Vaya con dios

The group was founded by Dani Klein , a member of Arbreid Adelt!, And Willy Lambrebt, a member of The Scabs, also joined by double bass player Dirk Schaufs (a former member of The Wild Ones), the fourth member was Philip Allart, the drummer of the group. They were all interested in gypsy music , jazz and opera , genres that did not receive public recognition in Brussels . Dani Klein (real name Daniel Schowovaerts) was born on December 31, 1953 in Flanders. At first, Dani Klein was a backing vocalist in the band Catalog of Cool, later became a member of Arbreid Adelt !. Then Dani Klein founded the group Vaya Con Dios.

The first Vaya Con Dios single “ Just a Friend of Mine ” was in Latin style, the single became a big hit in France , and the single sold about 300,000 copies ^[2] . The band members were very fond of Spanish rhythms, and acoustic style. Dirk Schaufs most often played acoustic guitar , not electric . The band entered into a contract with Ariola Records , and in 1987 the band began recording their first studio album called Vaya Con Dios , many musicians participated in the recording, guitarist Berte Decort, who was previously a member of the band, worked on the song “Puerto Rico”. The Mistress. The singles “Don't Cry for Louie” and “Puerto Rico” are some of the best songs on the album, high-profile hits. They opened up more opportunities for the group ^[3] . The main motif “Puerto Rico” was used by the Russian band “Forbidden Drummers” in the song “Killed the Negro”. Although the group was very successful in Latin America , it continued to remain unknown in the Netherlands , due to the style of gypsy music. However, Lambergt did not like the success of the group at all, he loved rock and roll and wanted to hear it in the music of Vaya Con Dios, he decided to break away from Vaya Con Dios and returned to his native group Scabs. The musicians of Vaya Con Dios had to look for a replacement. Lambergt was replaced by Jean Michel Gilen.

The team worked on their second studio album Night Owls for three years. The long-awaited album was released in April 1990 . Three singles “Nah Neh Nah” came out of the album - a cheerful and energetic song, a sad melancholy song “What's a Woman?”, And “Night Owls” - the song of the same name from the album. Finally, Vaya Con Dios broke through in the Netherlands - the single What's a Woman? rose to the first line, and was number one for three consecutive weeks. The theme of the song is the relationship between men and women, which on the one hand need each other, on the other - misunderstanding each other ^[3] . The song Nah Neh Nah became a kind of business card of the group Vaya Con Dios, because the song became a European hit. Vaya Con Dios became the second number one artist after Ivan Heilen ^[4] . The success of the album and singles was evident.

In 1990, Dani Klein made her debut as a producer, she worked on the album Blue to Blot's Bridge to Your Heart album. In 1991, Dani Klein and Dirk Schaufs parted ways, they lost interest in each other and Dirk left the group. Shortly afterwards, on May 24, 1991, Dirk died from drug addiction ^[3] and from AIDS . Of the original composition of Vaya Con Dios, only Dani Klein remained. She was very upset by the death of Dirk, and suffering was reflected in the next album of the group Time Flies ( Russian Time flies ). The album was released in 1992 . It is more melancholy than the previous one, but with the preservation of Latin rhythms and a positive mood. Although MTV actively played the single “Heading for a Fall”, Vaya Con Dios fans didn't like the album at all. Despite the fact that in Switzerland the album became number one on the chart, in other countries it achieved not very high positions. As a result, the success of the album was more modest than that of Night Owls. But the 1993 world tour in support of Time Flies was a success.

The group released its fourth album in 1995 , under the name Roots and Wings . The album has not changed at all, but the mood of the Arabic and Indian music is felt in the album, but the same rhythm and blues remains. The tour in support of the album took place in 1996 , along with Vaya Con Dios, keyboardist Simon Shovaerts (son of Dani Klein) performed on stage. Although music and composition often changed, the group remained popular in Europe, especially in France, Germany and Scandinavia . For ten years, Vaya Con Dios sold seven million CDs worldwide ^[3] , collaborated with many musicians, the success of the group became noticeable in many countries of Europe.

But Dani Klein did not feel any joy and satisfaction. In a 1996 interview, Dani Klein announced the end of her musical career in order to travel and live a normal life. A few years after the dissolution of Vaya Con Dios, Klein was able to tell the truth about the reasons for the dissolution of the group:

After the breakup of the group, two collections of the best Vaya Con Dios songs were released - The Best Of Vaya Con Dios and What's a Woman . But in 1999, Klein returned to show business. Dani Klein became the lead vocalist of Purple Prose, at the invitation of her close friend Thierry Plas, the band's debut album was released that same year. In 2004, Dani Klein returned to Vaya Con Dios and they recorded the fifth studio album, The Promise , released on an independent label.

In November 2006, the band released The Ultimate Collection . This is a CD and DVD of an acoustic concert in Belgium on August 31, 2006. The only single from the album is “Pauvre Diable”. In October 2009, Comme on est venu was released , all of whose songs are in French . In December 2010, the song Nah Neh Nah was re-recorded with German DJs Milk & Sugar as a remix, the song entered the German Media-Control Charts, exceeded all expectations and got into the top 10 ^[5] .

Studio Albums

Best Songs

Singles

• Dani Klein (1986-1996) (2004 - present) - vocals , producer
• Willie Lambregt (1986-1990) - guitar , backing vocals
• Dirk Schoofs (1986-1991) - acoustic guitar , electric guitar , backing vocals
• Jean Michel Gilen (since 1990) - guitar
• Philip Allart (since 1986) - drums , percussion , producer

• Vaya Con Dios at Last.fm
• Vaya Con Dios on MySpace
• http://www.vayacondios.info/
• History of Vaya con Dios