1/2 Joke and Josephine reveal the Albert Westplein in Rosmalen (photo: Megan Hanegraaf).
Rosmalen has a lasting memory of singer Albert West. On Friday, his wife Joke and daughter Josine unveiled the Albert Westplein. A wish that finally comes true ten years after his death. “It’s fantastic. Having your own square is something special,” says his daughter Josephine Westelaken proudly.
At Partycentrum De Keerting, where singer Albert West often occurs, family, friends and fans are around the square that now bears his name. Together with her daughter and mayor Jack Mikkers, Joke Westelaken pulls the canvas of the street sign on Friday afternoon and the Albert Westplein unveils.
“It’s a very special moment for us,” says his wife Joke. “Albert would have loved it that his name stays so visible in Rosmalen. I know that he is looking down on this square from above.”
His daughter Josephine gets tears in her eyes after the unveiling of the street sign. “When I start talking about my father, I will always be full. It just feels like he’s just with us.”
The Plein for Partycentrum De Keerting has not just been chosen. “His career started here. He performed here with his first single in 1967,” says Joke. Josephine adds: “He finally put Rosmalen on the map of the showbiz.”
“Albert continues to live in Rosmalen.”
In 2022, an Albert West artwork was already hung in the change, a tribute that has since adorns the square. The artwork was unveiled on 2 September, the day that Albert would have been 73 years old.
“Fans then hung a sign with the Albert Westplein as a playful action, but you can’t just hang that down,” says his wife, with whom Albert had been married for more than forty years. The fans therefore decided to request the official street name from the municipality of Den Bosch. “So that his memory really continues to live in Rosmalen.”
Because someone is only named after a street ten years after the death, fans, family and friends had to wait for years at the moment. “Of course, events are often organized on a square and people come together. We would really like it if that happens on the Albert Westplein.”
After the unveiling, a short film with images from Albert West played in the turning point: from performances to special moments from his career. Are hits, like Ginny Come Lattely and Tell Laura I Love Herpassed. Fans and family visibly enjoyed, sang along or recalled memories. “He has meant a lot to Rosmalen, but an artist is nothing without his fans,” says his daughter. “This square would never have come without them.”
In 2012, West received a spinal cord infarction, after which he was struggling with paralysis symptoms. In June 2015, the singer died from the effects of a serious bicycle accident in Maren-Kessel.
The funeral of Albert West was big. In a full Sint Jan in Den Bosch. Then the funeral car made a round around the parade with the coffin, accompanied by an honorary hedge of the public and the most famous songs of West Schalden from the speakers.
Many fans were at Albert West’s farewell in 2015:
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