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oe Harris (Bruges, December 25, 1943 - June 1, 2003) was a Flemish singer. Harris was born in Bruges as Georges Lisabeth. He was the youngest child. His parents ran a grocery store and a cafe. He also played in the Koninklijke Speelschaar Sint-Franciscus-Xaverius Bruges at a young age. At the age of twelve he recorded his first album under the name Joske Harris. He became known as a singer in the sixties and seventies. Initially he sang songs in English with his band Joe Harris and The Pink Umbrellas. In 1968 the band had two hits with Hope of a Miracle and Daisy Does. Another English-language song is "Home isn't home anymore" from 1969. In the 1970s he switched to Dutch. His first big Flemish hit in 1971 was First see and then believe, a translation of Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep from the British formation Middle of the Road. No Katrientje also dates from that time. He scored his greatest success in 1975 with Drink Red Wine, a cover of the Udo Jürgens song Griechischer Wein. The production of this song, which also became a hit in the Netherlands, was in the hands of the Dutchman Johnny Hoes. He also continued to score hits after that. In the eighties he took over the dancing restaurant "Het Seyenhof" in Itegem, which he had to close in 1992. His marriage also ended. In 1994, Joe Harris moved in with his girlfriend Linda, a former fan, who he has since called his wife even though they were not legally married. In 1999 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. After an operation he managed to overcome it, but the almost unbearable pains as a result of that operation continued to haunt him. Yet he still regularly performed in retirement homes and at senior parties. On June 1, 2003, Harris was found dead in Bruges, in the Ghent-Ostend canal. According to the police, he had committed suicide. Later at the autopsy it was determined that he had died of cardiac arrest.
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