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Alan
Ladd
Louw Wessels was born on 24 March
1966 in Lusaka, Zambia and is the second youngest of twelve
children. The Wessels family immigrated to South Africa in
1976. He is the legendary singer, Kupido’s brother. Louw
attended Primary School in Middelburg (Mpumalanga) and completed
Secondary School at Kuschke Landbou School (Limpopo). In 1986
he was commanded to do two years service in the South African
Defense Force in Oudtshoorn (Western Cape) at the Infantry
School Camp. He has resided in Oudtshoorn since 1988, spending
most years as a farmmanager.
The name “Alan Ladd” was born when Louw recorded
his first seven-single in 1986, featuring one of his own compositions
Daddy. Because of the nature of the songs, being Country
music, his Producer at that time suggested that the Afrikaans
name "Louw Wessels" does not represent the music
style. Louw had a resemblance to an actor named Alan Ladd,
and because this name was already commercially known, it was
decided that Louw’s stage name would be registered as
Alan Ladd.
Other recordings that followed:
Me and my Country songs – Alan
Deur die bloed gebind – Alan, Kupido, Angela and
Cleo
Techno Country – Alan featured on compilation
CD
Neon Son – Louw Wessels
Tribute to Jim Reeves Gospel Hits – Alan
Tribute to Don Williams Hits – Alan
My hart klop Country – Alan
Country Gospel Klanke – Alan
The last two CDs were released in 2006. The Country Gospel
CD reached platinum status with a record sales figure of 44
500 copies in less than two months! My hart klop Country
sold 37 000 copies within a period of 4 months, only 3 000
short of platinum status. Both CDs were on the official SA
Top 20 Charts for several weeks. Total sales for CDs in 2006
exceeded more than 90 000 copies. This is an amazing achievement!
He has been the 6th best seller of the music distribution
company MFP in 2006!
Alan is a very passionate song writer and has numeral singers
recording his songs, of whom some are Dana Winner, Kurt Darren,
Bosveld Klong, Charles Rudd. All the compositions on the Neon
Son CD are of Alan’s own. He is a loyal fan of Country
music and some of his favourite artists are: Randy Travis,
Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride and Garth Brookes. Alan’s
favourite colour is deep blue.
Besides music, he enjoys travelling, farming, writing and
painting. He has a weakness for pawnshops! He is mostly occupied
with shows and concerts and is on the road for about nine
months annually. Alan has been married to Glenda for 15 years.
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