Johan Verminnen

Belgian singer/songwriter Johan Verminnen has been at the forefront of the Belgian music charts since his eponymous 1970 debut. Born in Wemmel, a town north of Brussels, Verminnen began his career on Belgian talent show Discover the Star in 1969, where his cabaret pop style won over plenty of fans. He went on to record a bunch of hits such as “Brussel” and “In De Rue Des Bouchers” during the ’70s and his popular 1973 single, “Laat Me Nu Toch Niet Alleen,” was included in a collection of Flemish tracks for the national radio station’s classics compilation. Verminnen continued to release music throughout the ’80s and married model Catherine Mattelaer in 1986. The following year, he released the song “1987,” which was dedicated to the birth of his first daughter. A best-of appeared in 1999 and the collection compiled tracks that illustrated a varied cross-section of his work. Despite not releasing much in the years that followed, Verminnen was actively involved with music and in 2007 was installed as managing director of Dutch copyright society SABAM. ~ Scott Kerr