Marcel Vanthilt

Marcel Céline Gerard Edgard Vanthilt (Dutch pronunciation: [mɑrˈsɛl vɑnˈtɪlt]; born 24 August 1957) is a Belgian singer and television presenter.

Early life

Marcel Vanthilt was born on 24 August 1957, in Lommel, Belgium. After attending high school, he studied at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and attained a bachelor's degree in political sciences. In 1977, while at university, he discovered Punk.

Career

Arbeid Adelt!

Vanthilt formed the group Arbeid Adelt! (literally: "Labor ennobles") in 1981. He provided vocals and played keyboard for the group, singing mainly in Dutch. They made 2 EPs ('Jonge Helden' and 'Le chagrin en Quatre-vingt'), De Dag dat het zonlicht... and Lekker Westers. The group decided to split. One year later, they reformed, only to split again after releasing one single because they were dissatisfied with their record label and the members disagreed about the future of the band. Vanthilt said: "They saw us as a kind of clowns. They refused to bring out the songs that were representative of what we were doing, and released "Stroom" en "Witte kom hie". Those were both good jokes, good for a laugh at the live gigs, but not good as a release two years after your last record."

In 1991 the group got together again and signed with Virgin Records. This resulted in their first full CD, Des Duivels Oorkussen, but it was unsuccessful commercially.

Other

Vanthilt formed two other groups, The Yéh-yéhs and Groep Z. Both were unsuccessful.