Wallace Collection founded from the ashes of a band called "Sylvester's Team". Three of the original members (Sylvain Vanholme, Freddy Nieuland and Marc Hérouet) went on to form the band 16th Century, together with bass-player Christian Janssens and the classical musicians Raymond Vincent and Jacques Namotte. These two were members of the Belgian National Philharmonic Orchestra, but had been flirting with popular music already in a band called Stradivarius.
The group was launched from Britain, and a new name was found in a museum next to the EMI-headquarters : The Wallace Collection. The Australian David Mckay did the production of the first record of the band "Laughing Cavalier" They had an instant success due to the single "Daydream". It became a hit in over 20 countries and sold millions of copies.
Sylvain Vanholme recalls how this breakthrough was also responsible for the downfall of the band in "Wit-Lof from Belgium" : "There was chaos. One day we would be playing in the North of Holland, the next day in Spain. We didn't have time to rehearse or write new material. Between two concerts, they booked us a studio and said : quickly record a song like "Daydream". The quality of the singles that followed went steadily downward. "Love" and "Serenade" at least made it to the Belgian Top 30.
In 1971 the band decided to split. Freddy Nieuland however has continued to record under the name Wallace Collection. Raymond Vincent later on formed a band called Esperanto (with German and British strings, Italian keyboards, with singers from Hawaï, Papoea and Australia. After four records the band was dumped by A&M label in 1975. Marc Hérouet, the organ-player of the band, enjoyed some success with his group Salix Alba.
The most succesful career in the years to come had Sylvain Vanholme, who has had huge hits with Two Man Sound and has produced a large number of Belgian records since (e.g. Octopus, Salix Alba, The Machines, Gorky, Jo Lemaire and Flouze, The Kids ... ).
The drummer Freddy Nieuland passed away on January 10th 2008, Raymond Vincent the violinist died 5th November 2018, and cellist Jacques Namotte died 13th December 2012.
Tracks
1. Bruxelles (Part One) (Marc Herouet, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:15
2. We Gotta Do Something New (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:37
3. Serenade (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 5:49
4. Hocus Pocus (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:10
5. We Are Machines (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:22
6. Love (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 3:50
7. Let Me Love Her (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:26
8. Since You're Gone For Evermore (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:46
9. Dear Beloved Secretary (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 3:43
10.Tic-Toc (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:26
11.When (Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:35
12.See The Man (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 3:16
12.Bruxelles (Part Two) (Raymond Vincent, Sylvain VanHolmen, David Mackay) - 2:42
The Wallace Collection
*Freddy Nieuland - Drums, Vocals
*Sylvain VanHolmen - Guitar, Vocals
*Marc Herouet - Keyboards
*Christian Janssens - Bass
*Raymond Vincent - Violin
*Jacques Namotte - Cello