Jan Leyers
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Jan Anna August Leyers (born 16 May 1958 in
Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
) is a Belgian singer, songwriter, and television personality. He was a member of the group
Soulsister Soulsister is a Belgian music band consisting of Jan Leyers and main vocalist Paul Michiels that initially existed from 1986 to 1995 and, after a split, reunited in 2007. Soulsister is often designated as SoulSister, the Soul Sisters or Leyer ...
and later became a solo musician and host of various television series.


Music career

Jan Leyers was born in Wilrijk, in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. When he was about 10 years old, he found an acoustic guitar in his attic, and his father, an architect, taught him how to play. 10 years later, he started the group
Beri-Beri Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...
with Hugo Matthysen,
Bart Peeters Bart August Maria Peeters (born 30 November 1959) is a Belgian singer, musician, television presenter and actor. Biography Early years Peeters studied Germanic philology and drama in Antwerp. There, he met Jan Leyers and Hugo Matthysen, wit ...
, and Marc Kruithof. The group tried for some years to become successful, but failed. After Beri-Beri, Leyers spent a few years singing in theaters. In 1986, he met singer
Paul Michiels Paul Anna Kamiel Michiels (born 15 June 1948) is a Belgian singer and songwriter who became popular for his work with the Belgian music group Soulsister. He has earned the nickname ''Polle Pap'', a name he inherited from a childhood job as a milk ...
in a café in
Heist-op-den-Berg Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages o ...
. Together, they recorded a single, "You Get to Me," which impressed Guy Brulez, an executive for
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
in Belgium. Brulez persuaded them to form a duo, which they named "Soul Sisters'". They recorded "Talk About It" and "Like a Mountain." The group, now under the name
SoulSister Soulsister is a Belgian music band consisting of Jan Leyers and main vocalist Paul Michiels that initially existed from 1986 to 1995 and, after a split, reunited in 2007. Soulsister is often designated as SoulSister, the Soul Sisters or Leyer ...
, released their debut album, ''It Takes Two,'' in 1988. The single "The Way to Your Heart" was a hit in Belgium, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and even made its way onto the United States charts. In 1990, SoulSister changes its moniker to Leyers, Michiels, and SoulSister for a while, but then reverted to SoulSister. They released three more studio albums: ''Heat,'' ''Simple Rule'', and ''Swinging Like Big Dogs'' (which Leyers co-produced with Joey Balin, an EMI executive). In between, Leyers pursued solo songwriting endeavours. In 1997, SoulSister officially dissolved with the release of their ''Very Best Of''
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
. Leyers, now on a solo track, teamed up with Filip Cauwelier and
Joost Van den Broek Joost () was an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (founders of Skype and Kazaa). During 2007–2008 Joost used peer-to-peer TV (P2PTV) technology to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in la ...
to form the group My Velma. SoulSister had performed melodic
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
, but My Velma (which takes its name from Velma, the girlfriend of a mob boss in the
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
book ''
Farewell, My Lovely ''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...
'') did harder rock. The group started off with two test singles: "Running a Bath" and "Shower of Love." In October 1997, the group recorded the album ''Exposed''. It was released in June 1998 by
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
of the Netherlands. In 2000, Leyers had a big hit in Belgium with the single "Only Your Love Will Do," which was featured on the soundtrack for the Jan Verheyen film ''
Team Spirit Team Spirit was a joint military training exercise of United States Forces Korea and the Military of South Korea held between 1974 and 1993. The exercise was also scheduled from 1994 to 1996 but cancelled during this time period as part of diplom ...
''. There was also a hit on the soundtrack by his old SoulSister buddy Paul Michiels, and the following year he worked with Michiels on his ''Forever Young'' cover album. My Velma broke up at around the same time. Throughout these endeavors, Leyers remained a music producer and composer of music for films. In 2003, Leyers released the album ''Jan Leyers,'' which became popular with the hits " Crash and Burn" and "Don't Make Me Miss You." It featured his hit from 2000, "Only Your Love Will Do." On 1 January 2005, Leyers released the single "The Long Road," and soon afterwards begins his 2005 tour in Belgium. Later that year, he released the singles "Rolling On" and "Break My Heart." In September, he released ''In the Virgin Dark'', which features these three singles along with "This One" and "The Remedy." "This One" is featured in the Jan Verheyen movie '' Buitenspel'' ("Off-side"). In the fall of 2006, he released '' Songbook: 1996–2006'', a compilation of his work with My Velma and his solo work.


Songwriting

In 1995, Leyers co-wrote, alongside
Sally Dworsky Sally Dworsky is an American singer-songwriter and playback singer in animated films. In addition to her solo work and co-fronting the alt-rock band Uma, Dworsky served as the singing voice for lead characters in iconic animated films including ' ...
and Paul Jefferson, the song " That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You," which is performed by American
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
singer
Aaron Tippin Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, " You've Got ...
. He does songwriting on a regular basis for the Belgian band
Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...
. One of his top hits with Clouseau is "''Dat Ze De Mooiste Is'' (That She's Most Beautiful)". He has written two songs ("I've Only Begun To Fight" and "I Want You Back", both soundtracks of "Team Spirit 2") for Natalia's first album This Time and one song ("Get Back") for her second album '' Back For More''.


Television career

Leyers is the host of '' Nachtwacht'' ("Nightwatch"), a cultural discussion program on
Canvas (Belgium) VRT Canvas is a Belgian television channel of the Flemish public broadcasting organisation Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). Specialising in both original and adaptations from western Europe and North America, the channel off ...
. The show features people from across Belgium debating various topics from comedy to religion. Leyers was a co-host of ''De Droom van Ludwig'' ("The Dream of Ludwig"), which traced
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's history across Europe. He has served as a
judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
on '' Idool 2004'', Belgium's version of ''
Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...
''. In 2007 he made the television series '' De weg naar Mekka'' ("The road to Mecca"), in which he travelled across North Africa and the Middle East. His account also appeared in a book of the same title. Four years later, in 2011, another television series appeared called "De weg naar het Avondland" ("Road to the Evening Land"). Leyers travels from Ethiopia to Europe in this series, "following the footsteps of humanity". In 2017, ten years after '' De weg naar Mekka'' he made the television series "Allah in Europa" where he travels European cities to find out the future of Islam in Europe. The corresponding book was published in 2018.


Personal life

Leyers is married to Belgian TV actress Anne Meunier. They have four daughters: Dorien, Ella, Billie, and Olga. They reside in
Hove, Belgium Hove () is a municipality (''gemeente'') located in the Belgian province of Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and lar ...
.


Discography

* ''Jan Leyers'' (2003) * '' In the Virgin Dark'' (2005)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyers, Jan 1958 births Living people Belgian male singers Belgian pop singers Belgian singer-songwriters Belgian male singer-songwriters Belgian male guitarists Mass media people from Antwerp 20th-century Belgian composers 21st-century Belgian composers Belgian film score composers Belgian male film score composers People from Wilrijk Flemish television presenters English-language singers from Belgium Musicians from Antwerp