In the ‘Icons’ series, we each time add a new portrait to the hall of fame of North Holland greats. This week it’s singer Suzanne Klemann. Together with her sister Monique, she became the face of the success formation Loïs Lane, against her will and thanks. Against her will and thanks, because actually she hadn’t wanted to be a singer at all.
Biography
Name: Suzanne Klemann
Born: Amsterdam, 1963
Profession: singer Lois Lane
Roll of Honor: Lois Lane (1989, platinum album), Fortune Fairytales (1990, platinum album),
Silver Harp (1989)
Lois Lane, her sister Monique’s band, was preparing for an important performance. But just before their participation in the Grand Prix of the Netherlands the other singer left the band. What now? Under ‘heavy’ pressure Suzanne decided to help her sister out of the fire.
Suzanne: “My oldest sister, who lived in Switzerland, called me to say: ‘I can’t do it, so you’re going to help your sister’.”
record contract
What seemed to be a one-off performance became the start of something beautiful. Suzanne discovered that it was also a lot of fun to perform. In addition, after their performance at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands inundated with offers from record companies and people who set themselves up as managers. Suzanne Klemann: “I thought, what’s going on here? But everyone loved it. I went back to the dressing room with a stack of business cards.”
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Suzanne promised her sister to stay with the band until she got a record deal. That seemed only a matter of time. “But what happened: three months after the performance in De Melkweg, our eldest sister died, together with her husband. We were always very close. She brought us together. This should have been the case.”
Performer
“I know I can sing, but I still don’t think I’m the best singer. But there’s more to it. You have to be lucky. And you have to be a good performer. Monique is very calm and I am more outgoing† I think that combination is very nice to look at. Perhaps that contributed to our popularity.”
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The success of the band had meanwhile also been noticed by a world act like Prince. After seeing the video clip of I wanna be, he wanted Lois Lane as his support act. At first the band members thought it was a joke, but it certainly wasn’t. The only problem was that, after a busy period of gigs, everyone was in desperate need of a holiday. So Prince had to wait.
“Whether it’s the King or Prince, we have to go on vacation”
“We were like: whether it’s the King or Prince, we have to go on vacation. If we’re welcome in three weeks, we’ll come. And that was good!”, Suzanne adds with a laugh.
“When we were rested, our first show was in Basel. My sister had an accident in Basel, so that was bizarre. That we were in a stadium for the first time abroad, with Prince in front of 60,000 people. How that circle can be completed. We also had a very strong feeling that she was there.”
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