Intermezzo - Sugar Lee Hooper

Sugar Lee Hooper (real name Marja van der Toorn, Den Haag, February 23, 1948 - April 4, 2010) was a Dutch singer, host, entertainer and TV personality. She was well-known because of her heavyset appearance, bold shaved head and her flamboyant dresses.

Van der Toorn was born in Den Haag, daughter of a jazz pianist and Hawaii guitar playing mother. At the age of 14 she was given her first drum kit. She later became drummer of female orchestra The Ladybirds, and later on of the band Vin and the Cardinal Queens. With brother Hans she released two fairly successful singles after which Van der Toorn became a mother.

She decided to pick up on her drumming later on. She played for 12 years in a band called The Crazy Rockers. She was severely injured after she fell off stage, resulting in a seven year revalidation period. There was permanent damage leading her to decide to switch to singing.

In the early 1990's she met booking agent Dinie Maagdenbert, who showed interest in her singing abilities. She becomes Sugar Lee Hooper, with Sugar referring to her love for sweets and Lee Hooper to Billie Holiday's manager. Although her record label likes her to opt for Dutch repertoire, Hooper sticks to English. She is inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Sam & Dave and The Pointer Sisters. Her striking voice and appearance resulted her in playing at many parties.

In 1993 she released Lots of Sugar and several singles, leading to small commercial success and TV appearances. In 1995 she switched to Dutch and released De Wandelclub. This became her first top-10 hit in the Netherlands. The following albums and singles did not result in success. Nevertheless Hooper became a celebrated artist.

In 1998 she opted for a registered partnership with her female friend Andrea van der Kaap, in 2001 they became the first Dutch gay artist to get married.

On March 28, 2010 she broke her hip by falling of her scoot-mobile. During operation she went into cardiac arrest and suffered with lack of oxygen. The doctors kept her in an artificial coma from which she did not recover. She was 62 years old when she died on April 4, 2010. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.