After playing in many hobby groups together, long-time friends Vander linden and De Coster decided to start De Mens. Vander linden, a journalist for the acclaimed Belgian magazine Humo, left his job to pursue a career as a full-time musician. In 1992 the band released its first radio single, “Dit is mijn huis” (“This Is My House”), followed by the full album De Mens. Later came other successful singles “Jeroen Brouwers (schrijft een boek)” (“Jeroen Brouwers Writes a Book”) and “Irene”. De Mens became a popular Belgian rock band. The band’s second album, called Ik wil meer (I Want More), contains the singles “Nederland” (“The Netherlands”), “Zij zit daar en ik zit hier” (“She Sits There and I Sit Here”), and “Lachen en mooi zijn” (“Smiling and Being Pretty”). Meanwhile, Vander linden developed a reputation as writer. Thanks to his success in the Studio Brussel radio programme Collage, he has frequently been asked to be a columnist and spoken-word performer. In winter of 1995, Vander linden did a small tour titled Solo bij u thuis. A mini-CD, Patti Blues, followed. During that same winter, the band recorded a new album titled Wil je beroemd zijn? (Do You Want to Be Famous?) at the ICP studios in Brussels. De Mens did a partly acoustic theatre tour in October/November 1997. A compilation CD followed, containing the radio singles “Ik wil een vrouw zijn” (“I Want to Be a Woman”), “Val niet in liefde” (“Don’t Fall in Love”), and some brand-new songs. The band signed up with the Play It Again Sam record company and released the album “Sex Verandert Alles” (“Sex Changes Everything”). It was recorded partly in the ICP studios and partly at home. The singles “Einde van de eeuw” (“The End of the Century”) and “Sex verandert alles” scored well in the alternative charts. A club tour followed. Meanwhile, Vander linden became a regular panel member in the television quiz show Nonkel pop on a channel of the Belgian public broadcaster VRT. He also played himself in the movie Film 1 by Willem Wallyn. |
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