Born out of a mutual interest in music and each other, the Flemish singing duo Nicole & Hugo first came together in 1970. After realizing that there was more there than just romantic love, Nicole Josy (born Nicole Van Palm in Wemmel on October 21, 1946) and Hugo Sigal (born Hugo Verbraeken in Kinshasa on November 10, 1947) decided to become a vocal duo, and in 1971 entered the Belgian final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Although they won, therefore qualifying for the continent-wide finals, Nicole fell ill, and she and Hugo chose not to attend. Luckily, good news did come that year, as the pair were married in December. Two years later, Nicole & Hugo gave Eurovision another go, with the hit song "Baby Baby," but it was another ill-fated quest, as this time the pair made it to the finals, but finished last. Better news came on the world stage, when a year later they placed second at the 1974 World Song Festival in Tokyo. They spent the rest of the '70s touring, and then landed a gig on cruise ships, where they spent the lion's share of the '80s. During all of this touring and competition, Nicole & Hugo did find the time to record, releasing a number of hit records and albums. In 2004, they had another go at Eurovision, but not a successful one, with their song "Love Is All Around" not even getting past the national stage. In 2008, Nicole & Hugo were still going strong, and released the album Eeuwig Geluk, which included a handful of successful singles. ~ Chris True