Lou Deprijck
Background information
Birth nameFrancis Jean Deprijck[1]
Born(1946-01-11)11 January 1946
Lessines, Belgium
Died19 September 2023(2023-09-19) (aged 77)
Brussels, Belgium
GenresLatin pop, disco, samba, pop-punk, ska
Occupation(s)Singer, composer, songwriter, producer
Years active1972–2023

Francis Jean "Lou" Deprijck[2] (French pronunciation: [lu dəpʁɛk]; 11 January 1946 – 19 September 2023) was a Belgian singer and record producer. He was a major figure in the Belgian pop scene of the 1970s and 1980s, with more than 20 million copies of his compositions sold worldwide, making him one of the best selling Belgian artists.[3] Deprijck is best known for having co-written with Yves Lacomblez, and for having provided the singing voice for the Plastic Bertrand 1978 single "Ça plane pour moi".[4]

Music career

Early work and Two Man Sound

His first group Pop' Liberty 6 had a complete flop in 1967 with "Je Suis Pop Et Tout À Fait Dingue".[5] However he later found success with Two Man Sound,[6] a Latin-pop outfit formed with Sylvain Vanholme of the Wallace Collection and Yvan Lacomblez. Two Man Sound sold over a million copies of their 1975 single "Charlie Brown" while the album Disco Samba, with the eponymous song, had sales of around 1.4 million copies in Latin America.[7]

Deprijck also had a major 1978 solo success in France and Belgium with ska/reggae song "Kingston, Kingston", under the moniker Lou & The Hollywood Bananas.[5]

Plastic Bertrand and Viktor Lazlo

In the English-speaking world, Deprijck's best known hit was "Ça plane pour moi", which he recorded and sang for Plastic Bertrand,[8] who remains generally credited for the song (and was upheld legally in 2006 as being entitled to be called its artist).[9] In fact, Deprijck was also the "voice" of Plastic Bertrand's first four albums.[7] In 2006, a Belgian appeal court ruled that Bertrand was the "legal performer" of the classic track,[10] but the ruling was overturned in 2010.[11]

In the 1980s, Deprijck was also the creative force behind the success of Viktor Lazlo,[7] born Sonia Dronier, whom he met at Le Mirano nightclub in Brussels.[12] She initially did backing vocals for Lou & the Hollywood Bananas before taking the name Viktor Lazlo from a character in the 1942 film Casablanca at Deprijck's suggestion. He produced the self-titled album Viktor Lazlo in 1987 for her, as well as the album Hot & Soul in 1989.

In 1984, calling himself Lou Van Houten, Deprijck released the album Collures with Boris Bergman under the pseudonym Les Epatants.[13]

Personal life

Deprijck was born in Lessines on 11 January 1946.[14] He moved to Brussels in 1964 to work for the Régie des Télegraphes et Téléphones, at the time the telephone company of Belgium, and then moved to Thailand 25 years later.[14]

Deprijck resided largely near Pattaya, Thailand.[7] The story of his life in Thailand was shown in the VTM TV channel documentary Vlamingen in Pattaya (Flemings in Pattaya)[15] as part of the Belgian news program Telefacts. Life in Pattaya inspired him to rewrite the text of his most famous song "Kingston, Kingston" into "Pattaya, Pattaya", which soon became the unofficial hymn of Pattaya.

Lou Deprijck died on 19 September 2023, shortly after being admitted to a Brussels hospital. He was 77.[16][17][18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Plastic Bertrand, chanteur-musicien, l'artiste le plus suivi en Asie "Ce qui m'intéresse c'est ma Liberté !"". France Musique. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ↑ The surname is sometimes spelled Depryck or de Pryck, as ⟨y⟩ is a common substitution for the Dutch letter ⟨ij⟩
  3. ↑ "Lou Deprijck, de échte stem van 'Ça plane pour moi', is overleden" [Lou Deprijck, the real voice of 'Ça plane pour moi', has passed away]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 19 September 2023. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Plastic Bertrand admits not singing pop classic". Expatica.com. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Lou Depryck – The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives". Houbi.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "Two Man Sound – The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives". Houbi.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 4
  8. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Biography: Plastic Bertrand". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "France24 – Plastic Bertrand admits not singing pop classic". 1 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "Plastic Bertrand Admits Miming 1970s Pop Classic". Billboard. 29 July 2010.
  12. ↑ "Viktor Lazlo – The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives". Houbi.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Album cover of Collures". Priceminister.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Muzikant Lou Deprijck (77) van 'Ça Plane Pour Moi' overleden" (in Dutch). Bruzz.be. Belga. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ "Belpoplegende Lou Deprijck (77) overleden, bekend van Lou & the Hollywood Bananas" [Belpop legend Lou Deprijck (77) has passed away, known for Lou & the Hollywood Bananas]. VRT (in Dutch). 19 September 2023. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Walfisz, Jonny (20 September 2023). "'Ça plane pour moi' singer Lou Deprijck dies". euronews. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  18. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (20 September 2023). "Belgian composer of punk hit 'Ca plane pour moi' Lou Deprijck dies". NME. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
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