Eddy Wally

Eddy Wally
Eddy Wally, "The Voice of Europe" (in concert)
Background information
Birth name Eduard Van De Walle
Also known as Eddy Wally, "Wow!" Guy
Born (1932-07-12)12 July 1932
Ertvelde, East Flanders, Belgium
Died 6 February 2016(2016-02-06) (aged 83)
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, producer, actor
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1959–2012
Website http://www.eddywally.be/nl/

Eduard Van De Walle (12 July 1932 – 6 February 2016), known by his stage name Eddy Wally, was a Belgian singer from Zelzate, East Flanders, and the once self-proclaimed "Voice of Europe".[1]

General information

As a crooner and showman, Eddy Wally has toured worldwide, from China, to Australia, all of Europe and the United States, and even 24 tour dates in 1979 within the USSR.[2] As Eddy Wally was also short, he was known to perform from specially commissioned "trick size" chairs, in hopes to compensate his miniature size.

Eddy Wally was most known for his song "Chérie"[3] which became a double-platinum hit.[4] Wally was also known for "Ik spring uit een vliegmachien" ("I'll jump out of an aeroplane"), and "Dans Mi Amor".

Attire and cultural iconography

On stage and off, Wally usually wore flashy, shiny, expensive outfits, characterized by a camp and kitsch style reminiscent of Liberace. In 2004, Eddy Wally's extreme wardrobe was acquired by the Stedelijk Modemuseum van Hasselt, and was shown under the title "Eddy Wally's Geweldige Garderobe". The show consisted of 115 custom made outfits, each valued up to $5,300 apiece.[5]

In October 2009, famed Belgian artist Kamagurka proclaimed:

It's still discussed whether Eddy Wally was a type or not. Jan Van Rompaey, a former host of many human interest programs and talkshows on Belgian television, interviewed Wally many times. According to him, Wally had a limited vocabulary and was not a type, although he exaggerated. Kamagurka has a similar conclusion and insinuated Wally acted strange "because that's what people expects from a famous person". Convinced that statement is true, Wally just changed his way of life. Kamagurka also revealed Wally had some kind of dyslexia and wrote all of his lyrics in his own phonetic transcription language. Wally also had trouble learning scripts, even the most simple ones.[7]

Wally was also known for a video posted on YouTube in 2007 by a person from the community of him exclaiming "Wow" and winking. This had gained worldwide recognition and had become a meme, which many other YouTube users began to use in their videos for comedy.[8]

Background

Eddy Wally started as a salesman on markets selling handbags and became popular in the 1960s, after his association with Dutch producer Johnny Hoes. He even had his own disco "Chérie-Paris Las Vegas", first known as "Eddy Wally's Texas Bar".

Eddy Wally used to be a regular feature on the UK television programme Eurotrash, mostly due to his name and obscure dress sense.

Honours

Death

He died on February 6, 2016, aged 83 from the physical effects of a stroke which he had suffered.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "All it takes in the eurovision song contest". 3minutes.me. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  2. ↑ "L'Echo: Eddy Wally, l'icône de la chanson flamande" (in French). Lecho.be. 21 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Cherie" (in French). Muziekarchief.be. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  4. ↑ "E.Wally Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Showkostuums van Eddy Wally tentoongesteld in Hasselt" (in Dutch). Hbvl.be. 10 September 1999. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  6. ↑ "Eddy Wally is popart". De Standaard (in Dutch). 31 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  7. ↑ Van Gils & gasten - episode aired on Monday 8th of February 2016 on Eén
  8. ↑ "Eddy Wally scoort ook internationaal, met internetmeme". deredactie.be (in Dutch). 7 February 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Minor Planet Names: Alphabetical List". Cfa.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  10. ↑ http://cobra.canvas.be/cm/cobra/videozone/rubriek/muziek-videozone/1.996437
  11. ↑ "Eddy Wally (84) is overleden". HLN.be. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
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