Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester (born Heddy Affolter, June 18 1950, Amsterdam) is a Dutch singer and actress, best known outside the Netherlands for her participation in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest.

Heddy Lester's professional career started with Gert Balke as the duo April Shower, who had a minor hit with Railroad Song in 1971. Her father ran a restaurant in Amsterdam, where she met singer Ramses Shaffy, with whom she started touring. Heddy launched her solo career in 1974.

In 1977, Heddy Lester's song De mallemolen, with music written by her brother Frank, was chosen as the winner in the Dutch national final for the ESC. Heddy went forward to take part in the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest, held in London on May 7. Although De mallemolen had been considered a strong contender prior to the contest, it could only manage a disappointing 12th place.

Since her Eurovision appearance, Heddy Lester has worked steadily in a variety of both musical and dramatic stage roles, including works by Lorca (Blood wedding), Euripedes (The Trojan Women) and Joshua Sobol (Ghetto).