Corry Konings and Dries Roelvink spoke kind words on Thursday about Chiel Montagne. The former presenter passed away on Thursday at the age of eighty due to complications from COPD.
According to the 73-year-old Konings, Montagne was “a wonderful person”. She and her music group Corry en de Rekels, and later as a solo artist, were frequently guests on Montagne’s program Op volle toeren.
“He had a fantastic program,” says Konings in conversation with RTL Boulevard. “It was so great that busloads went there. All those people sitting in the stands. It was always a happening.”
Konings says she owes part of her fame to the program. “He was extremely fond of Dutch-language songs. He really believed in it.” Op volle toeren, which was initially called Op losse groeven, was on television for about twenty years.
‘He has meant an unbelievable amount for Dutch song’
Roelvink also looks back on Montagne with great respect. The singer was seen in the last episode of Op volle toeren. Additionally, Montagne played a cameo role in Roelvink’s film I Love Dries.
According to Roelvink, Montagne, with his programs, “meant an unbelievable amount” for the Dutch-language song. “That’s impossible to describe,” says the singer to the press agency ANP. The presenter helped Roelvink’s career by inviting him after hearing a Dutch-language cover of a song by Tom Jones.
“Dries, if you ever release your own music again, it would be nice if you came on Op volle toeren again,” Montagne is said to have told Roelvink. “And eventually, I ended up in the very last episode of a program that had been running for at least twenty years. I was already watching it as a kid.”
According to AVROTROS, Montagne, whose real name was Bert van Rheenen, was an “icon” and with Op volle toeren “the embodiment of the Dutch-language song”. “With his characteristic mustache and his love for music, he was one of the most important faces of the TROS for a long time,” writes the broadcaster. “We owe Chiel a great debt and remember him with great respect.”
