Heddy Affolter, better known as Heddy Lester, was a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 in London, England with the song De mallemolen, which finished in 12th place.
Her 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. Lester launched her solo career in 1974.
Since her Eurovision appearance, 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).
In 2009, Lester, along with several other former Dutch Eurovision contestants, was a special guest on that year's Eurovision selection television program.
She passed away on 31 January 2023 at the age of 72.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1977 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 The Swarbriggs Plus Two •  Michèle Torr •  Heddy Lester •  Schmetterlinge •  Anita Skorgan •  Silver Convention •  Anne-Marie Besse •  Os Amigos •  Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran •  Paschalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy •  Ilanit •  Pepe Linehard Band •  Forbes •  Micky •  Mia Martini •  Monica Aspelund •  Dream Express •  Marie Myriam
| |||
| Songs | |||
| It's Nice to Be in Love Again • Une petite française • De mallemolen • Boom Boom Boomerang • Casanova • Telegram • Frère Jacques • Portugal no coração • Rock Bottom • Mathima Solfege • Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim • Swiss Lady • Beatles • Enséñame a cantar • Libera • Lapponia • A Million in One, Two, Three • L'oiseau et l'enfant
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