The Belgian group Vaya Con Dios ("Walk with God") is a musical group that has a circulation of 7 million albums sold. As well as 3 million singles, cooperation with European artists and regular hits in the tops of international charts.
The beginning of the history of the Vaya Con Dios group
The musical group was created in Brussels in 1986. The first line-up of the band included: vocalist Daniella Schowarts, double bassist Dirk Schaufs and artist Willy Lambert, who was later replaced by Jean-Michel Gielen.
Lead singer Daniella Schowarts and artist Willy Lambert had already achieved significant success by the time the band was formed. They performed as part of the Arbeid Adelt! A young but talented couple decided to create a musical band by inviting a good friend, double bassist Dirk Schaufs.
In subsequent interviews, the soloist of the band spoke about the reasons why Dirk was chosen. According to her, they had common interests related to gypsy music, jazz and opera. According to the group, all these destinations were underestimated in the territory of Brussels.
The band's first single was released in 1987. The song Just A Friend of Mine received a Latin sound. A unique composition with its own indescribable style became a hit.
The first experiments of the group turned into a stunning success - the debut single was released with a circulation of 300 thousand copies. Despite this state of affairs, one of the band members Willy Lambert decided to leave the band. His place was taken by Jean-Michel Gielen.
Popularity of Vaya Con Dios
After the success of the debut single and the departure of one of the members, the group continued the difficult work on creativity. Thanks to performances at their own and other people's concerts, the band enjoyed great popularity, mainly in the territory of Latin countries.
However, the band remained unknown to Dutch listeners, partly due to their Belgian origins. And also due to the lack of lovers of the gypsy style.
In the summer of 1990, the group finally won the favor of listeners from the Netherlands. The team gave the only performance, presenting the song What A Woman?. The composition tells about the complexities present in the relationship between men and women. The single was incredibly successful, peaking at number 1 on the main Dutch national music chart three weeks after release.
Such a performance made the group the second Belgian team to achieve recognition in the Netherlands. The first artist to achieve this goal was the musician Ivan Heylen, who performed in 1974.
Start of problems
The young and very successful team of Vaya Con Dios, unfortunately, could not cope with the pressure coming from great fame and fast money.
In 1991 vocalist Daniella Schowarts and double bassist Dirk Schaufs decided to part ways. Since then, only Daniella has performed under the Vaya Con Dios logo. The girl experimented with formats and musicians, inviting artists from different directions to record.
On May 24, 1991, Dirk Schaufs, one of the original founders of the popular band, died. The reason for the death of a famous musician was acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The artist contracted this disease due to his heroin addiction. Despite the fact that Dirk was not part of the Vaya Con Dios collective, Daniella was very saddened by the loss of a good friend with whom she had a minor disagreement.
The artist, performing under the label of the former group, released the third studio album, Time Files. The record was filled with sad lyrics, undisguised grief and hopelessness.
Group recoveryпы
Despite the almost complete line-up change, Vaya Con Dios was very popular among listeners in most of Europe. The label's "fans" included people from various countries, including France, Germany, and Scandinavia.
Vocalist Daniella Schowarts performed under the former label until 1996, after which she retired from music, announcing her retirement. The girl could not cope with stress, she was tired of a series of endless concerts and wanted a calm, peaceful life.
The artist returned in 1999 as a singer in the group Purple Prose. Daniella performed in the team until 2004. Then she released a new album under the label Vaya Con Dios. The Promise album enjoyed great popularity and support among the former "fans" of the old band.
Daniella re-asserted herself with the release of The Ultimate Collection (2006). The disc includes CDs and DVDs with Vaya Con Dios concert recordings. The event took place on August 31, 2006 in Brussels (Belgium).
