BERT CANDRIES

Born: April 6th, 1961, Anderlecht, Brussels (Belgium)

Nationality: Belgian

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Since 1983, guitarist Bert Candries has been a professional musician. As an instrumentalist, he played on studio recordings for Raymond van het Groenewoud, Soulsister, The Radios, and Clouseau, while he has been part of Johan Verminnen’s accompanying band since 1988. Candries performed in concerts with B.J. Scott, Polizei, Jean Bosco Safari, and the BRT Jazz Orchestra. He went on international tours with Demis Roussos and Francis Goya. In 1994, he opened his recording studio, meanwhile working as a composer, arranger, and producer for many Flemish artists, including Connie Neefs, Yasmine, and Dana Winner. Candries played the bass guitar in various TV variety show bands, including for Het Swingpaleis. He founded a world music label, Etna, and produced releases with artists from Togo, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Paraguay.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

In 1993, Bert Candries was the musical director of the Belgian pre-selection final, conducting all entries, with Bart Herman, Lisa Del Bo, and Mieke among the competing artists. Candries travelled to Millstreet, Ireland, where he conducted the orchestra for the winner of these Belgian heats, Barbara with her sweet ballad ‘Iemand als jij’, composed and arranged by Marc Vliegen. Quite undeservedly, Belgium finished last with a mere three points scored.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1993 Millstreet

Country – Belgium

Song title – "Iemand als jij"

Rendition – Barbara Dex

Lyrics – Tobana (Marc Dex) / Marc Vliegen

Composition – Marc Vliegen

Studio arrangement – Marc Vliegen

Live orchestration – Marc Vliegen

Conductor – Bert Candries

Score – 25th place (3 votes)

WEBSITE

www.bertcandries.com