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URBANUS

Versatile singing comedian.

 
Songs
 

"Een bakske vol met stro"
38,3 sec. - 75 Kb.
song : Urbanus
Produced : Jean Blaute.
Year : 1979.
Record co.: Philips

"Madammen met een bontjas"
65,2 sec. - 128 Kb.
song : Urbanus
Produced : Jean Blaute.
Year : 1980.
Record co.: Omega

"Put your lips round my shoulder"
38,4 sec. - 76 Kb.
song : Urbanus, Jean Blaute
Produced : Jean Blaute.
Year : 1985.
Record co.: Philips

 
   

Urbanus - or Urbanus Van Anus, the artist name for Urbain Servranckx - is a slightly anarchistic Flemish comedian who debuted his career in the seventies. His stage shows were a mix of funny tales and pop songs. The popularity reached unknown heights at the end of the seventies and the beginning of the eighties.

 

His albums (which carried the same mix of monologues and music), produced by the funny producer Jean Blaute (see Kate's Kennel, or K's Choice, or ...) soared to the top of the hitparades in Belgium and Holland.

His biggest hit is the deceiving Christmas single "Bakske vol met stro" (Tray filled with straws) in which he retells the story of the birth of Christ in the stable in Bethlehem. The lyrics to the song were very controversial in the mainly catholic country that Belgium is and caused a giant stir with the clergy. This didn't prevent the song from going all the way to the n° 1 spot in the hitparade.

To give you an impression of the type of humor Urbanus uses, I've translated a part of "Madammen met een Bontjas" (Ma'ams with a fur coat). Of course, in dutch this rhymes.

No I don't like ladies with a fur coat
Ladies with a fur coat are so vile
No I don't dig those ladies with a fur coat
To ladies with such a coat I just say no

Their backs and belly I'll sew together
and with it make a water mattress or a flying cigar
Their toes I'll use as corks for champagne bottles
and the skin under their arm pits can serve as insecticide
From their nipples I'll make gummis to repair the tires of my bike
And the bags under their eyes will be used
as plastic garbage cans.
And even their Venus hills I will not leave unused :
with them I make a giant smyrna carpet.


Urbanus figures also a the main character in a comic strip.

In the middle of the eighties he stopped performing on stage and concentrated his efforts on television (he joined VTM, the commercial television station) and he made three very successful motion pictures (Hector, ..., ...). After a few of his shows on TV didn't produce the normal record-breaking number of viewers, his career got into a bit of a lull in the second half of the nineties.

He now has reemerged to the stage, still proving he can take on about any type of crowd (from the teenagers to the third age) and make 'em laugh.

Buy CD's of this artist at proxis

Albums :
- Leevend (Parsifal, 1974)
- In de weide (Parsifal, 1975)
- Drie Sprookjes (Philips, 1977)
- Volle maan (Philip,s 1978)
- Is er toevallig een Urbanus in de zaal (Philips, 1980)
- IV (Philips, 1982)
- 10 jaar live (Philips, 1983)
- Donders en bliksems (Philips, 1985)
- In 't echt (2CD, Philips, 1985)
- Plezantste liedjes (CD, Philips, 1986)
- Urbanus (CD, Philips, 1989)
- Urbanus 3 (triple CD, Philips, 1990)
- Fantastisch Live (2CD, Mercury, 1998)
- Hiep Hiep Rahoe (CD, Mercury, 1998)

Websites :
- Urbanus Online, for the most part about his comic books, bus some music as well
- Tabs for a number of Urbanus-songs at guitarfiles.be
- Lyrics of some Urbanus-songs at Waltertje's Lyrics site

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

 

   
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Last update to this site : December 2001.

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