Background and career
Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as Harry Vanda, is a Dutch-Australian singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the last surviving member of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats who with fellow member George Young formed the 1970s and 1980s songwriting and record production duo Vanda & Young. van den Berg is the last surviving member of the Easybeats, as of February 2025, following the death of the band's drummer, Gordon "Snowy" Fleet. In September 2025, Vanda released his debut solo single "Devil Loose".
Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg was born in Voorburg, a town in the Province of South Holland in the Netherlands in 1946. His parents were Henricus Cornelius van den Berg (born 14 September 1923), a mechanic from the Netherlands and Lisa Berg-Warsozk (born 19 September 1924), who was Polish. Harry's parents got married on 9 June 1945. From 1942 to 1945, Henricus was under forced labour under German rule during World War II. Vanda is a second cousin of Swedish ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog. Vanda's family migrated to Australia from the Netherlands in 1963, and settled in Sydney. In the same year, he met rhythm guitarist George Young at the Villawood migrant hostel. In 2007, Australian Musician magazine selected this meeting as the most significant event in Australian pop and rock music history.
Vanda, who had been a guitarist with the Hague-based band the Starfighters, came to fame in 1964–65 as the lead guitarist of the Easybeats. Vanda's ability to speak English was still very limited when the band was at their peak. Easybeats bassist Dick Diamonde, who was also a Dutch Australian, would help him learn English. By 1966, Vanda was nearly fluent in English and he and George Young penned many of the Easybeats' later recordings, including their major international hit, "Friday On My Mind".
When I met Harry Vanda he could hardly speak a line of English and now he can speak it better than me - he teaches me words. After the Easybeats disbanded in 1970, Vanda & Young remained in the UK and continued their writing and performing partnership.
In 1973, Vanda and Young returned to Australia and took over as the house producers for leading independent record production company, Albert Productions, and publisher J. Albert & Son. From 1974, they enjoyed huge success in Australia and internationally, writing and producing hits for a number of popular Australian groups and solo singers, including John Paul Young, Cheetah, Stevie Wright, Ted Mulry, Rose Tattoo, the Angels, William Shakespeare, Mark Williams and, most notably, AC/DC. AC/DC included George Young's brothers, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. Vanda & Young produced landmark albums such as Let There Be Rock, Powerage, If You Want Blood You've Got It, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, High Voltage/TNT, amongst others. Vanda and Young had major international success with their own studio-only project Flash and the Pan, achieving many hits around the world over a 15-year period, particularly in Europe, where they had many chart-topping records. Grace Jones had a hit with a cover of the Flash and the Pan song "Walking in the Rain".
By the late 1990s, Vanda and Young had left their longtime partnership with Albert Productions, and retired from the music industry. However, in 2005, Harry Vanda started Flashpoint Music in Surry Hills with his producer/engineer son, Daniel Vandenberg, setting up one of Australia's premier private studios. The studio has produced bands such as the Wrights and British India.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
