JAN PUIMEGE

Singer-songwriter of the seventies. Died in at a relatively young age. "Much too soon" is always added to that.

He was discovered during the "Ontdek de Ster Wedstrijd" (Discover the Star - a renound Belgian talent contest) in 1975. "It all started in 1975 in the Queen Elizabeth-hall in Antwerp. There is a boy on stage, a denim suit, his legs crossed out of fear and nerves."

Jan Puimege is a typical exponent of "Kleinkunst" - a genre that literally translated means "Small-art", but is a term describing Dutch-singing songwriters.

His style was poetic and soft. His lyrics are about love (eg. "zomaar"), his youth ("zee"), friendship ("vrienden van het laatste glas") and sometimes carry some mild criticism of the modern society ("pessimist", "sprookjes" ..).

Jan Puimège has released two albums and a handful of singles, the most widely known being "Marijke".

However, in 1982 (May 22), months before the release of a third album, his heart collapsed.

One year after his death, a number of colleagues (such as Wim De Craene, Will Ferdy, Zjef Vanuytsel, Ed Kooyman ...) made a tribute album "Jan Puimège", with his songs.

In 1992 his family compiled an album with the songs of these and a few posthumous songs. The songs on this album are (the remarks after the titles are from the CD "De Komplete Kleinkunstcollectie van Jan Puimège" :
- zomaar ("Just like that" - Love is a special feeling about someone special - A love song is a special song for someone special)
- abstrakt ("abstract")
- standbeeld ("statue")
- zee ("sea" - when the summers where still summers, we went to sea each year, the same camping, the same friends as the year before and ... my parents stayed at home presuming their son was getting a sun-tan on the beach. Little did they know)
- gedicht ("poem" - terrorism, bombs, violence ... just as well that there's also beautiful things to life such as love, l'amour ...)
- home (Most kids who are placed in an institution are unhappy : it's a law that has made easy for everybody, except for the kids. Kids don't belong in an institution, they belong at home.)
- morgenvroeg ("tomorrow morning")
- nacht ("night" - The night is the natural environment for pimps, hookers, dealers and ... singers, but that's only because we have to work at such a late hour)
- vrienden van het laatste glas ("friends of the last drink" - when I was 16 me and my friends went to town, to the muse. Nowadays we don't believe we can change the world, but then ...)
- Linda
- pessimist (a kind of people I really can't stand)
- Marijke (when kids grow up, they get fed up ... and leave)
- Sprookjes ("fairy tales" - These days, everything has to be "proven and true". There's no place for fairy tales anymore ... and the kids don't know how to protest. That's why I do that in their place)
- Zondagmorgen ("sunday morning" - everybody's sitting with a hard head around the table, a consequence of Saturday evening)
- Afscheid ("farewell" - A little bit like dying)
- Mariska (not exactly the favorite song of my wife, considering it's about having a maitresse)
- Dichter ("poet" - The tougher you are, the further you get. In this song however ...)
- Huwelijksnacht ("wedding night")

Buy CD's of this band at

Albums :
- Morgenvroeg (Monopole, 1975)
- Pendelend (Racoon, 1980)
- Jan Puimège (various, 1983)
Compilations :
- De Komplete Kleinkunstcollectie van Jan Puimège (CNR, 1992)

Websites :
- none found

Forum :
- Read the messages/questions about Jan Puimege
- Add your message, question, cd- or concertreview ... about Jan Puimege