Willem Vermandere

Willem Vermandere (1940 in Lauwe, Belgium) is a Belgian singer, Flemish cabaret artist, writer, sculptor, guitarist and painter. His songs are written and sung in the dialect of the South of West-Flanders in Belgium.

Vermandere studied Religion at Ghent and has been a teacher at Nieuwpoort. Although he is most known for his music, Vermandere is more active as a sculptor. His poetic repertoire expresses criticism on society and his performances are a mixture of seriousness, sadness and fun

In 1993 Vermandere wrote the song "Bange Blanke Man" ("Frightened White Man"), a song criticizing racism and xenophobia in a multicultural society. When performing at the Grand Place in Brussels in 1992, Vermandere was physically assaulted by members of the far-right party Vlaams Blok and became a subject of hate mail.

In 2000 he was bestowed with the title of honorary citizen of Veurne, where he currently lives in the suburb of Steenkerke. In 2009 the Flemish ‘Radio 2’ station nominated him as a member of the Gallery of Honour.

Dank Frans