by Mary Boduin, and performed by Ann Christy. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final. Ann Christy had previously taken part in the 1971 and 1973 national finals. Future Belgian representatives Micha Marah (1979) and Dream Express (1977) also took part in the national final.
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Hey Nana", composed by Charles Dumolin, with lyrics by Guy Beyers, and performed by Micha Marah. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally.
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 with the song "Si tu aimes ma musique", composed by Fred Bekky, Rony Brack, and Bobott, with lyrics by Jo May and Bobott, and performed by Dutch singer Stella. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Walloon Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF), selected its entry through a national final. This was Stella's third appearance at Eurovision: She had appeared as part of the group Hearts of Soul for the Netherlands in 1970 and of Dream Express for Belgium in 1977. As a solo singer, she had also taken part in the 1981 Belgian national final.
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Samson", written by Kick Dandy, Giuseppe Marchese, and Penny Els, and performed by Emly Starr. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final.
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 with the song "Waterman", written by Pieter Goemans, and performed by three-sister group Hearts of Soul. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry through a national final.
Maessen or Maesen is a Dutch patronymic surname, meaning son of Maes, an archaic short form of Thomas. It is most common in Dutch Limburg and surrounding regions. Among variant forms are Maas, Maase(n), Maassen, and Maes. Notable people with the surname include:
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