MusicNews
October 7, 2024, 15:34
Hans van Hemert (1945-2024)
Dutch composer and music producer Hans van Hemert has died at the age of 79. Van Hemert was the founder of the pop group Luv’ and worked with well-known artists such as Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List and André Hazes.
Shortly before his death, Entertainment Business spoke with Van Hemert about his rich musical career, songwriting and the revival of his repertoire, partly thanks to a sample used by Eminem. Read the full interview here.
Hans van Hemert was the basis of several successful acts, including Sandra & Andres and Mouth & MacNeal. Van Hemert received the Buma Lifetime Achievement Award for his entire oeuvre in 2016. He suffered from cancer and announced in 2023 that aggressive metastases had been discovered.
Van Hemert composed songs such as “We love Oranje” for André Hazes and wrote the Eurovision Song Contest entry “I see a star” by Mouth & MacNeal. In addition, in 1975 he wrote “The Elephant Song” for the World Life Fund, which became a number 1 hit for the Australian singer Kamahl. His work even had an international impact when American rapper Eminem used a melody from Mouth & MacNeal’s “Land of Milk and Honey” for his song “Lucifer”.
His contribution to the Dutch music industry was recognized again in 2017 when Van Hemert was honored with the Buma Lifetime Achievement Award.