° 21/05/1949 – † 23/04/2022
Born as Arnold Charles Ernest Hintjens on May 21, 1949, Arno was the musical heart of Ostend. The city was in his music, his words, his soul. From the streets where he played football to the world stages, Arno always remained true to his Ostend roots.
With T.C. Matic he released the legendary hit Oh La La La, a song that perfectly captures the energy of his hometown – brutal and authentic. Later in his solo career, he immortalized his city in Comme à Ostende, an ode to the raw beauty of the coast and the city that inspired him.
But Arno was so much more than music. His love for shrimp croquettes and his bouncing Ostend humor made him an icon impossible to forget. When his ashes were scattered in the North Sea in 2022, he literally returned to the place where it all began.
Arno lives on in every breath of wind, every wave, and every raw chord that fills Ostend. A rock icon with an indelible Ostend heart, no matter where he wandered.
His work received a lasting tribute in 2020, with an impressive mural on the City Hall of Ostend. Since then, it has been an iconic landmark in the city he loved all his life. Arno was impressed: “It’s beautiful. Very beautiful. I have a mental erection.”
© cover CD ARNO
