Frontman of ‘the Belgian Beatles’ passes away
Belgian singer Fred Bekky, best known as the frontman of Belgian rock group The Pebbles, has passed away at the age of 81 from complications of pneumonia. The Pebbles, often nicknamed “the Belgian Beatles”, scored their biggest hit with the song “Seven Horses in the Sky”.
Fred Bekky, whose real name was Fred Beekmans, grew up in Hoboken near Antwerp. Together with Bob Baelemans, he first formed the group “The Fredstones”, which in 1965 attracted the attention of Norman Petty, the former producer of Buddy Holly. On his advice, they chose a new name, The Pebbles, also a reference to the cartoon series “The Flintstones”. However, Petty's attempts to get the band to break through in the US came to nothing.
In 1967, the band – which now also included Luc Smets and Marcel De Cauwer – undertook another attempt to break through, with a different manager. That year, they performed at the Olympia in Paris as support act for Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, they scored their first hit with “Get Around”. At a time when there was little Belgian rock music, the song quickly stood out. The British sound also earned The Pebbles the nickname “the Belgian Beatles”.
The big success, in Belgium and abroad, arrived with the next single, “Seven Horses in the Sky”. The song with strikingly psychedelic lyrics - about purple horses running through the green sky - became an absolute classic in Belgian rock history.
Subsequent singles also received international acclaim. “Incredible George” even received congratulations from Beatles guitarist George Harrison. “Mackintosh”, in turn, became a hit in Spain. Yet The Pebbles' self-titled debut album failed to catch on abroad. The failure to achieve that big international breakthrough and ongoing disagreements between various group members led to the band's break-up in 1974.
After The Pebbles
Bekky did remain active in the music world. Together with Bob Baelemans and the singer Sofie, he for a few years formed the trio Trinity, whose biggest success was the disco song ‘002.345.709 (That's my number)’. Bekky also continued to work as a producer and wrote songs for Belgian artists such as Ann Christy, Yasmine, Jo Vally, Garry Hagger, Petra and Silvy Melody.
In 2021, it became known that Bekky suffered from Alzheimer's disease. He then also had heart and kidney problems for some time. In December 2024 he suffered, five years after a first, a second cerebral infarction, on the Spanish island of Tenerife. He died of complications of pneumonia on the night of 20-21 February 2025.
#FlandersNewsService | Fred Bekky in 2019 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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