Hans van Hemert | |
|---|---|
 Hans van Hemert and Sandra Reemer in 1976 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 7 April 1945 Voorburg, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Website | www.hansvanhemert.nl |
Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945 in Voorburg, Netherlands) is a Dutch ASCAP award-winning record producer and songwriter. Mouth & MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He also composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest.
He started his career in 1965 when he worked at Phonogram Records and his relationship with this record company lasted until 1979.[1]
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.
Among the bands Van Hemert worked with: Mouth & MacNeal. This duo scored big hits not only in their homeland but also abroad between 1971 and 1974:
Luv' (1977–present) is a female pop trio he formed with the help from Piet Souer and a manager, Han Meijer (later replaced by Pim Ter Linde).[7] This girl group had popular hit records in large part of Continental Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Mexico in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Among their hit singles were: "U.O.Me", "You're the Greatest Lover", "Trojan Horse", "Casanova" and "Ooh, Yes I Do". This formation sold seven million records.[8]
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).
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 compilations.
In addition to Luv', he produced other girl groups:
However, none of these groups reached Luv's level of success.
In April 2005, the Luv' ladies made a surprise showcase at his 40-year business anniversary and 60th birthday.[13] In the spring of 2006, his production team remixed "Trojan Horse" (which was included in the box set Completely In Luv' (released by Universal Music Netherlands). Two years later, he produced and wrote a digital single for Mother and Father's day, "De allerliefste mama en papa" performed by his daughter Hannah and his granddaughter Britt.[14]
In recent years, some of his compositions have been utilised by contemporary artists from the dance and techno scene.
Eight of his productions/compositions were #1 hits in the Netherlands (some of them world hits too):
Among the awards he received were:
