Heddy Lester, who participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the Netherlands in 1977 with the song De Mallemole, was 72 years old. The Dutch singer and actress died at home in Amsterdam after a battle with bladder cancer, according to reports.
Her brother, singer Frank Affolter, announced her death on Tuesday on the Private page in De Telegraaf .
He told the publication: “She fought the disease tremendously.
“At first it seemed to be going in the right direction, until a few weeks ago it turned out that the cancer had also affected her liver. Then it suddenly went very quickly.”
With the song De Mallemolen , which was written by Affolter and Wim Hogenkamp, Heddy reached twelfth place at the Eurovision Song Contest in London.
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Nocturne wrote: “Some sad news this morning: Heddy Lester, the Dutch representative in 1977, has passed away. May she rest in peace.”
Corrie added: “RIP Heddy.”
Heddy was born in Amsterdam and her career began with Gert Balke as the duo April Shower, who had a minor hit with “Railroad Song” in 1971.
The musician launched her solo career in 1974.
Heddy’s song De mallemolen (The Merry Go Round) was chosen by a celebrity panel as the winner in the Dutch entry for the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest.
But much to fans disappointment the song came in 12th-place out of 18 entries.
Following her Eurovision appearance, Heddy went to work in a variety of music and theatre roles.
Her projects include works by Lorca (Blood wedding), Euripides (The Trojan Women) and Joshua Sobol (Ghetto).
In 2020 she played in the film Greetings from Gerri with Frank Lammers in the lead role.
