Lou Bandy

Lodewijk Ferdinand Dieben (19 April 1890 - 24 June 1959) better known under his pseudonym Lou Bandy was a Dutch singer and conferencier who was one of the most popular artists in the Netherlands, between both world wars. Among his most famous songs are: "Zoek de zon op" ("Look for the sun"), "Schep vreugde in het leven" ("Put joy in life") and "Louise zit niet op je nagels te bijten" ("Louise, don't bite your nails").

Biography

Roots

Bandy, raised in a working-class family in the Hague, worked as a piccolo, houseservant, streetsinger and as a conscriptionist with the navy before he started a serious career in variety in 1915. At first he performed together with his brother Willy under the name "The Bandy Brothers" ("Bandy" being an Anglicisation of his last name Dieben with the syllables reversed.) Soon ts became apparent that the characters of the brothers were too different in order to work together; in contrast with Willy, Lou was known as a difficult person.

Lou continued under the name "Lou Bandy". In 1921 he married the pianist Eugenie Küch, a German officer's daughter who would have a great impact on his career: she taught him decent social skills, taught him the importance of speaking proper Dutch, and helped him get his first lucrative contracts. With her support, the young man from the Hague found himself within a few years working with the top artists and theater impressarios.

Bandy was known by the public as a singer of happy lyrics, but to those who knew him better, he had a less upbeat image.