Eddy Wally

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

As a crooner and showman, Eddy Wally toured worldwide, from China, to Australia, all of Europe and the United States, and even 24 tour dates in 1979 within the USSR. As Eddy Wally was short, he tended to use outside chairs in his act.

Eddy Wally was best known for his song "Chérie" which became a double-platinum hit. 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 and off stage, Wally usually wore flashy, shiny, expensive outfits, characterized by a camp and kitsch style reminiscent of Liberace. In 2004, Eddy Wally's wardrobe was acquired by the Stedelijk Modemuseum van Hasselt, and was displayed under the title "Eddy Wally's Geweldige Garderobe". The exhibition comprised 115 custom made outfits, valued at up to $5,300 apiece.

In October 2009, famed Belgian artist Kamagurka proclaimed:

Eddy Wally is pop art.

It's still discussed whether or not Eddy Wally was a stereotype. 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 stereotype, although he exaggerated. Kamagurka has a similar conclusion and insinuated Wally that 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.

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.

The novelist Deborah Bishop is currently writing Wally’s biography ‘Wow!’.

Eddy Wally’s first job was a market trader selling handbags. In the 1960s, he became popular 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, where he was renowned his name and obscure dress sense.

• A main-belt asteroid is named after Eddy Wally (9205 Eddywally). It is in orbit around the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
• Knight of the Order of Leopold, by Royal Decree of 2005.

Eddy Wally died on 6 February 2016, aged 83, after suffering a stroke.