Grand Jojo | |
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.jpg) Grand Jojo in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Lange Jojo |
| Born | Jules Jean Vanobbergen[1] (1936-07-06)6 July 1936 |
| Died | 1 December 2021(2021-12-01) (aged 85) Groot-Bijgaarden, Flanders, Belgium[2] |
| Genres | Schlager,Levenslied |
Jules Jean Vanobbergen (6 July 1936 – 1 December 2021) was a Belgian singer-songwriter better known asGrand Jojo in French andLange Jojo in Dutch. Grand Jojo is best known as the co-writer of "Anderlecht Champions (Allez, Allez, Allez)", which later became "Olé, Olé, Olé", and "Chef, un p'tit verre, on a soif" (Barman, a little drink, we are thirsty).[3]
Vanobbergen was born on 6 July 1936 inIxelles. He enrolled in theAcadémie Royale des Beaux-Arts, because he wanted to become a painter. At the academy he received the nickname Grand Jojo/Lange Jojo.[3] After graduating, he first worked as a marketing draughtsman then as acartoonist.[4]
While he was working in a record store, he realized that the market, at the time, lacked festive songs. Therefore, he decided to write his own songs under the alias Grand Jojo. Initially, his songs were only released in French, however, being bilingual, he always recorded a Dutch version as well.[4]
Grand Jojo was a Belgian icon who represented his country by displaying the typical Belgian identity often based on self-mockery and referred to asbelgitude (French;lit. 'Belgianness').[5][6]
Grand Jojo mainly performed drinking songs such as "Chef, un p'tit verre, on a soif", "Sergent Flagada", "La petite bête à bon Dieu", and "Jules César". For his debut performances, he chose surrealistic tango songs such as "Le Tango du Congo", "Victor le footbaliste" and "Sitting Bull".[7]
In 1985, asR.S.C. Anderlecht won its third consecutive title in theBelgian First Division A, he released a single called "Anderlecht champion" and then decided to adapt the lyrics in "E viva Mexico", a song he published for the1986 FIFA World Cup where theBelgium national football team made it to the semifinals.[8]
Hans Kusters Music [nl] commissioned Grand Jojo andRoland Verlooven [nl] to write a song in honour of the victory of R.S.C. Anderlecht which was easy to sing along to. The song "We are the Champions (Allez, Allez, Allez)" later became corrupted as "Olé, Olé, Olé".[9]
His 1979 single "Chef, un p'tit verre, on a soif" was notably used by the presumed killer ofGrégory Villemin, a four-year-old who was kidnapped and killed in France in 1984. Three years before the kidnapping, the main suspect in that case, called "corbeau" (meaning raven), had harassed Grégory's parents on the phone by playing the song every time he called.[10]
In 2006 (inFrancopholies de Spa, a music festival in Belgium), Grand Jojo made a come back and joined the stage withska punk bands such as Skaïra,[11] as well as Poulycroc,[12] who for the occasion released an album paying tribute to Grand Jojo. A Grand Jojo tribute concert took place inLouvain-la-Neuve on 7 September 2007, after an invitation from therégional athois and theCESEC—a student organization in economic, social and political sciences—during a celebration of their 30th anniversary.[13]
In 2011, Grand Jojo returned to Universal Music Belgium.[14] In December 2013, Grand Jojo performed at theCirque Royal in March and atForest National.[15] Grand Jojo announced his retirement on 29 June 2021.[16] Vanobbergen died on 1 December 2021 at the age of 85.[17][18]
On 11 May, 1998, Vanobbergen was knighted in theOrder of Leopold.[19] Grand Jojo was made an honorary citizen of Brussels in 2015.[20]Manneken Pis wore a Jules César costume in his honour at the award ceremony.[21] That same year he was awarded the Silver Medal of the National Order of the Golden Fry Cone as recognition of being the sponsor of "Week of the Fry 2015".[22] In 2016 he was made an honorary citizen ofthe Marolles.[20]
Grand Jojo published his autobiographyTout va très bien in October 2015.[1] In 2019, Grand Jojo officially inaugurated his own museum atBoussu-lez-Walcourt with his friendsFrédéric François andClaude Barzotti.[23]
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