Guus Meeuwis

Gustaaf Stephanus Modestus "Guus" Meeuwis (born 23 March 1972) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. As part of the band Vagant, he scored several hits in the Netherlands and Flanders during the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s. On 24 May 2015, Meeuwis became the first Dutch language performing artist ever to play a fully booked concert at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Biography

Guus Meeuwis was born at a monastery in Mariahout, a small village in the municipality of Laarbeek where his parents were living temporarily. He attended Stella Maris College, and went on to study jurisprudence in Tilburg. It quickly became apparent that Meeuwis was musically talented while at school. Following a romantic weekend in Bruges with his girlfriend Valérie he wrote the song "Het is een Nacht" ("It is a Night"), with which, in 1994, he won a prize at the AHC-Studentensongfestival in Leiden. He and his backing band were awarded a record contract, under the name "Guus Meeuwis & Vagant", after a café they frequented. Vagant consisted of Marc Meeuwis, Jan Willem Rozenboom, Hugo van Bilsen, Robin van Beek and Dirk Oerlemans. At the end of 2001, the group decided to split and Meeuwis continued on as a solo artist. Marc Meeuwis and Jan Willem Rozenboom are still involved with Meeuwis as of 2023.