Hans van Hemert

Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945) is a Dutch

He produced and co-wrote songs for Q65, The Motions, Ro-d-ys, Zen, Group 1850, Big Wheel, Somerset, Ramses Shaffy and Liesbeth List, Sandra & Andres, Kamahl, American Gypsy and Vulcano.

Mouth & MacNeal

Among the bands Van Hemert worked with:

• "Hey You Love" (a Dutch Top 5^[2] single in 1971).
• "How Do You Do" (this single was a Dutch #1 hit in 1971 but also a German Top 5^[3] 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.^[4]
• "Hello-a" (a #1 hit in the Netherlands^[5] and Germany^[6] in 1972).
• "Ik Zie Een Ster" / "
  I See A Star" (a Dutch and English Top 10 hit, this song was chosen to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 (the year ABBA
  won it) where it finished in third place.

Van Hemert composed and produced "Wij houden van Oranje",^[9] a football song performed by André Hazes to support the Netherlands national soccer team at the UEFA Euro 1988. The same year, he wrote a track recorded by Yann Andersen for a UNICEF campaign.^[10] 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

In addition to Luv', he produced other girl groups:

• in 1981: Babe^[11] (this pop act was formed by Peter Koelewijn).
• in 1994-1995: Lily Marlene (this manufactured trio was one of his brainchild).^[12]
• in 1997: Patty Cash (whose members were chosen by Patty Brard).
• in 2005-2006: Bling Inc. (also created by him).

However, none of these groups reached Luv's level of success.

In April 2005, the

In recent years, some of his compositions have been utilised by contemporary artists from the dance and techno scene.

• "How Do You Do" was
  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, Austria, Finland, Hungary, reaching the Top 20 in Ireland and the Top 50 in the Netherlands and UK
  ).
• "You're the Greatest Lover" was covered by:
  • Loona with a version in Spanish ("Latino Lover") that was a Top 10 hit single in German speaking countries in 2000.
  • Massiv in Mensch with an industrial version in 2004.
  • Swoop, whose dance rendition peaked at #25 on the Flemish Ultratop chart.
• "
  Media Control Charts
  ) 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
  Mouth & MacNeal
  (1972)
• "The Elephant Song" by Kamahl (1975)
• "
  Trojan Horse" by Luv'
  (1978)
• "Shine Up" by Doris D & The Pins (1980)

• two
  Mouth & MacNeal) and in 1979 (with Luv').^[15]
• a
  Gouden Harp
  (Golden Harp) in 1974 for his talents as a producer.
• an
  Mouth & MacNeal
  .
• Forty gold and platinum records.

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 at
  IMDb
• Hans Van Hemert official site
• Information about Van Hemert's career at the Popinstituut website [Dutch]
• Van Hemert's chart performances in the Netherlands on the DutchCharts.nl portal

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