Will Tura

Will Tura is one of the greatest singers Belgium has ever produced. His career spans more than 60 years. It's an impressive period in which he continually reinvents himself while remaining true to himself. As a result, Will Tura consistently connects with new generations of music lovers with his beautifully sung songs, a significant portion of which he composes himself. He feels at home in a wide range of musical styles. In 2023, he said goodbye to his beloved audience after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

He was born Arthur Achiel Albert Blanckaert on August 2, 1940. Will Tura, as he would later call himself, knew early on that he wanted to be a singer. As a teenager, he released his first records, singles that flopped one after the other. Everything changed when, in a moment of melancholy during a holiday in the south of France, he wrote the song "Eenzaam Zonder Jou" (Lonely Without You). It was released in late 1962, and after a quiet start, it became his first number one hit in April 1963. It remains a song with which he will always be associated.

"Eenzaam Zonder Jou" (Lonely Without You) marked the beginning of a long, fruitful career, during which he scored hits with songs like "Dolby 797204," "Heimwee Naar Huis," "Angelina," "Het Kan Niet Zijn" (It Can't Be), and "liefdesverdriet" (Love Grief). He wrote many of his own songs, usually with Nelly Byl. He also recorded over a hundred albums. His success continued in the 1970s with hits like "Linda" (Linda) and "Zonneschijn" (Sunshine). At the end of the decade, he recorded the song "Hier Ben Ik Dan DJ" (Here I Am, Then DJ) with Peter Koelewijn. It wasn't a huge commercial success, but in 1981, he scored another surprising Dutch hit with "Hopeless."

In the new millennium, Will Tura remained very active and productive. In 2002, for example, he recorded the album "De Mooiste Droom" (The Most Beautiful Dream) at Abbey Road Studio in London – famous for The Beatles. These anniversaries were regularly celebrated with large-scale performances, music awards, and other tokens of appreciation, demonstrating that the general public had not forgotten him. In 2023, it was announced that his career was finally coming to an end. The 83-year-old singer would bid farewell to his audiences on December 28th and 29th with two "Tura Invites Out" shows at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, where twenty colleagues would pay him a musical tribute. Earlier that year, the compilation "Als ik Terugkijk (En 99 Andere Liedjes)" (As I Look Back (And 99 Other Songs)) was released, five CDs featuring 100 of his best-known and most beloved songs.