Gordon is back! The Dutch singer, (in)famous for his Eurovision adventure with De Toppers in 2009, has announced his musical comeback. He celebrated his retirement a few years ago, but after getting rid of a cocaine addiction, he now wants to get back into business…
Rehab in South Africa
Earlier this summer, Dutch media broke the news that Gordon had taken the decision to go to rehab in South Africa. This was due to his cocaine and alcohol addiction. Rumours had been circulating for years that Gordon was battling such an addiction, something he sometimes admitted to the press. He released a statement a few weeks later that he was happy to be back home and to be declared clean by the professionals in South Africa.
The 51 year old wanted to get back on track. His television career is going strong, having recently signed a contract for channel SBS6. Surprisingly, Gordon now also wants to revive his singing career. He has visited a doctor in New York, Dr. Korovin, to see how his vocal cords and nasal septum had suffered from the cocaine. The doctor has given him the clear to start singing again, as she could not see any major damage.
A Eurovision fanatic
Gordon may just be the most controversial personality in the Netherlands. His love for the Eurovision Song Contest is unquestionable. He has always said taking part was the biggest dream for him. 1990 was his first attempt, when he finished in ninth in the Dutch national final with “Gini”. In 2003, he came much closer, finishing as runner-up with “I’ll Be Your Voice”. Back in 2013, he gave it one more try with the group LA The Voices, when they entered a few songs to the Swiss selection.
His big Eurovision moment then followed in 2009. Under an alias (Ger van de Westelaken), he entered a song to his own national final. De Toppers, consisting of René Froger, Jeroen van der Boom and Gordon, had been internally selected by broadcaster TROS for Moscow. In the national final, they sang six songs. “Shine” was the winner of these six. When that happened, Gordon revealed that he was behind the song. The jury unanimously picked a different song, but the public gave “Shine” a convincing victory. That victory didn’t follow in Moscow. Far from it, even: The Netherlands finished near last, with just eleven points, in their semifinal.
The most controversial?
But Gordon isn’t just about Eurovision. He’s been a loved and hated character on Dutch television. His expressive, often hysterical, personality have provided the Dutch with hours of entertainment. Together with Gerard Joling (Eurovision 1988), Gordon has done a lot of shows where they have to adapt to ‘common life’. As simple as it sounds, it was hilarious to see and viewing figures went through the roof. Besides music and television, Gordon also runs two coffee bars and a burger joint.
His biggest hits all date back to the 1990s: “Ik Bel Je Zomaar Even Op” and “Kon Ik Maar Even Bij Je Zijn”. After R&B singles and English repetoire, Gordon decided to call it a day in 2015. It was, according to him, time to focus on television shows. His final two concerts took place in Amsterdam later that year.
How quickly things can change… Fellow Eurovision artist Trijntje Oosterhuis encouraged the singer to get back into it and see if a musical comeback could be on the cards. And it is. Gordon will be working on new material soon. And he’ll be releasing it too! His album might be titled “De Heling”, ‘the Healing’ in English, after a song he wrote during his rehab phase in South Africa.
Are you looking forward to Gordon’s new music? Let us know!
