Danny De Munk

Danny de Munk, a Dutch entertainment figure, first captured public attention during the 1980s through his work as a child performer and adolescent pop vocalist. Although his early recording success faded by the following decade, he staged an unexpected return in 2008 via the album Hart en Ziel, which yielded two Top Ten singles. Born February 19, 1970, in Amsterdam, he took the lead role in the 1984 motion picture Ciske de Rat, an adaptation of a 1940s coming-of-age book trilogy by Dutch writer Piet Bakker. The movie achieved strong box-office results, and de Munk’s performance of its featured track, “Ik Voel Me Zo Verdomd Alleen,” dominated the Dutch singles chart, holding the number-one position for four weeks while remaining in the Top Five for a total of ten. A soundtrack album drawn from the film, also titled Ciske de Rat and issued by RCA, accompanied the release. Capitalizing on the single’s performance, RCA next put out the 1985 teen-pop collection Danny de Munk, assembled by a roster of Dutch session musicians; it delivered several charting cuts, among them the Top Five entries “Mijn Stad” and “Mijn Meissie,” the Top 20 release “Mengelmoes,” and the Top 30 track “Met Kerstmis Hoor Je Blij Te Zijn.” De Munk continued acting, appearing in the 1986 picture Op Hoop Van Zegen and contributing the Top 40 song “Ratsmodee” to its soundtrack. He then concentrated on music once more, issuing the EMI albums ’N Jaar Later (1987) and Geen Wereld Zonder Jou (1989); neither fared well, with only the single “Amsterdam Laat Je Niet Kisten” reaching the Top 50. Subsequent efforts Vrienden Voor Het Leven (1991), released on Indisc, and Danny (1995), issued by Columbia, failed to restore his earlier chart momentum, prompting him to step away from recording. More than ten years afterward he resurfaced with Hart en Ziel, whose singles “Het Levende Bewijs” and “Laat Ons Niet Alleen” both climbed into the Top Ten.