The Belgian singer Arno, known in particular for his piece girls by the sea, died at the age of 72, his agent Filip De Groote announced on Saturday April 23, quoted by Flemish television VRT and The evening.
The singer, who had been battling pancreatic cancer since 2019, had to cancel all of his concerts scheduled in France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands until the end of 2021 last July, his doctors having prescribed “rest“.
“He will be missed by all of us, his family, his friends and his musicians. He will always be with us thanks to the music that kept him alive until the end”Filip De Groote said in a statement.
According to VRT, the gravelly-voiced singer, sometimes described as “Belgian Tom Waits“, was working in the last weeks of his life on a new album, which will be released posthumously. “The disc is not finished yet”said Filip De Groote. “We prefer to finish it quietly rather than release it quickly.”
Originally from Ostend, a Flemish coastal town to which he has remained very attached and which he evokes in his songs, Arno began his career with the rock group TC Matic in the 80s, notably with the song Damn, damn (“Damn, damn, it’s really good, we are still all Europeans“).
It was solo that he then revealed himself to a wider audience, thanks to songs like My mother’s eyes or its resumption of seaside girls from another Belgian, Adamo.