POP IN WONDERLAND

"Pop in Wonderland = Rudolf and Meredith. A hypercreative duo that brings a mix op pop, folk, rock and psychedelics. A new dimension to the notion popmusic. Meredith presents herself as a crossbreed of Suzanna Hoffs, Janis Joplin and Melanie. In an inimitable fashion, she whirl through the high quality songs of Rudolf Hecke.
Live on stage, these two bring and unlikely but wonderfully well-succeeded mishmash of musical styles, usually surrounded by an array of fire fountains, soap bubbles, colored smoke and dancing rainbows. Woodstock is not far."

So far for the introduction the band got in the booklet of their gig at Marktrock in Leuven in 1994. The Rudolf in this story is not a red-nosed reindeer, but Rudolf Hecke, who swapped his sad and sorrowed existence in alternative circles - see Company of State and his solo-career - for a place in the glamour spotlights in the nineties. The Meredith in this story is Meredith Vedts.

Between 1993 and 1997 the Wonderlanders shot a sheer endless string of half hits onto Flanders, with as highlights : the well-succeeded debut-single "Fall into dreams", "Beautiful People", gueststarring the one and only Melanie, "Grow a baby", in which a heavily pregnant Meredith playbacking about their love child, and "Love Chant". Apart from composer Hecke, the songs got the way they sounded through the team of Top-Studio (Eric Melaerts, Roland Vanhuffel and Peter Gillis), the same team as was behind the just as colorful success of The Dinky Toys.

At three points in the existence of the band, the singles got collected on a full CD : "The Love Trip" in 1993, "Barbarella Butterfly" in 1995 en "Sunshine Pilots" in 1996. On stage, the band also was a happy-making experience, especially with the theremin of Rudolf Hecke as an eyecatcher.

That the production of slick popmusic didn't get a warm welcome from the Belgian rock-press, is witnessed by the reception of the different records by Knack-critic Jacky Huys : "We have never truly understood the reason for the success of PIW. On "Barbarella Butterfly" we hear nothing but music's that beg "Buy me, buy me". Well-considered disposable pop suspended to the Calimero-voice of Meredit. A female version of The Dinky Toys. Contains the hits that have been, and the hits that will undoubtedly follow". And that was a review, a few later the only lines that were mentioned were "Cash. Cash. "Sunshine Pilots" of Pop in Wonderland is a clever marketing concept, but that's all it is".

Somewhere in 1997 the story of Pop in Wonderland ended on a sour note. In 1999 Rudolf Hecke reemerged with a new band named Kite and a new singer named Kristel Rombouts. Meredith still can be seen on stage occasionally, as for example in 2000 with the girls Truus Druyts and Yasmine in "De Miekes".

Band members :
- Rudolf Hecke : guitar, synth, theremin
- Meredith Vedts : vocals

Buy CD's of this band at

Albums :
- The Love Trip (Pias Pop, 1993)
- Barbarella Butterfly (Creastars / BMG, 1995)
- Sunshine Pilots (Creastars / BMG, 1996)
Singles :
- Fall into dreams / Back (Pias Pop, 1992)
- Something hit my dream (Pias Pop, 1993)
- The Love Trip / Changes (Pias Pop, 1993)
- Spin the Wheel / Feel Alike (Pias Pop, 1993)
- Grow A Baby (Creastars, 1994)
- Freaks Elevation Party (Creastars, 1994)
- Beatiful People (met Melanie) / Moonray (Creastars, 1995)
- The Only Power (Creastars, 1995)
- Love Chant (Creastars, 1995)
- Dwarfed by Love (Creastars, 1995)
- Ahead of My Dream (Creastars, 1996)
- Free Flight (Creastars, 1996)
- Who Am I ? (Creastars, 1996)
- Working on Love (Creastars, 1997)

Websites :
- none found