Rotterdam poet and writer Jules Deelder has died at the age of 75 after what his family described as ‘a very short illness’.

Deelder, who was also a musician and performer, was known as a direct, no-nonsense Rotterdammer, who was a part of the Dutch jazz and night scene for decades. Known for his sharp black suits, he once famously starred in a television commercial for washing powder for black clothes.

At his birthday in November, celebrated alongside the great and the good of the Dutch jazz world, he was presented with a special plaque by Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, after the Rotterdam Museum declared him to be a part of the city’s ‘real heritage’.